GIGA Focus

As the strategic value of the region has increased for Europe, the EU is now seeking to renew its partnership with Latin America and the Caribbean. But many of the latter’s governments prefer an active non-alignment in international politics. An EU-LAC summit is planned for July 2023.

Comparing US and European China policies of recent years reveals a widening gap. While the Biden administration’s China policy is fixated on competition and national security, and preoccupied with renewing US global leadership, the EU essentially remains open to cooperation with China.

In 2023, German and European authorities expect refugee numbers to rise further. Whether existing attitudes towards refugees in Germany can be changed by positive or negative statements made about their further admission in future is discussed in this Focus Global.

The Nicaraguan government’s attack on Catholic priests is bringing the former alliance between the government and the Church to breaking point, while contributing also to the gradual implosion of the authoritarian regime. While the Pope encourages dialogue, the space for civil society has eroded.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has accelerated international competition for influence in Africa. Structural weaknesses and post-pandemic instabilities continue to threaten democratic governance, peace, and development. We present a selective list and analysis of “ten things to watch” in Africa in 2023.

“Ecologisation” is a strategy by which state actors present mismanagement and bad governance as the unavoidable accompaniments to natural disasters. In future, it will be important to acknowledge this strategy’s use so that climate action and human rights cannot be played off against each other.

The G20 is now a central forum for solving the current global polycrisis. It has also become a place where Global South governments, like India’s or Turkey’s, seek to acquire and project higher status on the world stage. Policymakers need to understand and embrace this key foreign policy dynamic.

The war against Ukraine has created possibilities for emerging actors in Africa – such as Iran and Turkey – to scale up their engagement with the continent. This Focus deals with the question of how the changing global dynamics are allowing Iran and Turkey to boost their ties across the African continent.

Courts are highly relevant in controlling executive abuses of power in exceptional situations like the COVID-19 pandemic. Latin America’s courts were ready and able to set such limits. Illiberal presidents may heavily undermine judicial independence if they have the legislative support to do so.