The Hollywood action movie Black Panther captured the imagination of audiences around the globe. In several African countries, it quickly became the highest grossing film of all time. The tale is set in Wakanda, a technologically advanced African kingdom that avoided the shackles of colonialism and slavery by isolating itself behind a guise of poverty and deprivation. Although what it presents as “African”, in terms of narrative and images, is far from uncontested, the film catapulted Afrofuturism – a discipline or aesthetic that enlists science fiction and technology to imagine black identities and futures unconstrained by past and present circumstances – from the avant-garde circles of artists and intellectuals into the mainstream.

The current public debate on African migration to Europe is largely fuelled by visions of boats crossing the Mediterranean Sea, filled with desperate people in search of a better life. The narrative positions Africa as a “continent on the move” whose people are surging into Europe on a seemingly endless tide. Although media images of desperate African refugees fleeing to Europe do portray the daily reality and the often-tragic consequences of the treacherous crossing, the framing conceals more than it reveals. 

This edition of Perspectives contributes to the ongoing debate on infrastructure development in Africa by sharing snapshots of experience from around the continent, exploring questions about democratic participation, the role of human and environmental rights, and economic transformation.

The present publication “For Democracy” outlines and analyzes the state of democracy worldwide as well as the possibilities of democracy assistance.

Activists, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and social movements across the world are facing verbal hostility from politicians, new laws and regulations that curtail their ability to operate, and outright violence. Africa is no exception.

When you write about Africa, make sure to always include sad and starving characters, advises Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainana in his famously ironic essay “How to write about Africa”, which takes aim at Western prejudices. In the same way that everyday laughter has been excluded from all-too-familiar depictions of the continent, African humour and satire as a form of social and political engagement remains underexplored.

Has the G20 Hijacked UN Processes? The debate of a proposed infrastructure initiative within the United Nations (UN) proves to be a revealing case study of how the Group of 20, an informal entity with restricted membership, has been able to influence and pre-empt outcomes in a formal, universal membership institution such as the UN. The debate is occurring in the context of negotiating the outcome document of the UN Financing for Development (FfD) Conference which will take place in Addis Ababa in July. The G20 views “financing for development” as its priority as well. For instance, at an April 2015 Think 20 event in Washington, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan stated that the G20 addresses the

In recent years, the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - have emerged as important outward investors. At the 2013 BRICS Summit, leaders committed to infrastructure investment, job-creation, food security, poverty eradication and sustainable development in Africa. India's current investments in Africa amount to more than US$ 50bn. This research provides insight into the operations of specific Indian companies in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Zambia and their impact on the communities.

It is our hope that you really enjoyed reading the last issue #20 of the G20 and the BRICS UPDATE.  In this Issue, we look at how poor governance bulldozes consensus beyond the public eye, as the G20 is doing with regard to most aspects of its Global Infrastructure Initiative, which will be launched at the November Summit. The initiative will privatize aspects of governance in order to move from "retail" to "wholesale" investment strategies through use of “pooled funds” to finance large “portfolios” of public private partnership (PPP) projects (despite their demonstrated high failure rate). Below, part 1 reviews aspects of the G20’s Global Infrastructure Initiative and part 2 reviews the performance evaluation of World Bank-financed PPPs over a decade. Enjoy!

Immediately after the World Cup Final, Brazil hosts the next BRICS Summit from July, 14th to 16th 2014. The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will come together and important announcements are expected: a new BRICS Development Bank and a Contingency Reserve Arrangement. On this occasion a special BRICS Summit Reader is available here presenting background analysis and facts.

Issue #19: For this issue we have secured the views of four distinguished authors sharing their perspectives on civil society and the G20.

The G20 Update #18 contains reflections on the 2014 Summit Agenda with interesting links for indepth reading in the must read section. The BRICS group is now integrated into the title, due to interconnections, which will expand the Newsletter's profile with regular reporting on developments around the politics of this new club in the club.  

Media plays a key part in the democratisation process in Somaliland, vital in efforts to improve all branches of the state and its democratic performance. This publication of papers presented at a 2013 conference on Press Freedom explores the opportunities and challenges of Somaliland's media development.

The October G20 Update presents reflections from the St. Petersburg summit from the perspective of civil society representatives and academica.

What frustrations are causing the youth to turn to the streets? How do they mobilise today? Are conventional politics and parties able to attract young people or do they seek alternative ways to engage? How does their political participation manifest? Have they been successful? Are the youth a political force?

Building on the 2010 publication, Sudan – No Easy Ways Ahead, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung brought together a new group of authors to reflect on the challenges of the post-separation era.

What in your opinion is the state of the Somaliland and Somalia talks with regards to its timeliness, Somaliland preparedness, Process transparency, usefulness, the possible scenarios of its outcome? What are the complexities surrounding the Somaliland recognition and the way forward?

The articles in this issue of Perspectives seek to reflect on the extent to which African legislatures have taken steps that mark their shift from being the “weakest link” of government to stronger, independent institutions. In essence, we ask – do African Parliaments really occupy the privileged position accorded to them in representational democracies

This month, two events occur back-to-back: the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (“Rio +20”) in Brazil and the Group of 20 (G20) Summit, in Mexico. This paper asks how the powerful G20 might influence outcomes of Rio+20.

The conferences focus was on the conflict resolution progress, and prospects for the Somalia state re-establishment. At the minimum, state re-establishment discussions delved into matters of national security, public service delivery, civil society and public participation in governance processes.

The G20’s commitment to conventional solutions obscures the possibility of other alternatives. Even though the alternatives present challenges in terms of replication, cost, and scale, the G20 summit in Mexico in June 2012 should re-cast the criteria for selecting and financing energy projects to highlight modular, renewable energy solutions.

What lessons has Somaliland learnt from two decades of sustained state building, local institutional development and democratization and what's the way forward?

State building is often misrepresented as a technical matter of setting up new institutions then training people to do their jobs. However, establishing a viable state against the background of ethnically charged conflicts and a history of exclusion is a long-term process. It involves cultivating an inclusive political community that transcends ethnic, religious and cultural differences.

The 2009 Annual Conference titled, “Somaliland Facing Challenges of free and Fair Elections”, provided a useful forum to take stock of developments around Somaliland democracy within the previous year. It allowed discussions for Somaliland’s democratization process, the challenges of free and fair elections, and newly emerging issues.

As the six-year transitional period defined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement draws to a close, Sudan is sliding into another crisis. The Heinrich Böll Foundation, which has been working both with civil society partners in Sudan and on Sudan-related issues in the German context for several years, has put together this publication in order to reflect on such scenarios.

Since Somalia's central government collapsed in 1991, internal strife and external military interventions resulted in one of the most serious humanitarian disasters of our time. Numerous attempts to make peace and create political stability have failed, but with the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops and the election of a new president in January 2009, a window of opportunity has emerged.