Commission
A Changing World – Germany and the Global South
Chair Kramp-Karrenbauer: "We need a change of perspective in German politics."
Commission: A Changing World – Germany and the Global South
September 10, 2024
The countries of the Global South are disproportionately affected by current crises such as climate change, migration, and geopolitical tensions. At the same time, they are increasingly important because of their demographics, natural resources and role in new technologies. While the Western way of life remains attractive, these countries are becoming selective about the issues on which they align themselves with the West. A new international order is emerging and has yet to be defined. As the world’s third largest economy, an exporting nation and a major donor of development funds, Germany must find constructive solutions.
The Expert Commission initiated and coordinated by Global Perspectives Initiative is set out to develop action recommendations for Germany’s partnership with the Global South in the midst of geopolitical shifts. The Commission, chaired by the former Federal Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, will draw up the plan in time for the 2025 federal elections.
Inaugural Meeting of the Commission "A Changing World – Germany and the Global South"
Commission Members
From 2019-2021 she served as Federal Minister of Defense after she first became Secretary General of the CDU in 2018 and later its party chair. Prior she was Prime Minister of Saarland from 2011-2018, simultaneously serving as Minister of Justice, and from 2012 on, Minister of Science. She also served as Saarland Minister of the Interior and Minister of Education in 2007 and as Minister of Labor in 2009. In 2021, she handed over the CDU party chairmanship and renounced her seat in the Bundestag.
Director and Chief Economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor at the Technical University of Berlin and Founding Director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change. In January 2021, he was appointed by Pope Francis as advisor to the Dicastery for Integral Human Development. Since April 2022, Edenhofer has chaired the European Advisory Board on Climate Change, which was newly established by the EU.
From 1998 to 2005 Joschka Fischer served as Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Vice-Chancellor of Germany. Later he became a visiting professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and supported the creation of the Spinelli Group, an initiative to reinvigorate efforts to federalize the EU. Now serving as a senior strategic counsel, he advises on foreign policy issues at the Albright Stonebridge Group and is a founding partner of Joschka Fischer and Company.
Head of Transition Finance Advisory at SLR Consulting, where she works at the intersection of critical commodity sourcing, green transition and sustainable finance. She has over 15 years of experience in the extractive sector and has worked in Africa and Asia, including DR Congo, Nigeria, Tanzania, Indonesia and China on global trade structures, supply chains, circular economy, labor standards and human rights.
Since April 2022 he is Executive Director of the World Bank Group for Germany and serves as a member of the World Bank’s Committee on Development Effectiveness and the Budget Committee. Before joining the World Bank Board, Michael Krake held senior positions at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). From 1999 to 2002 he was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Michael Krake has more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sector.
Senior Advisor and Non-Executive Director at Boston Consulting Group. She was CHRO and a member of the Management Board of Siemens AG. Janina Kugel is multi-supervisory board member, including TUI AG and the start-up Seatti, as well as Co-Chair of the BDA Digital Council. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Technical University of Munich, the International Advisory Board of IESE Business School and the Global Navigation Board of the University of Tokyo and sits on the Board of LaMP.
Since 2016 Prof. Dr. Christine Langenfeld has been a Judge in the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court. From 2012-2016, she was the Chair of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration. She was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the University of Vienna from 2014-2019. Since June 2021, she belongs to the Board of Trustees of the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin and is a member of the Senate of the Austrian Academy of Sciences since 2022.
He served as German Ambassador to India from 2019 to 2022, after being the Ambassador to Kenya, Somalia, Venezuela and South Africa, among other places. Prior, he was Embassy Counselor at the United Nations in New York. Under Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joschka Fischer, he was Press Spokesman and served as State Secretary under Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sigmar Gabriel. His book “Der alte Westen und der neue Süden”, co-authored with Heike Wolter, was published in March 2024.
Since 2020 Dr. Stefan Mair has been Director and Managing Chairman of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). Previously, he was a member of the Executive Board of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) from 2010-2020, after working as Research Director at SWP from 2007-2009. His areas of expertise include foreign and security policy challenges facing Germany and the EU, geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics as well as trade and foreign economic policy.
Topic
As renowned personalities in their respective fields, the commission members bring different areas of expertise to the work of the commission. In their inaugural meeting, they agreed on four key topics: Economy, Migration and Skilled Labor, Climate and Environment, as well as Geopolitics and Development.
Structure
The Commission meets every two months to develop recommendations for action and impulses for the realignment of Germany’s relations with the Global South. The first meeting took place in June 2024.
Methodology
A central component of the commission’s work is the integration of perspectives and voices from countries of the Global South. To this end, extensive discussions are held with international experts on the respective topic areas prior to the individual meetings.
Objective
The final report planned for spring 2025 is intended to provide impulses for shaping Germany’s relations with countries in the Global South and to serve as a guide for political decision-makers in the federal election on the future international engagement of Germany in a multipolar world.
To coincide with the launch of the Commission, Global Perspectives published the White Paper “Germany and the New South: Voices, Insights, Expectations”. Based on interviews, it presents the perspectives of experts from the Global South on Germany and their demands for future cooperation. “This publication underlines the urgency of our work. We need to think beyond budgets and responsibilities and engage in a deeper discourse about how to reshape our relationship with the Global South,” says Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Contact Persons
Gregor Darmer, g.darmer@globalperspectives.org
Sarah van Bentum, s.vanbentum@globalperspectives.org
Commission
The final report, due in spring 2025, is intended to provide impetus for the future of Germany's partnerships with countries in the Global South. It will serve as a guide for political decision-makers in the Bundestag elections on Germany's future international engagement in a multipolar world.
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