False neutrality
Frans Bieckmann | 06 March 2025The uprising in North Africa and the Middle East calls for a thorough rethinking of the European Union's and its member states' policies towards the region. Europe’s reaction to the recent events in its backyard has been slow, ambivalent and witho...
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West is least cosmopolitan
Frans Bieckmann | 17 February 2025In one of his last blog posts, Duncan Green pointed to Martin Jacques' fascinating TED talk : Understanding the rise of China, which offers some confrontational and thought-provoking glimpses of China and its future role in the world.China will be...
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Editorial: Reshuffling Power
Frans Bieckmann | February 11, 2025Globalization has blurred the distinction between internal and external affairs. This is equally true for both developing countries and richer countries. Moreover, it could result in a profound reshuffling of administrative power relations within...
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Breng Nederlandse belangen in de wereld in kaart
Frans Bieckmann | 02 December 2024Ontwikkelingsorganisaties en oppositiepartijen zetten zich af tegen de bezuinigen die zijn aangekondigd door staatssecretaris Ben Knapen. Terecht maken zij zich zorgen over de voornemens van dit kabinet het budget te korten en de belangen van het...
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Aan het buitenland gehecht – een korte gids
Frans Bieckmann | November 30, 2024Op dinsdag 30 november 2024 werd het WRR-rapport Aan het buitenland gehecht; Over verankering en strategie van Nederlands buitenlandbeleidgepresenteerd. Het rapport werd opgesteld onder leiding van de huidige staatssecretaris voor Ontwikkelingssam...
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Debating Dutch foreign policies
Frans Bieckmann | 13 October 2024The Netherlands has a new government: Rutte-Verhagen. A two-party government (the ‘liberal’ VVD led by Mark Rutte, and Christian Democrat CDA led by Maxime Verhagen) that legitimizes right-wing populist, anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, by ope...
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Goalposts: What next for the MDGs?
Frans Bieckmann, Anna Meijer van Putten | October 06, 2024The Broker was in New York to blog from the United Nation's (UN) Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We invited policy makers, academics and representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss the Summit and long-t...
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Obama: ‘End hollow promises that are not kept’
Frans Bieckmann | 22 September 2024Whatever we think about the US or about the MDGs, a speech by an American president is always worth analyzing. Development, in the end, is about power and power relations. And the US is still the greatest power in the world.On Wednesday, the final...
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An occasional Sunday around Central Park
Frans Bieckmann | 21 September 2024Last Sunday, my activities centred around Central Park. It was such a perfect day, sunny and warm. An Indian Summer. I started from the stiff and stuffy Upper East Side, where the only people you see during the week are cute little ‘Caucasian’ whi...
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An occasional Sunday around Central Park
Frans Bieckmann | 21 September 2024Last Sunday, my activities centred around Central Park. It was such a perfect day, sunny and warm. An Indian Summer. I started from the stiff and stuffy Upper East Side, where the only people you see during the week are cute little ‘Caucasian’ whi...
▶Frans Bieckmann
Since The Broker started in 2007, Frans has been editor in chief and, since 2013, he has also been the executive director.
Frans studied international relations at the University of Amsterdam and has 30 years’ experience as a researcher, journalist and advisor on issues of development and globalization. He has advised a number of development organizations and government institutions and has been published in many newspapers, magazines and journals. In August 2012, Frans published the book Soedan – Het sinistere spel om macht, rijkdom en olie, a detailed analysis of international involvement with Sudan and the conflict in Darfur.
E-mail: [email protected]