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Refugee law has an infamous built-in dichotomy. Its powerful non-refoulement principle means refugees shall not be returned to their home countries or to places where they would be at risk of being returned home. Yet, refugee law does not oblige securing safe direct access from a refugee’s country…

In July, during a press conference following an all-night negotiation in Brussels on the Greece bailout, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was asked to comment on the French minister of the economy’s comparison of the harsh conditionality of the Greece deal with the Versailles Treaty. Merkel’s answer…

In early 2014, Angola, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest oil producer and third-largest economy, was flush with cash and confidence. The economy had expanded tenfold over the previous decade, and the government, which in 2002 won a resounding victory in the country’s long civil war, was…

Vor zehn Jahren forderte Robert Zoellick, damals stellvertretender amerikanischer Außenminister, China auf, zu einem „verantwortlichen Teilhaber“ („responsible stakeholder“) zu werden: Denn Chinas Führer hätten entschieden, dass ihr Erfolg davon abhängt, mit der modernen Welt vernetzt zu sein. Über…

In December 2014, German Minister of Justice Heiko Maas issued a strongly worded tweet, complete with exclamation mark, stating that data retention laws violate the right to privacy and data protection, and that as a result, there should be neither German nor European legislation on this front. Ten…

Ten years ago, world leaders agreed that the international community had a “responsibility to protect” populations from genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing. A decade later, the world’s record in fulfilling the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) remains poor, with…

The internet governance landscape has changed dramatically in just the last few years, and this development shows no sign of stopping. India, a country boasting steady growth and global ambitions, is critical to the future development of the internet not only within its borders, but also across the…

“A internacionalização da Sonangol prosseguiu em ritmo acelerado desde o fim da guerra e, em particular desde 2004, quando as receitas provenientes do petróleo começaram a encher os cofres angolanos. Di­rectamente, ou através das suas subsidiárias, a partir de 2013, as zonas de investimento da…

Tales of Angolan clout in the former colonial power, Portugal, have occasionally surfaced in the English-language media. What happens when a southern European cash-strapped economy meets a cash-rich and cohesive authoritarian regime seeking to buy up assets and gain political influence? Many…

Advocacy and Resistance, by Eva Pils At a time when China’s human rights lawyers are facing systematic repression, Eva Pils’s illuminating book provides a timely and engaging account of their work, fears and aspirations. The study, based on extensive face-to-face conversations with weiquan lawyers…

Last week, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Sri Lanka. It was the first visit made by a German foreign minister in over 10 years. During his visit, Steinmeier promised to support Sri Lanka in accounting for the grave human rights violations incurred during the civil war, but…

Vergangene Woche besuchte Außenminister Steinmeier Sri Lanka. Es war der erste Besuch eines deutschen Außenministers seit mehr als zehn Jahren. Dabei sagte er dem Land Unterstützung bei der Aufarbeitung schwerwiegender Menschenrechtsverletzungen während des Bürgerkriegs zu, ließ aber offen, welche…

Exactly 10 years ago today, Robert Zoellick, US Deputy Secretary of State at the time, urged China to become a “responsible stakeholder.” He argued that “China has a responsibility to strengthen the international system that has enabled its success.” From Zoellick’s perspective, China’s “national…

Political imprisonment remains an entrenched practice in a diverse range of authoritarian countries. Political prisoners are detained for calling attention to political shortcomings, asking for reform or participation rights and demanding individual freedoms – in other words, exercising fundamental…