Kate Adie introduces dispatches from South Africa, Syria, the Netherlands and Germany.

Fergal Keane reported from South Africa during the country's difficult transition to democracy after the end of apartheid. He revisits some familiar neighbourhoods and reflects on what happened to the hope and ambition that gripped the country at the time.

Four years after Islamic State was defeated in Syria, thousands of children whose parents supported the group, are living in camps and detention centres with their mothers. Poonam Taneja met some of the children with uncertain futures, still hoping for a return to a normal life.

The Dutch far-right populist leader Geert Wilders swept to a surprise victory in parliamentary elections last month, but there is still no guarantee he will become prime minister. Housing, immigration and the cost of living dominated the election campaign. Anna Holligan spoke to voters in the seaside suburbs of The Hague.

Germany's plans for its much-vaunted ‘green energy transition’ are in deep water after a ruling by the country’s constitutional court blew a 60 billion euro hole in the project’s finances. Meanwhile German voters are questioning the cost of going green. Bob Howard was in Bremen.

Series producer: Serena Tarling