Allgemein – CARPO e.V.

Category: Allgemein

Enhancing the Role of Microfinance Banks for Sustainable Impact in Yemen

Yemen’s microfinance sector is undergoing a radical transformation. Despite initial success in empowering small businesses, the ongoing conflict has exposed deep vulnerabilities. Competition between the fractured central banks has driven a surge in microfinance bank (MFB) licenses. While this promises to expand financial inclusion, it raises serious concerns about long-term sustainability and financial stability. To ensure a sustainable future for the sector, a collaborative effort is needed from the CBY, MFBs, and international donors. This RYE Policy Brief brings forward practical recommendations to this effect.

Download the Policy Brief in English or Arabic

Allgemein, Other, Rethinking Yemen's Economy, RYE Publications

Moving from Rapprochement to Economic Cooperation? Prospects for Trade Ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran

by Desirée Custers and Mirjam Schmidt

As both Iran and Saudi Arabia are looking for ways to foster economic growth, the agreement to resume diplomatic ties, signed in March 2023, offers an opportunity for economic cooperation that could mutually benefit the two countries’ domestic economies. Areas of potential cooperation include the hydrogen and start-up sectors, as well as shared investment in third markets, such as the mutually neighbouring Iraq. While there is great potential for cooperation, among the challenges that need to be considered are the security situation in the region, the international sanctions against Iran and a lack of a bilateral political framework that can secure the risks of monetary investment. This CARPO Brief summarizes the obstacles and avenues for bilateral and regional economic cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Iran as discussed by a group of Iranian and Saudi experts during an Iran-Saudi Dialogue Initiative (ISDI) workshop held in September 2023.

view CARPO Brief

view printer-friendly version

Allgemein, CARPO Briefs

The Impact of Flooding on Agricultural Communities in Yemen

Yemen’s agricultural communities face a perfect storm of growing ecological threats amid protracted conflict. Flash floods destroy farms, crops, and irrigation systems. Late rains risk drowning mature harvests, and waterlogged fields hinder root growth. Coastal areas battle salinization, and collapsed roads and buried wells hamper recovery. As flooding and changing rainfall patterns undermine yields, farmers struggle to sustain their livelihoods. This policy brief examines the impact of floods on agricultural communities, based on the discussions and outcomes of a workshop implemented by the Rethinking Yemen’s Economy initiative with representatives from different governorates in Say’un, Hadhramawt, in 2023. It presents an analysis of the impacts of flooding and explores local prevention, mitigation, and adaptation measures and concludes with policy recommendations to mitigate flooding and its impact on agricultural communities, enhance food and water security, and build resilience against future extreme weather events.

Download the Policy Brief in English or Arabic

Allgemein, Other, Rethinking Yemen's Economy, RYE Publications

The ‘Climate-Energy-Health Nexus’

An Entry-Point for Environmental Cooperation in West Asia and the Arabian Peninsula

by Sina Winkel and Sebastian Sons

Based on insights obtained through the Tafahum wa Tabadul project, the authors discuss how recent geopolitical dynamics in West Asia and the Arabian Peninsula may pave the way towards cross-border environmental engagement on an inclusive political, academic, societal and entrepreneurial level. The ‘climate-energy-health nexus’ is introduced as a potential thematic entry-point for cooperation, as it addresses manifold shared interests and challenges in the region. Winkel and Sons warn, however, that challenges such as the lack of coordination, data gaps and political mistrust remain and will take time to overcome. In order to be able to do so, this Brief presents a number of recommendations to regional and international stakeholders.

view CARPO Brief

view printer-friendly version

Allgemein, CARPO Briefs, CARPO Sustainability Series, Tafahum

4th CARPO Research Forum: Dialogue and Mediation in a Multipolar World

When: 29 November 2023, 15:00-17:00 (CET)

Today’s global affairs are becoming increasingly complex and overwhelming. The pace of tectonic geopolitical shifts, the intensity of continued unbearable conflicts, as well as the level of devastation through climate change are difficult to cope with and to sufficiently comprehend. While this global context is maximizing the need for patient and inclusive dialogue, time and space for such dialogue are becoming more and more limited. A new level of polarization is dominating the public discourse, leaving very little room for context, nuances and a multi-angle perspective on complex realities.

At this year’s 4^th CARPO Research Forum, we want to shed light on what kind of impact this trend may have on dialogue initiatives, as well as on mediation efforts. Is it, indeed, more challenging to conduct dialogue and mediation in a multipolar world? To address this question, we have ensured the participation of truly distinguished speakers who are both scholars and practitioners of dialogue. With their help, we want to examine what the merits and limits of dialogue are, how dialogue initiatives can lead to actual mediation efforts, and how the need for neutrality and balance can be reconciled with moral convictions.

As it has been the case in the past, the CARPO Research Forum does not aim to answer all of these questions but to provide some guidance on how to address those questions with the help of experienced experts.  

The CARPO Research Forum is a public online event for which everyone can register.

Research Cooperation with the ‘Global South’ [in German]

by Sarah Wessel

This CARPO Report outlines the critical debate about the ‘Global South’, the effect of unequal distribution in the emergence, generation and acceptance of specific knowledge regimes as well as central challenges in cooperation with sometimes politically sensitive and crisis-ridden contexts. The concluding recommendations for research institutions, funding organizations and politics encourage a debate on how research cooperation can be structured globally on an equal footing if research and innovation are increasingly becoming fields of geopolitical contestations.

view CARPO Report

view printer-friendly version

Allgemein, CARPO Reports

The Role of the Diaspora in Peacebuilding in Yemen. Potentials and Opportunities, Challenges and Constraints

by Marie-Christine Heinze and Ewa K. Strzelecka

On 12 June 2022, FES Yemen and CARPO, in collaboration with the EU-funded Peace Women project, convened a one-day workshop in Amman, Jordan. The aim of this workshop was to discuss with researchers as well as female and male diaspora representatives challenges and constraints as well as potentials and opportunities of Yemeni diaspora communities to contribute to peace in their home country, and to particularly highlight the role of female members of the diaspora community in such efforts. This publication is a summary of the most important workshop findings.

view CARPO Brief
view printer-friendly version

Allgemein, CARPO Briefs, Ewa Strzelecka, Marie-Christine Heinze, Peace Women

Annual Report 2020/21

After years of solid growth and development in a reasonable pace for an organization like CARPO, the Corona years of 2020 and 2021 were a challenging time for us. We put our focus on keeping our various projects operational and maintaining the size of our team – successfully so. This Annual Report covers the projects implemented during those two years as well as our efforts of mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on our initiatives, which are often based on bringing people into dialogue in the framework of personal encounters.

view report
printer-friendly version

Allgemein, Annual Report

CARPO Podcast Folge 8: Der Umgang mit der WM in Qatar – zwischen Medien und Zivilgesellschaft

mit Nicole Selmer und Danyel Reiche 

In der 8. und letzten Folge beschäftigen wir uns damit, wie die WM in Katar im Land selbst und in den deutschen Medien diskutiert, debattiert, gelobt und verurteilt wird. Dafür sprechen wir mit dem Politikwissenschaftler Dr. Danyel Reiche, der seit zwei Jahren in Katar an der Georgetown University zur Rolle des Fußballs in der katarischen Politik forscht. In dem Gespräch geht es um den Vorwurf aus Katar, die Kritik aus dem Westen sei unfair und doppelmoralisch sowie die Situation der Wissenschaft in Katar.

Außerdem erläutert die Sportjournalistin Nicole Selmer, wie sie die deutschsprachige Berichterstattung über die WM wahrnimmt, die mediale Kritik an Katar bewertet und warum ein Boykott für sie und ihre Kolleg*innen beim Fußballmagazin Ballesterer keine Option war.

Das Buch von Danyel Reiche “Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Politics, Controversy, Change” findet Ihr hier.

Allgemein

CARPO Podcast Folge 7: Menschenrechte und Realpolitik – eine politische Antwort auf die WM

mit Lamya Kaddor

Der russische Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine hat in Deutschland die Frage, wie die deutsche Außenpolitik mit autoritären Regimen umgehen sollte, zu einem zentralen Thema der öffentlichen und politischen Debatte werden lassen. Vor dem Hintergrund der notwendigen Energiediversifizierung wurden mit Katar und anderen Golfmonarchien Energiepartnerschaften geschlossen, um sich aus der Abhängigkeit von russischen Gaslieferungen zu lösen. Dabei steht die Frage im Zentrum, wie Deutschland seine werteorientierten Prämissen mit realpolitischen Interessen in der Zusammenarbeit mit Katar und anderen Golfstaaten vereinbaren und eine nachhaltige Strategie im Umgang mit diesen Systemen entwickeln kann. Wie ein solcher Balanceakt aussehen könnte, diskutieren wir mit Lamya Kaddor von Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.
Die 11 Forderungen für die FIFA Fußball- Weltmeisterschaft 2022 in Katar vom Bündnis 90/Die Grünen findet ihr hier.

Außerdem könnt ihr mehr zu dieser Frage in Sebastian Sons Buch „Menschenrechte sind nicht käuflich“ lesen.

Allgemein, CARPO Podcast

CARPO Podcast Folge 6: Frauen und Sport in den Golfstaaten

mit Anna Reuß

Mit Blick auf den Austragungsstaat der WM 2022 fallen nicht nur die Menschenrechtsverletzungen gegenüber den Arbeitsmigrant:innen ins Auge. Auch die Rolle der Frauen in der katarischen Gesellschaft wird international kontrovers diskutiert. Anna Reuß berichtet in dieser Folge über die Lage der Frauen in Katar und in anderen Ländern der Region und ob rechtliche und gesellschaftliche Reformprozesse durch die WM angestoßen wurden.
Wenn Ihr weitere Informationen zum Thema lesen möchtet, empfehlen wir euch den Artikel “Fußball, Macht und Frauenrechten“ im Sammelband „Das Rebellische Spiel. Die Macht des Fußballs im Nahen Osten und die Katar-WM“.

Allgemein, CARPO Podcast

Towards #KnowledgeJustice? Addressing Asymmetries in Global Knowledge Production

When: 30 November 2022, 15:00-17:00 (CET)

If knowledge is an imperial instrument of colonization, then the decolonization of knowledge is one of the most urgent tasks: Global structures of knowledge production are still marked by asymmetries. Once referred to by Quijano as the “coloniality of knowledge,” this “epistemic violence” of knowledge production is still present in the 21st century.

Against this backdrop, CARPO’s third virtual Research Forum (CRF) investigates and critically discusses the underrepresentation of the so-called Global South in global knowledge production. Among others, we address the following questions: Which persisting asymmetries of knowledge production prevail? How can these inequalities in the system of global knowledge production be reduced or even eliminated? And what is the role of different actors from different world regions in this process towards knowledge justice? 

Overall, the CRF wants to shed more light on an often under-represented topic and put the finger on the prevailing asymmetries in global knowledge production. The event shall provide a platform for discussion by bringing together experts from the Global South and North on this issue. Furthermore, it discusses initiatives to reduce asymmetries in global knowledge production and, in terms of positionality, locates the challenges, responsibilities and fields of action for scholars working in the Global North. 

You can register here.

CARPO Podcast Folge 3: Die WM und die Menschenrechte

mit Katja Müller-Fahlbusch

In der dritten Folge sprechen wir mit Katja Müller-Fahlbusch über die Situation der Menschenrechte in Katar. Keine andere internationale Sportveranstaltung hat die ausbeuterischen Verhältnisse von Arbeitsmigrant:innen so stark in den Mittelpunkt gerückt wie die Weltmeisterschaft in Katar. Katja Müller-Fahlbusch ordnet diese als Vertreterin von Amnesty International für uns ein.

Weitere Informationen zur Arbeit von Amnesty International findet ihr hier: Amnesty International

Allgemein, CARPO Podcast

CARPO Podcast Folge 2: Der Fußball und die Golfstaaten – zwischen Fankultur und Sportswashing

mit Leo Wiggert und Robert Chatterjee

In unserer zweiten Folge beleuchten wir, warum Katar überhaupt eine WM ausrichtet, und sprechen außerdem mit den Journalisten Leo Wiggert und Robert Chatterjee vom Nahostmagazin zenith, die von ihrer Reise nach Katar und ihrer Suche nach der Fußballkultur vor Ort berichten.

Weitere Anekdoten und Fakten über Katar als Fußballnation findet ihr in ihrem Buch „So eine WM gab es noch nie“.

Allgemein, CARPO Podcast

CARPO Podcast Folge 1: Der Fußball und die arabische Welt – Protestkultur und Diktaturen

mit Ronny Blaschke

In dieser Folge sprechen wir mit dem Sportjournalisten Ronny Blaschke, der sich seit zwei Jahrzehnten intensiv mit den Verstrickungen von Fußball und Politik, speziell in autokratischen Ländern des Mittleren Ostens, auseinandersetzt. Dabei wird deutlich: Fußball ist nicht nur ein politisches Instrument für die Herrscher, sondern kann auch Möglichkeiten des Protestes bieten.

Mehr zu dem Thema findet ihr in Ronny Blaschkes Buch „Machtspieler: Fußball in Propaganda, Krieg und Revolution“.

Allgemein, CARPO Podcast, Publications

Narratives of (In)Justice in Contemporary Yemeni Novels

by Osama Ali, Fadhilah Gubari, Julia Gurol and Abdulsalam al-Rubaidi

This Study analyzes narratives of (in)justice in contemporary Yemeni novels. Through a lexical field analysis of nine selected contemporary novels, the paper highlights how (in)justice is framed in narrative literature, both in terms of representations of certain socio-political practices and in terms of normative constructions and the creation of a normative order. It argues that novels represent and discuss the complexities of Yemeni realities, where daily practices and experiences of individuals are entangled with philosophical questions about the meaning of life. It discusses the nexus between the framing of (in)justice and post-conflict reconciliation and provides an original insight into the understanding and constructions of justice and injustice offered to society by Yemeni novelists.

view CARPO/IOA/GDRSC Study

view printer-friendly version

Abdulsalam al-Rubaidi, Allgemein, CARPO Studies, Fadhilah Gubari, Julia Gurol, Osama Ali, Teaching and Advising on Post-conflict Reconstruction

The Role of the Environment in Peacebuilding in Yemen

by Bilkis Zabara and Tobias Zumbrägel

This Report addresses the relationship between violent conflict and environmental governance in Yemen. It translates the concept of environmental peacebuilding to the case of Yemen, where it has not received broader attention in terms of post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation efforts. The study compares six different governorates, namely Sana’a, Dhamar, Ibb, Ta‘iz, Aden and Hadhramawt and finds that all governorates face specific threats. If these challenges are not addressed adequately and in a sustainable manner, they can accelerate social conflict and ultimately threaten long-term solutions for peace and stability in the country. To promote the concept of environmental peacebuilding, the Report provides several suggestions for concrete action by international actors working on Yemen.

view CARPO Report in English or Arabic

view printer-friendly version in English or Arabic

Allgemein, Bilkis Zabara, CARPO Reports, CARPO Sustainability Series, Publications, Research Cooperation on Peacebuilding in Yemen, Tobias Zumbrägel

Road to World Cup 2022 – Deconstructing the Multidimensional Nature of Sport Politics in the Gulf Monarchies

When: 30 November 2021, 14.00 – 16.30 (CET)

The Gulf region provides a whole bunch of examples of how leaderships strategically engage in global sports. For instance, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Saudi Arabia organize sports mega events such as the Formula One races and boxing fights. Additionally, Gulf state organizations are heavily involved in sport business through large-scale investments in the French football club Paris St. Germain by Qatar or British football clubs such as Manchester City and Newcastle United by the UAE and Saudi Arabia respectively. The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar is the most recent climax in a series of events and initiatives related to sport politics in which the Gulf Arab region has emerged as an international center of gravity.

Against this backdrop, CARPO’s second virtual Research Forum (CRF) looks at the multi-layered impact of sport politics in the Gulf region. Using a multidimensional perspective, we consider not only outward-oriented issues such as sportswashing or -branding but also its inward-oriented implications on state-society relations in times of socio-economic transformation.

Together with scholars from the Gulf region and Europe we will highlight some of these aspects: The political trend to use sport and sport events as a soft power measure and foreign policy instrument of development cooperation, for instance. On the societal level, guiding themes and questions include sport’s impact on national identity, culture, women empowerment, lifestyle, and activism among others.

Overall, the CRF wants to shed more light on the multidimensional role sport plays in the Gulf region by highlighting obstacles and grievances but also chances and opportunities of future social and political developments.

Improving Relations Between Central State Institutions and Local Authorities

Local councils are responsible for spearheading development projects and providing basic public services to Yemen’s population of more than 30 million people. The councils are particularly important in rural areas, where about 70 percent of Yemen’s population lives. In July 2018, the Rethinking Yemen’s Economy initiative published a White Paper that explored how the collapse of Yemen’s economy and the fragmentation of central government institutions during the war affected local councils. This new White Paper builds on those findings by examining how local governance has evolved in the intervening years, with a focus on the relationship between local authorities and the central governments in Sana’a and Aden.

Download the White Paper in English or Arabic

Allgemein, Other, Publications, Rethinking Yemen's Economy, RYE Publications

Brussels MENA Briefing: Lebanon at a Crossroads: Looming State Collapse and Prospects for External Engagement

March 17, 2021

On March 17, 2021 Stimson Europe and the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO) hosted their tenth Brussels MENA Briefing titled “Lebanon at Crossroads: Looming State Collapse and Prospects for External Engagement”, on the political, economic, and social crisis in Lebanon. This was the first Briefing hosted by the new Middle East and North Africa Program launched by the Stimson Center in March 2021, and located at Stimson’s new permanent presence in Brussels, Belgium. The Brussels MENA Briefings are a continuation of a series of discussion previously conducted by the EastWest Institute (EWI).

The Briefing started with an in-depth analysis of the current situation in Lebanon, with one speaker emphasizing the lack of progress in the investigation into the Beirut blast of August 4, 2020. This unprecedented, massive explosion led to at least 200 deaths and was caused by a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored in a port warehouse without proper safety measures. The speaker highlighted that the judge leading the investigation was dropped from the case in February 2021, after he had charged the caretaker prime-minister and three former ministers with negligence. The opaque investigation is seen as symptomatic of the country’s current predicament, namely lack of accountability of the ruling elite.

‘Broken People Can’t Heal a Nation.’ The Role of Arts in Peacebuilding in Yemen

by Yazeed al-Jeddawy, Maged al-Kholidy and Kate Nevens

This Report looks at how the arts and peacebuilding have historically intersected in Yemen, and how traditional arts are alive today and are being used to promote peace and war. It demonstrates the variety of ways in which the arts promote and educate on the values of peace, equality and cultural diversity while also being a tool for documenting life during war, telling untold stories and preserving collective memory. It also highlights the use of art for advocating against violence and human rights violations, for supporting the psychosocial wellbeing of traumatized people, and for rebuilding relationships in communities torn apart by the war. The Report concludes with recommendations for a number of different ways in which the arts can make a direct and indirect contribution to peacebuilding in Yemen.

view CARPO / YPC / YWBOD Report
view printer-friendly version

Allgemein, CARPO Reports, Kate Nevens, Maged al-Kholidy, Publications, Yazeed al-Jeddawy

New Project Launched: Global Autocratic Collaboration in Times of COVID-19

There is strong empirical evidence that COVID-19 acts as a booster for processes of global autocratization in which autocratic protagonists present themselves as more effective role modelsin fighting the pandemic than the ‘liberal script’ of Western societies. This project aims at explaining these corridors of autocratic collaboration based on the example of Sino-Gulf relations that challenge Europe’s and Germany’s international alliances andpartnerships. The project consists of two research blocs: Firstly, it deals with the traveling of autocratic practices and asks how global autocratic collaboration manifests itself in times of crises. Secondly, the project addresses questions of competition for China’s favor:How are regional actors competing in terms of their ‘special relations’ with China?

The project duration is from February 2021 until August 2022. If you want to get further information please contact the project manager Tobias Zumbrägel or visit the project website.

Allgemein

Brussels MENA Briefing: New Iraqi Government in Place: Challenges and Opportunities for Iraq in its Neighborhood

June 9, 2020

On June 9, the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO) and the EastWest Institute (EWI) hosted their fourth “Brussels MENA Briefing”—a series of afterwork briefings on the MENA region—focusing on challenges facing the new Iraqi government, as well as the role the European Union (EU) can play in supporting the new government in Baghdad.

Speakers included Sajad Jiyad, visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and former managing director of the Al-Bayan Center for Planning and Studies based in Baghdad, and Daniela Verena Huber, head of the Mediterranean and Middle East Program of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). EWI’s Vice President of the MENA program, Kawa Hassan, severed as moderator.

Allgemein, Desirée Custers, MENA Briefing

This website uses cookies