Quadriga: The International Talk Show
DW-TV´s international talk show with four journalists discussing the week´s top international issue.
Visit Show Website http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,729...Recently Aired
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Quadriga: African migration - tackling the causes
More migrants than ever before have died trying to reach ...
More migrants than ever before have died trying to reach Europe this year. They are fleeing war, dictatorship and poverty. But the exodus of young, often better educated people is only exacerbating the African continent's problems. The EU plans to step up border patrols in response to the new wave of migration. But can Europe also help combat the root causes of migration in Africa? It's mostly not the poorest of the poor who embark on the perilous journey across Africa to Europe. Many of the migrants who pay traffickers thousands of euros for passage across the Mediterranean on overcrowded and unsafe boats are young and educated. Despite these relative advantages they can see no perspective for themselves in their countries of origin. Corrupt elites get rich on the backs of a majority plagued by unemployment and poverty. Elsewhere people are fleeing from disintegrating states, brutal dictatorships and civil wars in countries like Somalia, Eritrea and Syria The European Union bears some responsibility for the economic frailty, political instability and conflict that is causing the current migration flows. Subsidies for EU agricultural products have destroyed local markets in Africa, while customs duties create a barrier to African products selling in European markets. The policies of western states have promoted some of the conditions at the root of refugee movements: Disintegrating states and civil wars. For decades EU foreign policy supported dictatorships in Africa. Their collapse has exposed deeply divided societies, poverty and religious fanaticism. Interventions, like those supported by European powers in Lybia and Iraq, have left behind failed states in which the rise of Islamic State terrorism has caused many people to take flight. How does EU policy towards Africa and the Middle East need to change to stem mass migration and to restore people's faith in a secure and prosperous future for themselves in their homelands? Our guests: Ines Pohl -is the Editor in Chief of the Berliner Tageszeitung (taz). After graduating from Göttingen University having majored in German and Scandinavian Studies, she took a job there as officer for women’s issues at the university’s Philosophy department. During her time there, she started working as a freelance broadcast and print journalist. She then moved on to the Hessichen/Niedersächsischen Allgemeinen newspapers were she headed the politics desk. She interrupted her term there to go to Harvard on a fellowship from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism. In 2009 she was named „Newcomer of the year“ by Medium-Magazine. Since 2010 Ines Pohl has also served on the board of trustees of „Reporters without Boarders“. Alan Posener- was born in London and grew up in Kuala Lumpur and West - Berlin. A teacher by training, he quit school to become a freelance author and journalist. He worked as an editor and author for the German newspaper “Die Welt” and was chief of commentary for "Welt am Sonntag". At the present, he contributes to a variety of media, among them the debate magazine The European. Posener is the author of several critically acclaimed books, among them biographies of the American idols John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Elvis Presley. Mekonnen Mesghena -was born in Eritrea and studied Political Science and Journalism. When he came to Germany in 1988 he did a traineeship at Westdeutschen Rundfunk radio station in Cologne. He went on to work for a number of newspapers. In 1990 he returned to Eritrea where he helped restructure a radio station known as "Voice of the Eritrean Masses". Today he works for the Heinrich Boll Foundation in Berlin where he heads the Department of Migration and Diversity and is involved in media policy.
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Quadriga: Mediterranean mass grave - is EU to blame?
The latest migrant boat tragedies have resulted in more than ...
The latest migrant boat tragedies have resulted in more than one thousand deaths in just one week. Those who died were fleeing from war, terror and economic deprivation. Many face such a desperate situation in their home countries that they are willing to risk death in order to reach Europe. Can the EU help these refugees? Does it even want to? Or is it determined to keep the migrants out? Critics say the EU, which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012, has a hypocritical stance and is guilty of a criminal failure to provide assistance. The EU has a responsibility even if the root causes of the migration lie in Africa and need to be tackled in Syria, Eritrea, Libya and elsewhere. The EU has responded with a ten-point plan of action and the promise of more assistance. But should there be more possibilities for those seeking help to come to Europe legally? Italy, where many of the victims are washed up on the shoreline, feels the EU has left it alone with the problem. But pressure on the EU is now such that it knows it will no longer suffice to simply repeat that something needs to happen. Europe needs to help stabilize African countries in crisis, combat human traffickers who profit from the desperate situations of others, and to organize the reception of migrants and see that they are distributed across the EU. The EU has now accepted the necessity for such measures. But refugees also need a chance to build a better future for themselves. Too often they are simply stuck in camps where they can face hostility from the local population. What is the key to a successful refugee policy? What can Europe do? Is the EU solely responsible, or even guilty, in connection with these deaths? Tell us what you think: quadriga(at)dw.de Our guests: Johannes Leithäuser - is a historian, political scientist and an economist. As a student, he freelanced for a number of newspapers, before eventually taking a job with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He's been there ever since. Fifteen years ago he joined the paper's Berlin bureau as its East German correspondent. He also served as a correspondent in London for several years. Today, his areas of expertise include domestic politics, as well as European and foreign affairs. Daniel Gerlach – He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Zenith, a German magazine focusing on politics, economics and culture in the Middle East. After studying history and Middle Eastern Studies in Hamburg and Paris, he started as a freelance journalist. He is the author for several TV-documentations on the Middle East and the Islamic world. He is also a co-founder of the German publishing house Levante Verlag. Houssam Aldeen - is a Syrian journalist who has been living since the end of 2012 in exile in Berlin. In his home country he worked as a theater director and as a documentary filmmaker. Working with film crews from Western countries, he made documentaries about social problems in Syria, in particular the difficulties faced by Iraqi refugees. He was arrested five times by the Syrian authorities, and was eventually only able to work in secret, before he fled abroad. Now he is working for a refugee project with Reporters Without Borders. Together with two friends, he also founded a cultural center where he acts as a liaison between refugees and the German community.
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Quadriga: Modi-fied India - the new superpower?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been drumming up trade ...
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been drumming up trade in Germany and many analysts are predicting the second most populous country in the world could be the next superpower. But does India really have what it takes to catch up with China or even overtake it? The population and the economy are already growing faster than its big Asian competitor. But for the time being at least India remains a country of deep disparities. Extreme poverty and unimaginable wealth often live side by side in India. Sixty percent of the population still work in the agriculture sector but there is a growing affluent middle class. Prime Minister Modi has ambitious plans. He wants to make India an important part of the global industrial network and aims to increase the industrial sector share of GDP from the current 15% to 25%. Infrastructure project expenditure in the budget for the next five years is set to increase by 47% while corporate tax is reduced by 25% over four years. Analysts say Modi is already firmly on a path that will make him a major reformer of the Indian economy. But India still has an image problem. The infrastructure across the land is in a parlous state. Many western companies see India as a difficult market – not least due to its infamous bureaucracy. In a World Bank assessment of 189 countries according to ease of doing business India is ranked 142nd. Germany may be India’s most important trading partner in Europe, but for Germany trade with India lags far behind China. Last year the volume of trade between the two countries actually fell. Worldwide media focus on the problem of an endemic rape culture in India has damaged the country’s image. Modi’s role in an anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat state in 2002 when he was chief minister there also remains controversial. Is the self-avowed Hindu nationalist the right person to lead the world’s biggest democracy into the modern age and make it into an economic superpower? Tell us what you think: quadriga@dw.de Our guests: Thomas Matussek - a lawyer by training, he is a former German ambassador to the UK, the UN and most recently to India. Since that last diplomatic posting, he has worked as the Head of Public Affairs for Deutsche Bank, and is currently the Managing Director of its international forum, the Alfred Herrhausen Society. Christian Wagner - a leading expert on southeast Asian affairs. He studied and later worked as a lecturer at the University of Freiburg. In 1994, he moved to Berlin as a research fellow at the Center for Modern Oriental Studies. Following further academic posts in Rostock and Bonn, Wagner returned to Berlin in 2002. He now works for the German Insitute for International and Security Affairs, where he's the Head of Research for Asia. His areas of expertise include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. Ramesh Jaura - born in India, he began his career as a journalist in 1964. He then moved to Germany where he worked as a journalist and global affairs observer combining professional pursuits with creating public awareness about the global dimensions of local, national and regional challenges confronting humankind, and increasingly focussing on the need for fostering culture of peace. He has worked for several years as international correspndent of Inter Press Service. Since 2009, he serves as global editor of the Globalom Medai group's IDN-InDepthNews, South Asian Outlook e-monthly and Global Perspectives, a magazine for international cooperation.
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Quadriga: Refugees in Germany - Angst on both Sides
The arson attack on accommodation planned for asylum seekers is ...
The arson attack on accommodation planned for asylum seekers is the latest escalation in tensions in the small town of Tröglitz. Its residents and neo-Nazis have been demonstrating against the planned housing of 40 refugees there for months. The mayor has resigned after receiving death threats. But, extreme as it is, the conflict over the refugee housing in Tröglitz isn’t unique. The number of people seeking asylum in Germany has increased significantly in recent years. Wars such as those in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are forcing more and more people to leave their homes. Some 100,000 asylum applications were filed in 2013 - 70% more than last year. Germany has managed to deal with large numbers of refugees before, such as during the Yugoslav wars of the early 1990s. Nevertheless, politicians from different parties are trying to exploit the issue. The neo-Nazi NPD, which has been in decline for some time, is often at the forefront of protests against plans to build homes for refugees. Antipathy towards asylum seekers often turns into violence, a trend that has also increased in recent years. The police say they registered some 150 attacks on refugee homes in Germany last year. Many fear a return to the pogrom-like riots of the early 1990s. But asylum seekers are not just meeting with rejection - far from it. Throughout Germany, countless groups support refugees upon their arrival and many initiatives are working to combat xenophobia. In Tröglitz too, some citizens are unhappy that their village has been labeled xenophobic and are committed to welcoming the newcomers. But Mayor Markus Nierth resigned at the beginning of March after right-wing extremists threatened him and his family over the asylum seekers. District chief executive Götz Ulrich also received death threats in the wake of the fire. Is Tröglitz just an extreme individual case or there is a risk of escalation in other places too? What can society do to avoid situations similar to that in Tröglitz? What responsibility does the EU's policy on refugees bear for the current tensions? Tell us what you think: quadriga(at)dw.de Our guests: Mekonnen Mesghena – was born in Eritrea and studied Political Science and Journalism. When he came to Germany in 1988 he did a traineeship at Westdeutschen Rundfunk radio station in Cologne. He went on to work for a number of newspapers. In 1990 he returned to Eritrea where he helped restructure a radio station known as "Voice of the Eritrean Masses". Today he works for the Heinrich Boll Foundation in Berlin where he heads the Department of Migration and Diversity and is involved in media policy. Christian Jakob – is an editor of the German newspaper taz and responsible for the front page topics. Previously, he worked in the taz´ office in Bremen and carried out some practices in the newspaper La Jornada of Mexico City. His reporting focuses on the issues of migration and North-South relations. In his first book “Ethnic Cleansing” he describes the expulsion of the lower class in New Orleans after the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. He has also been part of the publication ”Europe sealed tight.'' Judy Dempsey – after training as a journalist in Ireland, Ms Dempsey embarked on an international career: From the 1980s to early 1990s she reported from Eastern Europe. In 1996 she took over the Financial Times' bureau in Jerusalem where she remained until 2001. Judy Dempsey has won numerous awards for her work, including the Anglo-German Prize and the Foreign Press Association Award. She was a Columnist for the International Herald Tribune and works now as a Senior Associate at Carnegie Europe and editor-in-chief of Strategic Europe.
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Quadriga: Mideast Turmoil: The Struggle for Dominance
Tensions remain high around the Middle East. Civil wars, rebellions ...
Tensions remain high around the Middle East. Civil wars, rebellions and the horrors of the Islamic State have upended the old balance of power. Syria, Libya and Iraq seem on the brink of collapse. In Yemen the traditional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia over regional dominance has broken into the open. Western powers for their part are trying to avoid getting dragged into the fray. The US, EU, Russia and China want to protect their interests in the Middle East. But they are trying hard to avoid direct intervention. Instead of major ground operations like in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are limiting themselves to providing supplies and training to local forces. The US for instance has given its backing to Saudi Arabia in the fight in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. But in Iraq the US and Iran are cooperating in the battle against the Islamic State. Long-established alliances and enmities are being questioned. While ties between the US and Iran have improved during the nuclear talks, that development has been taken as a slap in the face by long-time US allies Israel and Saudi Arabia. National borders are dissolving amid civil wars and the Islamic State’s expanding sphere of influence. In their stead, new quasi-states are taking shape under the leadership of IS. Yemen is the most recent example of a state where the old authoritarian elites have lost power, and the country threatens to split apart. Regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia are trying to profit from this uncertain situation and consolidate their power. Is the entire Middle East on the road to collapse, or is there still hope for stabilization? Mideast Turmoil: The Struggle for Dominance Tell us what you think: Quadriga[at]dw.de Our guests: Amir Musawy – is the Berlin Bureau Chief of the Iraqi TV channel Al-Iraquia TV. He studied media and political science in Bonn, Germany, and has reported for Associated Press in London. He has worked for the Iraqi foreign ministry and several NGOs in his capacity as a political scientist and media consultant. Musawy is theco-author of the documentary film “Bureaucracy of Terror — An Inside Look at the Islamic State”. Adnan Tabatabai– is a Berlin-based political analyst on Iranian affairs. He writes analyses and commentaries on Iran for German and English media outlets and works as a consultant for the German Foreign Ministry. Tabatabai holds a lectureship at the Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf and is an associated researcher for a project titled “Peaceful Change and Violent Conflict—the Transformation of the Middle East and Western-Muslim relations.” He is also the co-founder and CEO of the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO). Alan Posener– was born in London and grew up in Kuala Lumpur and West - Berlin. A teacher by training, he quit school to become a freelance author and journalist. He worked as an editor and author for the German newspaper “Die Welt” and was chief of commentary for "Welt am Sonntag". At the present, he contributes to a variety of media, among them the debate magazine The European. Posener is the author of several critically acclaimed books, among them biographies of the American idols John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Elvis Presley.
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Quadriga: Nigeria votes: In the shadow of Boko Haram
Nigeria's Presidential election is culminating in a tight race to ...
Nigeria's Presidential election is culminating in a tight race to the line between incumbent Goodluck Jonathan and challenger Muhammadu Buhari. Nigerian society is deeply divided. Poverty and corruption is widespread and the country has been shaken by a violent conflict with the jihadist terror organization Boko Haram. There are fears of renewed violence as the election approaches. Earlier this year President Jonathan postponed the election, originally scheduled for February, to the end of March citing what he called security concerns. With the support of neighboring countries the government recently launched a military offensive against Boko Haram. But so far the results have been modest and have not reduced the terror organization's ability to carry out deadly attacks across the country. Many Nigerians are critical of Jonathan saying for not responding forcefully enough to the Boko Haram threat and doing little to counter poverty and corruption. The predominantly Muslim north of the country where Boko Haram has its roots is extremely poor, state structures function badly if they exist at all. The more Christian south, where President Jonathan has his home base, has profited more from Nigeria's rich oil reserves. The people in the north say they have been neglected by central government. The muslim challenger Mohammadu Buhari has been campaigning on a promise to fight poverty, violence and corruption. He's counting on strong support in the north. Many voters believe Buhari who is a retired Major General would fight Boko Haram more effectively. The seventy-two year old led the country as dictator between 1983 and 1985 but lost out to Jonathan at the last democratic election in 2011. Whoever wins the election it will be a severe test for Nigerian democracy. Observers fear that a narrow election victory could lead to flare-up in violence across the country. Tell us what you think: quadriga(at)dw.de Our guests: John Emeka Akude – studied International Relations in his home country, Nigeria, before moving to Germany to study at the University of Cologne. He has lectured at the Institute for African Studies at the University of Cologne and was an advisor at Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Until recently, he was a researcher at the German Development institute where his focus is on conflict and conflict management in Africa as well as Africa’s role in international relations. He now works as an independent political consultant. Robert Kappel – is Emeritus President and Senior Research Fellow at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg. His research currently focuses on power, norms and governance in international relations, as well as on socio-economic developments stemming from globalisation. His most recent published work is on Boko Haram and the crisis in Nigeria. Bettina Gaus - is a political correspondent for the German daily newspaper "taz." After studying political science she attended the German School of Journalism (DJS) in Munich and worked as a free-lance journalist, later reporting from Nairobi about East and Central Africa. From 1996 to 1999 she headed the parliamentary office of the "taz." Bettina Gaus has written several books, most recently a work about Africa's middle class.
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Quadriga: Syrian Future - A Role for Assad?
4 years of civil war in Syria and no end ...
4 years of civil war in Syria and no end in sight: It is estimated that more than 220 thousand people have been killed in the conflict and almost half the population has been displaced. In the search for a solution to the conflict it now seems the US may be ready to compromise: US Secretary of State John Kerry has intimated that there could be a place for President Bashar Al-Assad at peace talks. In the past the US and other western countries had insisted Assad could play no role in the future of Syria. But Kerry's recent comments could be taken to indicate a cautious change in thinking. Last week Kerry said, "We have to negotiate in the end". The US government has so far - despite pressure from Republican hawks - rejected a military intervention in Syria. The Obama administration seems to have reached the conclusion that, despite Syria's human rights record, a political solution is not possible without including Assad and his Iranian allies. Syrian human rights organizations estimate there may be as many as 450 thousand people in the regime's prisons. The Syrian opposition, as well as Britain and France, reject the US initiative. Concerns about further advances of Islamic State in the region seem to have swayed the US to see Assad as the lesser of two evils given the risk that deposing the current regime could create another "failed state" and a new opportunity for IS expansion. America's most important allies in the region - Israel and Saudi Arabia - are also irritated by the apparent shift in strategy. They worry that the nuclear talks with Iran now entering their final phase could tip the regional balance of power in Teheran's favor. Kerry's latest comments are seen as breaking a long-held taboo. Will his public suggestion that a solution in Syria is not possible without Assad bring the Syrian dictator back into the bloody struggle for power? And what will this mean for the balance of power in the region? Syrian Future - A Role for Assad? Tell us what you think: Quadriga[at]dw.de Our guests: Fawaz Tello - is part of Syria's secular opposition movement. He has been living in exile in Germany since 2012. Before that, he was a member of the Damascus Spring Movement. As a result of his political activities he was imprisoned by the Assad regime from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of the National Dialog Forum the most powerful liberal grouping, and assisted in establishing the National Council of the Damascus Declaration, the most extended movement inside Syria set up to advocate reform of the Syrian political system. He resigned from the Syrian National Council, criticising its lack of democratic reforms and disunity. Kristin Helberg- was a freelance correspondent in Syria from 2001 to 2009. She worked for various radio stations such as ARD and ORF, as well as for German newspapers. In 2009 she returned to Germany and lives in Berlin where she works as a freelance journalist. Her main emphasis still focuses on the Middle East. She travels and reports from there regularly. Andrew B. Denison - isthe director of Transatlantic Networks, a research consortium based in Königswinter, Germany. His main emphasis lies on international and domestic security policy focusing particularly on the Obama administration.
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Quadriga: Head-to-Head: Will Israel Vote Change?
In the final stages before the March 17 parliamentary election ...
In the final stages before the March 17 parliamentary election in Israel the opposition is mobilizing against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The center-left alliance Zionist Union says its time to lead Israel out of its international isolation. Thousands of Israelis have been demonstrating for political change and reconciliation with the Palestinians, expressing hope for a two state solution. Labor Party head Isaac Herzog is the man who aims to replace Netanyahu in the country's top job. Former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of the Hatnua Party says Israel needs a leader who can do more than just spread fear. Together their electoral alliance hopes to bring about a change in government. Meir Dagan, a former head of Israel's foreign intelligence service Mossad, has also entered the fray, saying that Israel is currently experiencing the most serious leadership crisis in its history. Israel's relationship with its most important partner the US, is seriously strained, and not only by Netanyahu's speech to the US congress at the invitation of the Republicans. Netanyahu rejects the notion of any deal with Iran on its nuclear program. Likud Party boss Netanyahu also caused a stir in Europe when he called on Jewish Europeans to move to Israel in the wake of terror attacks targeting Jews. Netanyahu aims to score points with conservative hardliners and settlers by warning of a threat from radical Islam and terrorist organisations supported by Iran. Will his policy of maintaining the status quo be successful once more? Does Israel need a serious initiative to transform the region? Netanyahu is also under pressure on domestic issues: a housing crisis, the growing gap between rich and poor, and renewed debate on how to create a better future for Israel. Head-to-Head: Will Israel Vote Change? Tell us what you think: Quadriga[at]dw.de Our guests: Malte Lehming– is theeditor of the opinion page of "Der Tagesspiegel", he was the paper's Washington Bureau Chief from January 2001 to July 2005. Lehming joined "Der Tagesspiegel” in 1991 as a foreign editor, covering security issues, transatlantic relations and the Middle East. From 1989 to 1991, he served as personal assistant and speechwriter for the former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Lehming completed an MA in philosophy, German Literature and European History. Rafael Seligmann – is a German-Israeli writer, publicist, political scientist and historian. In 1957, Seligmann and his parents emigrated from Israel to Germany. He studied political science and history in Munich and Tel Aviv and wrote a doctoral thesis in 1982 on the subject of Israel’s security policy. Since 1978, Seligmann has been writing essays, commentary and columns for many German publications. In early 2012, Seligmann set up "Jewish Voice from Germany. Judy Dempsey– after training as a journalist in Ireland, Ms Dempsey embarked on an international career: From the 1980s to early 1990s she reported from Eastern Europe. In 1996 she took over the Financial Times' bureau in Jerusalemwhere she remained until 2001. Judy Dempsey has won numerous awards for her work, including the Anglo-German Prize and the Foreign Press Association Award. She was a Columnist for the International Herald Tribune and works now as a Senior Associate at Carnegie Europe and editor-in-chief of Strategic Europe.
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Quadriga: Russia - Climate of Fear?
Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was ...
Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead on a Moscow street last week. Political opponents in Russia know they are living dangerously. Russian propaganda suppresses contradictory statements and many say the country is ruled by insecurity, suspicion and fear. Is Nemtsov’s assassination symbolic of troubling political developments? The people of Russia seem to be split into two irreconcilable camps, Putin supporters and his critics. Independent media are almost non-existent in Russia, making it hard for people to form their own political opinions. Critics say the Kremlin is trying to establish a political climate in which people believe anything is possible and are therefore open to wild conspiracy theories. The fact remains: demonstrators are arrested and taken into custody by the Russian police and Putin opponents receive jail sentences in dubious trials. There has been a series of unsolved murders of government opponents, including journalist Natalya Estemirova and Anna Politkovskaya. Were the shootings commissioned by the Kremlin? Could Putin benefit from his critics’ deaths? Or are these murders carried out by forces seeking to destabilize the Russian establishment? Perhaps by political extremists who are creating a climate of fear to suit their own means? Are conflicts being instrumentalized to secure power? And how does this bode for Russian society? Tell us what you think: quadriga(at)dw.de Our guests: Christian F. Trippe - is a Special Correspondent for Deutsche Welle, reporting regularly from Moscow. He was head of DW’s Moscow bureau between 2002 and 2007. He has been with DW since 1993, including stints as head of bureau in Brussels and Berlin. Anton Troianovski - is a US-american journalist of Russian Origin. He works as correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. Anton Troianovski is regularly visiting Ukraine and Russia. Before moving to Germany he worked for the newspaper from New York and Washington. He also has reported from Moscow for The Washington Post and The Associated Press. Anthony Paterson - He began his career as a journalist in London and has worked as a foreign correspondent from Paris, Warsaw, Vienna and Berlin. He covered the rise of the Solidarity trade union in Poland for the American news agency UPI and the fall of the Berlin Wall for the BBC. He is now the Berlin correspondent for the London daily newspaper The Independent.
