Ethno-religious diversity is a fact of Western European cities and will grow and spread. Living in these locations today requires a respect for ‘difference’ as well as a sense of commonalities, these are required at the level of the local and the city but also at the level of the national. A...

The human right to freedom of religion (HRFR) at the international level is a deeply contested concept and is interpreted in radically different ways in the respective historical constitutional instruments of the US and Europe. It is, for example, embedded in the First Amendment of the American...

The paper highlights the considerable positive impact of cultural diversity and the mutual benefit accrued for migrants and non-migrants alike. Against the background of growing hostility against, and increasing politicisation of the presence of migrants in European societies it sets a different...

While the control of irregular migration and the return of undocumented migrants to their countries of origin has been a priority in the European migration policy since the late 2000s, it has now achieved a new sense of urgency. The EU is faced with a double challenge: to limit irregular...

Three archetypical forms of philanthropy in a rapidly transforming Africa should be distinguished: foreign philanthropies operating in Africa, Africa-born philanthropy on the model of Western organisations and numerous African redistribution practices expressing a variety of societal features of...

After 20 years of its foundation, MERCOSUR has failed to meet its declared goals. Far from being a common market and not yet a customs union, it has neither deepened nor (legally) enlarged. All other regionalist projects in Latin America fare even worse, albeit they have arguably fostered...

This paper explains the changing feature of EU policy toward Asia and the Pacific from the viewpoint of Japan. In the era of global power shift, and because of the impressive economic growth in Asia, the EU’s interest in this region is growing. This paper describes competitive trade...

While WTO disputes involve legal rights and obligations, economics often can help the Appellate Body (AB) make sense of the dispute and the implications of ambiguous language in the Agreements. This paper reviews three examples of where the economics could have provided a clearer basis for the...

This paper analyses developments in regional security governance since 1945. It argues that regional organizations around the world have come to play increasingly important roles in security provision, often in conjunction with the United Nations whose charter makes ample provision for such...

The objective of this paper is to analyse what targets and criteria should be followed for electricity transmission investments which would be beneficial for Europe. The paper indicates that there is serious underinvestment in the European transmission network from the overall welfare point of...