Mark Furness

The BBC World Service Newshour programme last night had the same angle on this. I had trouble sleeping afterwards. The angle should be 'Marine Le Pen guilty of massive fraud at European Parliament'. The FN's reaction is to attack the justice system, the classic fascist playbook.

Job advertisment: Full professorship for Global Policy for Sustainable Development / Deputy Director of IDOS (m/f/d) We are looking for a strategically minded and integrative leader with excellent research experience in the field of global sustainable development.

www.idos-research.de/en/about-us/...

Great article. Democracy has also been a Trojan Horse for neoliberalism internationally, despite their fundamental incoherencies. Local democracy won't save us though, there are many examples of fascist autocrats using repression when they have sovereign power. UK labour needs turning around.

Assuming the red text is from the SPD and the blue text from the CDU, it looks like there are major differences on whether to cut aid, and whether to integrate BMZ into Auswärtiges Amt. Interesting differences regarding Israel as well.

Looks like the unfinished coalition negotiations on German foreign, security and development policy have been leaked to Politico: www.politico.eu/wp-content/u...

Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding Government infusions at key moments helped Tesla and SpaceX flourish, boosting Musk’s wealth.

Musk is a total hypocrite, and this is probably one of the last critical stories about him that we will see in the Washington Post

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...

Trump shares AI video of Gaza vision featuring golden statues, bearded belly dancers and Netanyahu on a sunbed The footage, which the 78-year-old shared without comment, shows the war-ravaged territory transformed into a Middle Eastern paradise with exotic beaches, Dubai-style skyscrapers, luxury yachts and pe...

This has to be seen to be believed. The only explanation I can think of is that Trump has foolishly shared something subversive made by someone who is taking the piss news.sky.com/story/trump-...

UK defence spending to rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 with aid budget slashed to help fund move - UK politics live Keir Starmer says now is the time to deepen European security, as he announces move in the Commons

Cutting foreign aid won't fund the kinds of defence spending increases that are being talked about, but it will make conflict more likely. Development policy is security policy.

am besten eine Mauer bauen

I do not agree with what you say but I will defend to death your right to say it, as long as it isn't based on reliable evidence

I thought the Trump Administration were 'free speech absolutists'?

If they're going to cancel the Gulf of Mexico then they really need to name it after themselves

Basically, Trump wants to plunder the Western part of Ukraine while Putin plunders the Eastern part.

Ausbau von geopolitischem Einfluss - EU-Außenbeauftragte Kallas kündigt neuen Kurs bei Entwicklungshilfe an Die EU will wegfallende Entwicklungshilfezahlungen der USA nur unter Bedingungen und in ausgewählten Fällen kompensieren.

EU High Representative Kallas is ready to step up EU aid to partially compensate for USAID's absence. The EU can't do everything of course, so aid will be spent where geopolitical influence can be won, and where the EU is most visible.

www.deutschlandfunk.de/eu-aussenbea...

In @table.media Briefings erklärt IDOS-Experte @stephanklingebiel.bsky.social, wie aktuelle entwicklungspolitische Debatten in Deutschland durch die Politik der #Trump-Administration beeinflusst werden & welchen Auftrieb populistische Strömungen dadurch erhalten könnten ➡️ table.media/africa/stand...

International development cooperation is in Germany’s national interest Germany’s international cooperation is as important for its own continued development, as it is for the countries where Germany invests public money.

I wrote this @idos-research.bsky.social column before Elon Musk's illegal, corrupt, ideologically bankrupt and fundamentally stupid shut down of USAID. It is even more relevant now for Germany to maintain and strengthen its development aid programme.

www.idos-research.de/en/the-curre...

The Global Stargate!

Die #Bundestagswahl2025 rückt näher, und die Debatte um #Entwicklungshilfe spitzt sich zu. @mfurness.bsky.social betont: #InternationaleEntwicklungszusammenarbeit dient nicht nur globalen Zielen, sondern auch nationalen Interessen: www.idos-research.de/die-aktuelle... #DieAktuelleKolumne #BTW2025

Raffaella Iodice, former EU chargée d’affaires to Afghanistan, passes away | Amu TV Iodice served as the EU’s Deputy Head of Delegation in Kabul from June 2022.

This is really sad news. Rafaella Iodice was one of the smartest and most insightful people I ever had the priviledge of meeting. amu.tv/147052/

Managing Change in #Syria
- IDOS expert Musallam Abedtalas argues that international actors like the #EU must proceed cautiously to guide Syria toward an inclusive state without imposing foreign solutions. He outlines key actions for international intervention: blogs.idos-research.de/2024/12/19/m...

Looks like al-Jolani might have read our World Development Special Issue on the social contract in MENA countries

english.almayadeen.net/news/politic...

www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

📚 #TheCurrentColumn
Zero hour in Damascus: What role can the international community play in #Syria’s new beginning? IDOS experts Tina Zintl and Markus Loewe call on international actors to provide #HumanitarianAid for the population as quickly as possible: idos-research.de/en/the-curre...

Events are moving pretty fast, it seems. How do you think the Israelis will get on with their new neighbours, if indeed HTS and co do succeed in ousting Assad?