Democracy
crowd in a park
Photo: Jedrzej Blaszkiewicz. Licence: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 2.0. Original: Flickr. 
Introduction
Democracy
Democratisation is a chief tenet of green politics and a central issue in political education. Still it is often far from clear how to translate the general notion of democratisation into concrete projects, campaigns, or educational programmes. "Civil society" is one such concept which, while widely embraced, is very contentious when it comes to questions of implementation.

Other such issues are the crisis of party democracy, the media and democracy, as well as numerous fundamental questions surrounding the relationship between politics and science. All of these are part of the foundation's activities. A further focus of our work are programmes that tackle far-right extremism and racism.

Promotion of Democracy

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Publication series democracy, Volume 14

Import/Export Democracy

March 9, 2010 - After 1989 in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the Caucasus, two aspects played and still play a key role in determining whether a political system exhibits merely a democratic façade or a truly democratic constitution: civil society and political culture, on the one hand, and the influence of ethnic conflicts, on the other. This publication illuminates the successes and failures, the instruments and institutions, and the concepts behind two decades of external democracy promotion. more»
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Perspectives Middle East

Syria's Revolution: Society, Power, Ideology

 - February 8, 2012 - It is almost a year ago that Syrian citizens, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, courageously took to the streets in protest against the decades-long denial of their basic rights by the Assad regime. But Syria as a topic for research has long been marginalized in cultural, social, and political studies. This publication written by authors from the region wants to give new perspectives on Syria. more»
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Syria: "There Must Be a Freedom Square, And We Have Set the Date"

 - November 21, 2011 - As the Syrian popular uprising continues, so does the brutal response by the regime. A recount of daily confrontations with arrest, torture and disappearance of family members, friends and fellow activists. Through the cracks of repression, though, shimmers an undaunted dream of freedom. Razan Zaitouneh more»

Interview

New constitution: Kenyan Member of Parliament awarded with German Prize

 - October 26, 2011 - Last year the people of Kenya approved a new democratic constitution. The Member of Parliament Abdikadir Mohamed Hussein was awarded this year's German Africa Prize for his great contribution to the document. In an audio interview, he talks about the benefits of the new constitution, the Kenyan bill of rights and his countries role in the international community. Maria Kind more»

Feminism and Gender Democracy

Gender Equality in Israel: Implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325

October 31, 2011 - Exactly 11 years ago, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 on Women and peace and security. This groundbreaking document calls for representation of women in peace negotiations and increased protection of women and children against violence in conflict situations. In Israel, our parter organization Itach-Maaki is working for the national implementation of the resolution. Anat Thon Ashkenazy more»

PRESS RELEASE

Sexual and gender minorities: worldwide protection from discrimination

- September 21, 2011 - Human rights of Lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and intersexual persons (LGBTI) need to be promoted in developing countries and transformation countries just like everywhere else. However, only nine of 16,500 German foundations and organizations support those efforts. Compared with other groups whose human rights are threatened or restricted, they receive far too little political or financial support. more»

Contemporary History

Women in the Arab Spring: New and distinct forms of political participation

December 15, 2011 - During the Arab uprisings, an unprecedented number of women took to the streets, paving the way for a more important role in politics. However, in the transitional period that follows, they now have to fight against their exclusion from the political arena. This fight will blur the conflict lines between the „traditional-religious“ and the „urban-modern-non-religious“ blocs.  Dalal al-Bizri more»
Cover: Protesting Woman with sign

Perspectives #2 Mai 2011

People's Power: The Arab World in Revolt

 - May 6, 2011 - The 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests seemed unexpected, but were they really that unexpected? This publication addresses many questions, among them: First, what has happened? And second, what has invested these regimes with such long-lasting resilience? Layla Al-Zubaidi, Doreen Khoury, Anbara Abu-Ayyash, Joachim Paul more»
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Cover: Years Of Upheaval

Documentation

1989–2009 Years Of Upheaval: Beginning Of Inclusion Or Exclusion?

 - November 12, 2009 - On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Bosnia-Herzegovina organized an international conference "1989-2009 Years of Upheaval: Beginning of Inclusion or Exclusion?". It dealt with the transition process from an authoritarian to a democratic state model, with the changes in society and politics. more»
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Institutions and Governance

Executive summary

Solidarity and strength: The Future of the European Union

November 8, 2011 - Economic and environmental challenges that threaten to overwhelm the European project. The Heinrich Böll Foundation has set up a commission to examine the future of the EU. This publication puts forward a series of proposals in areas such as foreign and security; agricultural; energy; economics and monetary and enlargement policy. more»
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Interview

New constitution: Kenyan Member of Parliament awarded with German Prize

 - October 26, 2011 - Last year the people of Kenya approved a new democratic constitution. The Member of Parliament Abdikadir Mohamed Hussein was awarded this year's German Africa Prize for his great contribution to the document. In an audio interview, he talks about the benefits of the new constitution, the Kenyan bill of rights and his countries role in the international community. Maria Kind more»

Four Years after the World Food Price Crisis: The Governance of World Food Security

 - October 14, 2011 - The 2007–2008 world food price crisis caused political and economical instability and social unrest in both poor and developed nations. This was only the latest example for a functioning food system being an indispensable pillar of a stable economy and a society capable of reproducing itself. A new study outlines steps how the intergovernmental Committee on World Food Security could be expanded towards a politically relevant international steering committee. Nora McKeon more»
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Portrait: Mario Telo

The Belgian Presidency of the European Union - An assessment

 - January 27, 2011 - Did the Belgian Presidency of the European Union go beyond playing the honest broker and take on the role of providing the necessary driving force required by the EU with regard to internal and external developments? An assessment of Implementing the Treaty of Lisbon, Policies to overcome the crisis, the European Citizens’ Initiative and external relations. Mario Telo more»
Portrait: Mario Telo

The Belgian Presidency of the EU: Foreign Policy Priorities

 - December 22, 2010 -
The Belgian Presidency of the EU is coming to its end. A review regarding European Foreign Policy covering the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon, successes and failurees of international summits and noticeable progress at the European Council.
By Mario Telo more»

Political Parties

People protesting at night

Opinion

Israeli Social Protests: The Key To Changing Everything?

August 15, 2011 -

For the first few weeks of the social protests in Israel the press happily dismissed everything else – Palestinians, Iran, September, democracy barely reached back pages of the papers. The question at stake is, will the movement ultimately be forced by its own goals to confront and possibly re-interpret critical issues such in light of the newfound empowerment and social consciousness?

Dahlia Scheindlin more»
Four men in front of flags of Hungary and EU

What is happening to Hungary?

 - January 13, 2011 - Hungary was long considered a model for democracy in the former Eastern Bloc countries. It currently hits the headlines because of the controversial media laws and other moves by the national conservative Fidesz party, which endanger essential elements of the constitutional framework. By Peter Rauschenberger more»

Integration

Cover of the Study

Study

Diversity seeks Council: Councillors with a migration background in German cities

December 19, 2011 - Do the institutions of our democracy reflect the increasing diversity of our society? For the first time, a study conducted by the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity has investigated this question concerning the councils of major German cities. The summary presents the main results of the study. Karen Schönwälder, Cihan Sinanoglu, Daniel Volkert more»
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