Issue No. 5 of Schlossplatz3, to appear in September 2008, will focus on “water”. To prepare the ground, Diana Dus, alumna from HSoG’s class of 2007, illuminates the prized and contested liquid from various perspectives. This time, she focuses on the hydrological cycle.

Using the thermal energy of the sun, water evaporates from the surface of the oceans, lakes and rivers. Since the gaseous water particles do not carry salt or any contaminants, this first step is both a desalinizing and purifying process. The clean water vapors attach to dust, sea salt crystals or bacteria forming droplets of water, which create different shapes of clouds and travel towards land, where, due to changes in pressure, they discharge and fall in form of rain, sleet, hail or snow. It is then gathered in lakes and rivers and transported towards the ocean.

There are other participants, namely plants and soil that contribute to this cycle. Plants also transpire some water into the athmosphere, and they have a significant role in keeping water in the soil. Through the system of their roots, the earth is able to retain more water, slowly recharging underground containers, called aquifers. Thus, water can stay underground, sometimes for thousands of years, before surfacing again.

Human activities in many points intersect with this cycle. Just to name a few from the many examples: air pollution creates acid rain from the otherwise pure water particles; cutting down forests leads to soil erosion and possible desertification, cities and constructed structures prevent water from recharging groundwater, and lead to greater runoff. These and other activities not only alter the quality, but also have some enormous effects on the quantity of water we receive.

In January a post on the election campaign in Hesse was published on this blog. Now, two and half months later the situation is even more complicated than ever. Attempts to build a left-wing coalition have failed while other constellations are politically not viable at this point in time. For this reason, on April 5^th the new Landtag constituted itself without electing a new Prime Minister. According to the Constitution of Hesse the existing Prime Minister, in this case Roland Koch from the Christian Democratic Union, and his cabinet have to resign but remain in office to manage the Land until a new Prime Minister is finally elected. So now there’s the tricky situation of an executive branch that lacks the support of the legislature. Legislative and executive branch are no longer dominated by the same party or coalition which must be seen as a challenge to the interplay of the two estates.

By Johannes Staemmler

People in the West do not care about democracy anymore. They are disenchanted, unaffected, and numb. Theory suggests two explanations for that: either people are too satisfied with their lives to be concerned with politics any longer. Or they have been disappointed too often by ineffective decision making. Whatever the diagnosis is – democracy needs citizens who make use of their rights.

Information technology now offers promising tools: e-government, e-voting, and e-participation. E-government is the humble attempt to deliver public services better. E-voting is harshly criticised for being manipulated easily. E-participation lastly has a great potential to make citizens ‘voice’ their concerns (Albert Hirschmann, Exit, Voice and Loyalty, 1970).

E-participation is electronically supported deliberation before formal decisions are taken. Web-based town hall meetings if you want.

The number of people is not a criterion any more not to include them. Especially for local projects with direct effect, administrations use these e-services to collect stakeholders’ ideas and discuss the impact of projects. For example, in Hamburg people raised heavy concerns against the “Living Bridge”, an architectural flagship project.

2.0 stand for participation, reflection, and voluntary effort. If politicians take citizens seriously they have to open this channel of communication. Internet users are still not representative of society but they are getting there. And they are willing to participate as long as administrations do not respond with intrusive surveillance methods.

Political theory and politicians have to deal with IT. Real people become active citizens again with the support of alternative media. So, use it or loose it! The next question is though: How can we develop real impact from virtual participation?

By Dia Dus, Hertie alumna, class of 2007
Chinese territory is home to one fifth of the world’s population, yet it has only 7 per cent of its water sources. Pollution, urbanization, poor treatment facilities and decreasing supply due to climate change only worsens the already bleak picture.

The central government of China often gives the impression that it will do anything within its power to provide its ailing water sources a chance to recover. For example, it recently established the new Ministry for the Environment and passed the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law ahead of the parliament’s annual session. Yet, it is reasonable to question whether these acts of goodwill will actually translate into real options for an environment strained under the greatest economic boom the world has ever seen. The duality of motivations runs deep in a country that until very recently favored “coordinated development” over a sustainable one?

For all its attempts to delay the water crisis looming on China’s horizon, Beijing faces systemic obstacles to its policy interventions. This is because the real power rests with the local governments. What do the signs given by the central government and the local agendas reveal about the severity of the water crisis facing the country? What is the world to expect in August 2008 behind the flashy headlines of the Beijing Olympic Games? And what are the measures that are necessary to avert a global environmental, food and security crisis?

The answer to these and many more questions related to the growing policy challenges surrounding sustainable water management constitute the theme of the next issue of Schlossplatz³. The ‘Water’ issue is due for publication at the beginning September 2008. In it you will find the rest of Dia Dus’ article on China’s water management paradox, as well as many other interesting articles and angles on the theme by accomplished writers from the public, private and civil society sectors. Stay tuned for more ‘teaser’ posts like these in the months to come.

This coming week could see a historic moment in Cyprus: namely the opening of a crossing point, the Ledra Street in Cyprus’ divided capital Nicosia. This might become an important step towards reunification of the divided country. Since the presidential elections in February, improving relations between the two communities of Greek Cypriots in the South and Turkish Cypriots in the North of the island have given new hope to finding a solution of the ‘Cyprus Problem’.

As an additional contribution to the last issue of Schlossplatz3 on cities, we are happy to post an article by Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UNHABITAT. In her piece “Homo Urbanus”, she outlines how urbanisation is changing politics and society and how cities can deal with the policy challenges and opportunities of the “urban millennium”.

Click here to read the full article.

When Slovenia took over the EU Council Presidency at the beginning of this year, the German weekly Die ZEIT titled: “Lummerland regiert die Welt” – “Morrowland rules the world.” Now, for those who do not know Michael Ende’s famous childrens’ book “Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver”, Marrowland is an island so small that it has just enough space for a palace, a king and three subjects, a train station and a locomotive named Emma. But one day, a strange package arrives on the island, triggering off a number of adventurous and wonderful events…

Is this comparison arrogant and offending? Interestingly, the Slovenians would probably laugh about it and say that it’s true. Marrowland rules the world - Slovenia is EU president. During her visit to HSoG last Tuesday, Dragoljuba Bencina, the Slovianian Ambassador to Germany, confirmed this congenial self-awareness of her country. “We are in the heart of Europe” the Ambassador concluded after briefly introducing Slovenia, which would fit into Bavaria three and a half times and which most people would be unable to distinguish from that other eastern European country starting with S… Ambassador Bencina is aware of the problem with Slovakia: “Once I have been asked why we do not simply change our name when it’s so confusing? Obviously we cannot do that. We are Slovenia. It’s our identity.”

Slovenia is the first post-communist country serving as EU president and not the least bit intimidated by the task. “If Luxemburg can do it – why shouldn’t we?” asks Ambassador Bencina and presents her country’s To-Do list: the ratification and implementation of the Lisbon treaty; launching the new Lisbon strategy cycle; moving forward to address climate change; strengthening the European perspective on the Western Balkans and promoting intercultural dialogue. Especially with respect to the Western Balkans, Slovenia hopes to make some progress because of the common Yugoslav experience and cultural understanding it has with its neighbours. After all, Slovenia is also the first Slavic country presiding the EU.

How does Slovenia master the big task? “If we continue to make it a normal and regular EU presidency, we consider it to be a success” says Ambassador Bencina. 1,200 public servants are currently working in Ljubljana and Brussels on that goal, with all the line ministries and experts closely cooperating. €62 million have been invested into the presidency.

The last months have been a busy time for Ambassador Bencina. Suddenly, Slovenia is in focus. “You probably wouldn’t have invited me if Slovenia were not EU president, would you?” she asks matter-of-factly. After the presidency, Ambassador Bencina hopes, more people will know about Slovenia and come to visit. After all, the country has unique specialties to offer: Lipizzaner from Lipica (although the Hungarians and Austrians might have a say in that), autochthon wine, the Carnolian Bee, and, not least, the ‘dual’ which is the grammatical mode for two persons – between singular and plural. This makes for especially nice love poetry according to the Ambassador. There surely also is an engine driver named Luke…Morrowland rules the world.

15 percent of Canadians would be willing to give up their vote in the next federal election for the right to vote in the US election, reports Jen Beckermann in her Berlin Brief. Who can blame them? If you are a rational democratic power maximizer - you want your vote to have the biggest potential influence on global politics - the US election probably would be your bet. War, oil, trade policy, climate change…just think about it!
Alternatively, if vote trading turns out to be difficult, you could engage in some funding. Not directly, of course since “foreign nationals are prohibited from making any contributions or expenditures in connection with any election in the US” . Well, you just have to know how. German firms for example have so far managed to channel 1.4 million USD into primary election campaigning. The mechanism: employees of German subsidiary firms donate as private citizens. Contributions are collected internally by a committee and then forwarded – 113,000 USD to Hillary Clinton, 98,000 USD to Barack Obama, 59,000 USD to John Edwards, 47,000 USD to Mitt Romney, 46,000 USD to John McCain, and, yes, 4,000 USD to Mike Huckabee (Source: Spiegel Online).

On Wednesday, February 6, the Schlossplatz³ team officially launched its fourth issue to a crowd of about 50 faculty, students, colleagues and friends gathered at the Hertie School of Governance’s luxurious campus cafe.

“I’m sure you’ll find the silver-gray cover appropriate, considering the issue is themed on cities,” quipped co-editor Tim Nover, who launched the ceremony, describing the contents of the magazine, naming some of its more noteworthy authors, and introducing its new Alumni section.

The crowd also heard from some of the writers whose work features in the magazine, and gave kudos to the non-authorial team behind the making of this semester’s issue.

Then, gleaning a more humorous glimpse of the kind of work that goes into such a publication, the crowd was entertained by Schlossplatz³ contributor Julie Ren’s anecdotal account of a chaotic, ten-minute interview she conducted with Sir Peter Hall in a car on the way to a conference.

Finally, as the last doughy pretzels disappeared and guests began to seek refills on their glasses, all were invited to grab a copy of the magazine and a Schlossplatz³ “toaster poster” - the explanation for which is found within the magazine’s pages - and to cast a vote for the next issue’s topic.

The next print issue of Schlossplatz³ will be released in September 2008.

After spending the last five months discussing topics, selecting authors, conducting interviews, editing, layouting, and printing, the Editorial Team is proud to announce the release of the fourth issue of Schlossplatz³.

Issue Four focuses on Cities and contains a load of interviews and articles looking at urban policy problems from São Paulo to Ulaanbaatar. Contributors include Saskia Sassen, Sir Peter Hall, Thilo Sarrazin, Jobst Fiedler and Benjamin Barber.

In order to celebrate the publication of Schlossplatz³ Issue Four, we would like to invite you to our Release Party this Wednesday, February 6th, 19:00 h, at the Hertie School of Governance. Asides from the possibility of getting your hand on a fresh copy of the magazine, guests will be able to enjoy a short talk about urban policy, snacks & drinks and a special surprise giveaway.

Please contact the editors if you are planning to attend or would like to order a copy of the new issue.

More information about the content will follow soon on this blog.