TY - RPRT A1 - Knudsen, Edward L. A1 - Anheier, Helmut K. A1 - Saraceno, Joseph C. T1 - Progress and Polarization in South Korea: Remarkable Economic Ascent Masks Lingering Fractures T2 - 2024 Berggruen Governance Index N2 - On December 3rd, 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol imposed martial law in what appeared to be an attempted coup, threatening the country’s hard-fought democracy. Although the attempt was unsuccessful and consequentially led to Yoon Suk-yeol’s removal from office, it exposed lingering challenges in a country that has been one of the century’s great democratic success stories. Using insights from the 2024 Berggruen Governance Index, we discuss South Korea’s remarkable success and trajectory, and the underlying fragilities in the country that pose threats to democratic stability and governance. Indeed, South Korea has made a remarkable transition from being a war-torn, impoverished, and autocratic nation to one of economic growth and impressive democratization. We find that South Korea consistently ranks very high in democratic accountability, public goods provision, and state capacity. Yet, emerging and ongoing challenges polarize the country. South Korea is in a precarious geopolitical situation with its rival neighbor North Korea, and continues to encounter issues such as gender polarization, economic inequality, and overwork. Moving forward, South Korea must grapple with these societal divisions and the legacy from its authoritarian past. Yet, it has one of the most highly educated societies in the world, a civically engaged population that will be key to protecting the remarkable democracy and economic success that it has already achieved. KW - Sociology Y1 - 2025 UR - https://ucla.app.box.com/s/3fj98wa8p9yptz0cerf2ssdfb8hohipt PB - UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs CY - Los Angeles ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Knudsen, Edward L. A1 - Anheier, Helmut K. A1 - Saraceno, Joseph C. T1 - Canada 2025: Governance Challenges Between Resource Reliance and Geopolitical Vulnerability T2 - 2024 Berggruen Governance Index N2 - Although it is wealthy by global standards, Canada’s economy faces key vulnerabilities such as excessive reliance on extractive industries, shortages of critical goods such as housing, and heavy dependence on exports to the US. For many years, the country has failed to address these systemic problems. Despite scoring highly on most measures of the Berggruen Governance Index (BGI), its performance has been uneven over the last decade. Indeed, while Canada is generally ahead of the United States in terms of governance performance, its scores for state capacity and democratic accountability trail those of many Western European peers. This parallels a broader disillusionment with Canada’s institutions, as public trust in government steadily declined during the 2010s. Addressing systemic challenges will require strident and courageous measures that aim to improve economic diversification and tackle regional inequality. Will the Liberal Party, which has neglected needed reforms for too long—and is now favored to win the elections in April—finally be up to the task? KW - Sociology Y1 - 2025 UR - https://ucla.app.box.com/s/5ospdh0cc7lcqg4uyh3shk90hqrx47od PB - UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs CY - Los Angeles ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Knudsen, Edward L. A1 - Anheier, Helmut K. A1 - Saraceno, Joseph C. T1 - ‘Lucky’ or Lacking? Economic Development and Political Institutions in Australia T2 - 2024 Berggruen Governance Index N2 - Ahead of an important federal election on May 3rd, Australia boasts some of the world’s most sophisticated political institutions and a wealthy economy. But does this veneer of success mask deeper structural issues? This report finds that, despite strong measures of GDP per capita and state capacity, Australia has long struggled to move its economy past a reliance on commodity exports—notably to China. At the same time, its democratic innovations such as compulsory electoral participation, early adoption of women’s suffrage, and preferential voting conceal a darker history of indigenous dispossession and racial discrimination. To move past these problems, Australia will have to leverage its impressive state capacity and strong educational system to develop a more advanced services sector and foster more complex manufacturing. Given the necessity of innovation clusters in its already-productive cities, this will also require addressing the severe housing crisis in state capitals and encouraging more migration and acceptance of minorities. Only with a more complex economy can Australia ensure future growth and reduce vulnerability to foreign powers like China and the US. KW - Sociology Y1 - 2025 UR - https://ucla.app.box.com/s/m0ngzapoaa18cb9gppv2jbiybvp4jgvv PB - UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs CY - Los Angeles ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Knudsen, Edward L. A1 - Anheier, Helmut K. A1 - Saraceno, Joseph C. T1 - Steadying the Democratic Ship — or Sinking it? Economic Stagnation and Political Dysfunction in Italy T2 - 2024 Berggruen Government Index N2 - The combination of a sclerotic economy and a volatile political climate has defined Italy for decades. With far-right leader Giorgia Meloni’s election as prime minister in September 2022, it remains to be seen whether the country can finally break this cycle. Although her government has overseen modest economic growth and relative political stability—and Meloni remains popular—her controversial constitutional reforms and the June 2025 referenda pose significant tests. Those votes, held alongside local elections, address both citizenship liberalization and stronger workers’ rights. While they will reveal public sentiment about the current government, neither can resolve Italy’s deeper, long-term problems. To do so, policymakers must tackle high regional disparities, extreme wealth and inheritance inequality, and persistently low productivity. Investments and reforms aimed at bringing Italy’s state capacity in line with its Western European peers are essential to address these structural issues. KW - Sociology Y1 - 2025 UR - https://ucla.app.box.com/s/21tt4jr2hvdk0d0qd4ofk25ark9ht65z PB - UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs CY - Los Angeles ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Knudsen, Edward L. A1 - Anheier, Helmut K. A1 - Saraceno, Joseph C. T1 - Economic Progress or Democratic Distress? Indonesia’s Governance Challenges T2 - 2024 Berggruen Government Index N2 - As the world’s third-largest democracy, with the largest Muslim population, and consisting of over 17,000 islands, Indonesia faces complex governance challenges. As indicated by the 2024 Berggruen Governance Index, the country reveals a decline in democratic accountability and stagnant state capacity, while its public goods provision has improved thanks to revenue from its extractive industries. Despite having experienced high economic growth in recent years, high levels of inequality linger, and significant regional discrepancies in living standards persist. Politically, authoritarian tendencies under President Prabowo Subianto threaten the fragile democratic gains of previous decades. To address this, Indonesia will have to continue its mostly successful economic policies while seeking to distribute gains more equitably and increase regional convergence through investments and decentralization. KW - Sociology Y1 - 2025 UR - https://ucla.app.box.com/s/ct8sff4xe5mjqsj92lstgfgct24a6h85 PB - UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs CY - Los Angeles ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Knudsen, Edward L. A1 - Anheier, Helmut K. A1 - Saraceno, Joseph C. T1 - A Remedy for 'Dutch Disease'? Natural Resources and Political-Economic Development in Norway. T2 - 2024 Berggruen Government Index N2 - Ahead of parliamentary elections on September 8th, what is the state of Norway’s democracy, government, and economy? For decades, Norway has defied paradoxical misfortunates of ample natural resources (“Dutch Disease”), instead investing its natural riches into building a highly representative political system and robust state. In order to investigate how Norway has defied the conventional “resource curse” narrative, this report— with evidence from the 2024 Berggruen Governance Index— explores the history of Norway and examines current political challenges that could threaten to disrupt its relatively secure and stable status quo. We find that Norway has built its success so through a combination of historical processes which facilitated early democratization, important cultural dynamics that link representation and modernization, and deliberate policy choices that channeled resource rents into long-term investments rather than short-term political gains. Although emerging social fractures could pose a risk to its fortunate situation, Norway’s wealth and strong institutions leave it in a better place to combat political dysfunction and economic stagnation than many other developed countries. KW - Sociology Y1 - 2025 UR - https://ucla.app.box.com/s/xq7sinef0iu0g4vet9hj6ysnwnrlbg1c PB - UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs CY - Los Angeles ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Knudsen, Edward L. A1 - Anheier, Helmut K. A1 - Saraceno, Joseph C. T1 - The Politics of Debt in Cameroon, Malawi, Ivory Coast, the Central African Republic, and Tanzania; the Politics of Debt T2 - 2024 Berggruen Government Index N2 - In 2025, Cameroon, Malawi, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and the Central African Republic held (or will hold) national elections. Across these cases, electoral processes were marked by accusations of fraud, political repression, and in some instances violent crackdowns, underscoring persistent weaknesses in democratic accountability and overall governance challenges. These political dynamics unfold within a broader postcolonial context of poverty, limited sovereignty, and heavy reliance on external financing. Despite these constraints, all five countries have recorded notable improvements in public goods provision since 2000, according to the Berggruen Governance Index (BGI). Although this reflects gains in areas such as infrastructure and social services, these advances have coincided with stagnation or decline in state capacity and democratic institutions. Rising public debt—driven by multilateral and Chinese lending—has enabled short-term development but increasingly constrains fiscal and political space. The report argues that without substantial improvements in state capacity, these countries risk remaining trapped in a vicious cycle of debt, weak governance, and political instability. KW - Sociology Y1 - 2025 UR - https://ucla.app.box.com/s/ylcjxxv22992583jau436ywcf0pd0584 PB - UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs CY - Los Angeles ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Anheier, Helmut K. A1 - Knudsen, Edward L. T1 - Dominanz ohne Hegemonie? Der neue Wettstreit um das Soft-Power-Vakuum der USA N2 - Mit der Umsetzung des Strategiepapiers Project 25 hat die zweite Trump-Re-gierung viele zentrale Elemente der Soft Power der USA zerschlagen. Seither nimmt die Soft Power des Landes stetig ab und hinterlässt ein Vakuum im Zentrum der globalen Kulturdiplomatie. Gleichzeitig setzen die USA ihre be-trächtliche wirtschaftliche und militärische Kraft ein, um Verbündete wie Rivalen gleichermaßen unter Druck zu setzen, indem sie international einen zunehmend transaktionalen bilateralen Ansatz verfolgen – Dominanz ohne kulturelle Hegemonie. Im Zuge dieser Entwicklung sehen sich Europa – und insbesondere Deutschland – mit einer Reihe grundlegender Fragen in dieser veränderten geopolitischen und geoökonomischen Landschaft konfrontiert. Sie könnten die Außenkulturpolitik (ECP) nutzen, um universalistische libe-ral-demokratische Prinzipien voranzutreiben, und dazu eine zukunftsgerich-tete Vision mit einem eigenständiges Narrativ entwickeln, das mit der eigenen wirtschaftlichen Gesamtleistung und Lebensqualität, mit technologischen Errungenschaften und einem stabilen Militärbündnis zu untermauern wäre. Doch ein derartiges Vorgehen verlangt drastische Entscheidungen und einen politischen Willen, der den künftigen Herausforderungen gerecht wird. Wenn es Europa und Deutschland nicht gelingt, diese Bewährungsproben zu meistern, werden sie, als Mittelmächte, zunehmend zum Spielball der USA und Chinas. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.17901/1588 PB - ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen e.V.) CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Knudsen, Edward L. A1 - Anheier, Helmut K. A1 - Saraceno, Joseph C. T1 - Germany 2025: The Slow Decline in Governance Performance Erupts Into Crisis of Government as Geopolitics Worsen N2 - This report examines the decline of Germany’s economic and political stability over the past decade, emphasizing how structural challenges have eroded the country’s once-sterling reputation for success and good governance. Although Germany was lauded throughout the 2010s for its robust economy and political cohesion under Chancellor Angela Merkel, recent developments—including a stagnating export sector, rising inequality, and political fragmentation—have sparked growing concerns. Drawing on data from the Berggruen Governance Index (BGI), the report shows that Germany’s scores in democratic accountability, state capacity, and public goods provision, while still high by global standards, have gradually but consistently deteriorated since 2011. Building on these findings, the paper identifies four core drivers of this decline: inadequate investment in infrastructure, backlash against migration, foreign policy vulnerabilities, and the broader impact of the recent economic downturn. The report then connects these developments to the upcoming February 2025 elections, examining how Germany’s governance and political-economic trends are likely to influence electoral behavior and shape the policy choices available to a likely CDU-led government. Y1 - 2025 UR - https://ucla.app.box.com/s/214e7tn60c0z2z4h549fvvwsq26tnubq PB - UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs CY - Los Angeles ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Toepler, Stefan A1 - Anheier, Helmut K. ED - Bassi, Andrea ED - Aquino Alves, Mario ED - Cordery, Carolyn T1 - Third-Sector Research: Ubi eras, Quo vadis? T2 - The Future of Third Sector Research: From Theory to Definitions, Classifications and Aggregation Towards New Research Paths N2 - Third Sector, or nonprofit, research has made tremendous strides since the field's inception half a century ago in the context of developed liberal market economies. In the US, an interdisciplinary group of social scientists started to form in the early 1970s that was originally primarily concerned with local voluntary initiatives, self-help and other grassroots amateur groups, or what David Horton Smith (Smith, 2016) later referred to as voluntaristics. Subsequent economic theorizing (cf. Hansmann, 1987) pushed research agendas towards examinations of more formal nonprofit organizations. In Europe, related, yet different, research traditions at the time focused on associational life, cooperative and communal economics, and the social economy, encompassing a variety of cooperative and mutual enterprises. By contrast, in the countries of the Global South, where colonial legal frameworks were superimposed on indigenous legal systems, organizational forms and cultures, remained outside the focus of these initial efforts. Y1 - 2025 SN - 9783031678967 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-67896-7_20 SP - 229 EP - 248 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER -