Many of the regions, in which the Heinrich Böll Foundation is active, are affected by violent crises and national decay. We promote programmes on conflict management, reconciliation and reconstruction of democratic institutions in these countries. In co-operation with our partners we intend to meddle politically, promote democracy and political participation and support social processes of emancipation.
Moreover, in the following years we will focus on climate change and its consequences for democracy and human rights. The co-operation with political parties is of great importance since they play a decisive role for the development and stabilization of democratic systems.
Since 2007 the Heinrich Böll Foundation is a member of FriEnt (Working Group on Development and Peace). The foundation takes an active part in building competence and contributes its experience in the political management of conflicts and in dealing with civil society and state actors.
- It is mainly the inhabitants of the global South who suffer from the effects of climate change. This publication uses case examples to illustrate the dangers faced by indigenous peoples in particular, as well as the tools the UN human rights system gives them to support their struggle for just climate policies. more»
Beyond Guantánamo - Restoring U.S. Credibility on Human Rights – - How to restore the credibility of a country whose foundations and self-understanding are based on the universality of freedom and human rights, but that has violated precisely those rights by practicing torture in Guantánamo and other prisons around the world? more»
International Conference on Afghanistan in The Hague – The Voices of Civil Society – - On March 31, 2009 the future of Afghanistan was discussed at a one-day conference in The Hague. That the conference was being held at such a senior political level has raised concern among Afghan civil society activists - will their views, will voices from Afghanistan in remain unheard? more»
Zhang Sizhi - Outstanding Commitment to Human Rights and the Rule of Law in China – - The Heinrich Böll Foundation has awarded Chinese defence lawyer and human rights advocate Zhang Sizhi with the Petra Kelly Prize 2008. Sizhi is known among Chinese lawyers as “the conscience of lawyers”. more»
Transnational Corporations on Trial – - The study analyses existing legal means of holding European transnational companies liable for extraterritorial human rights violations. The authors examine four representative legal cases against European companies in Latin America that revolve around problems typical in the region. mehr»
Perspectives: Political Analysis and Commentary from Southern Africa – - Namibia held its Presidential and National Assembly elections on 27 and 28 November 2009Perspectives is a publication of the regional office of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung in Southern Africa. With this publication, we intend to let experts from Southern Africa express their views about current political issues in their region. The latest issue 01/2010 offers some reflection on the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Namibia on 27 and 28 November 2009.
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- In May, President Obama submitted to Congress the full details of his first budget request, for Fiscal Year 2010. The President’s first annual budget demonstrates that the Obama administration does take seriously the role of the U.S. in supporting democracy, governance, and human rights in the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA). more»
Democratisation & Civil Society in Asia – - Mainly in the 1990s, Southeast Asian countries have seen a wave of democratisation. At present this process of stabilisation and the further development of the democracies in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia, is on the verge of subsiding. more»
- 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»
Actors without Society - The Role of Civil Actors in the Postcommunist Transformation – - Twenty years after the epoch-making change in 1989, which affected the post-Yugoslavian space in a way entirely different from other former “real-socialist” European countries, this study is an effort toward an analytical view on the past two decades of development of civil society in the western Balkans. The study shows: Without civic engagement, there will be no changes. more»
Rule of Law: The Case of Pakistan – - Pakistan is a war zone facing serious threats from militants and terrorists besides a number of other problems and difficulties that urgently demand the establishment of democratic structures as well as rule of law. In the light of the current crisis, high-ranking guests from Pakistan and various German experts discussed structures and deficits of rule of law as well as the current state of affairs. more»
Ethnonationalism and State Building – - This publication contains contributions to an international conference held by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in April 2008. In it, policymakers, academics, political educators, and consultants examined how the international community has dealt with the phenomena of ethnonationalism and religious fragmentation in the past fifteen years and the lessons for the future that can be gained from these experiences. more»
Afghanistan – - This first issue of the publication series on “Promoting Democracy under Conditions of State Fragility” examines critically the current political and social situation in Afghanistan, as well as the project activities of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in the country. more»
International Assistance and Governance in Afghanistan – - Afghanistan in 2006 faced an acute crisis, which can only be solved by a long-term commitment to improved governance. An assistance framework presents opportunities, but requires further elaboration. more»
Afghanistan’s Parliament in the Making – - The involvement of women in Afghanistan’s public life is decreasing. Attacks, vigilantism, and legal processes that contradict the basic principles of human and women’s rights are the order of the day. This book, based on interviews of male and female members of parliament, examines the realities of parliamentary work in Afghanistan. more»
