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The EU lacks leverage in Belarus. Doubling down on policies that failed in the past makes no sense and can only have unintended consequences. To gain relevance in Belarus and become “geopolitical” the EU should recognise painful truths about itself and the world.

In February 2011, a protest movement built in Iraq but it was not until the October 2019 protests that the country marked a turning point, writes Ahmed Saadawi. In his essay, he examines the interaction/interplay between progressive and populist forces, starting with the protests against Saddam Hussein in Southern Iraq in 1991 until the recent uprisings.

Georgia’s escalating political turbulence highlights a crisis in institutional legitimacy in the country. This democratic deficit risks dragging the country into autocratic rule and reproducing the worst elements of its northern neighbour.

Tirana's historic building stock is disappearing. Overnight, listed buildings lose their status and are demolished the next day. Last year, at least ten villas were levelled to the ground. In their place, multi-story residential and commercial buildings are being built by private investors. This development does not benefit the city's residents.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral bank for infrastructure financing and plans to become the leading global institution for financing infrastructure projects. This article shows why the bank must intensify its efforts to inform the public in a timely manner about the environmental and social risks of its projects.

On February 10, 2019, Bouteflika announced his fifth presidential candidacy, and six days later protests erupted in Algeria: the Revolution of Smiles. The protagonists of Salah Badis' short story meet in front of a dysfunctional ATM in one of Algiers' richest neighborhoods, and a conversation between strangers unfolds.

The concept of ‘digital sovereignty’ has become more prevalent over the last few years, although its meaning remains diffuse. Between Chinese techno-authoritarianism and the U.S. model of surveillance capitalism, Europe is heading towards a third way.

Queer feminism allows us to understand that patriarchy harms all of us and only an intersectional approach enables collective liberation and working together in solidarity. Queer resistance can also be fun - and sometimes a dandy outfit is enough to make patriarchy shake. We talked to Yvee Oduor about activism and mobilization of genderqueer people in Kenya.

The queer community is not free from exclusions and the fight for resources.. Class plays as much a role as ideas about femininity and masculinity. Black trans*women from rural areas, who are often poor, face particularly strong discrimination. Therefore, the queer community itself must address its own internalised prejudices, distorted perceptions, and exclusions. A conversation with Seoketsi Mooketsi (Seopowerr).

We must resist the patriarchal system. But as long as it persists and continues to exist, queer people in Nigeria are seeking ways to simultaneously resist the system all the while not putting their own lives, joy, and happiness at the center. Queer feminism allows for the development and testing of new ways of existing - new ways of living in community with others, new ways of organising and distributing resources, new ways of making sure that people’s needs are met. Hbs in conversation with OluTimehin Adegbeye, on the meaning and opportunities of queer feminism.

In East Africa, politics and the church propagate the idea that homosexuality is "un-African". In order to maintain their own power. However, queer life and love has always existed in Uganda. Homophobia, on the contrary, can be called a colonial import. We spoke with Ssenfuka Joanita Warry about queer activism in Uganda and why she takes every opportunity, she can to speak out and fight misconceptions about homosexuality.

The EU has traditionally been timid about its use of sanctions in foreign policy. Will this change with the current EU leadership’s plans to speak “the language of power”?

In the face of the terrible war and famine in Yemen, Bushra al-Maktari struggles to recall the hopeful beginnings of the revolution. Still, her spiritual retrospective zooms in on a concept that is also central to the Yemeni revolution: dignity.

As part of a larger geopolitical region, the Wider Black Sea requires greater commitment from the EU in the areas of security, renewable energy, and connectivity. Turkey and Russia are the key competitors for influence and resources in the region.

A conversation with Ellen Ueberschär and Barbara Unmüßig about crucial future questions, the clash of ideas and the role of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

The world economy has become the central battleground for hegemonic rivalry between Washington and Beijing. Several factors have led to this development, first and foremost the economic rise of China.

It is highly debatable whether deep-sea minerals are needed to enable the renewable-energy transition and decarbonize the global economy. The world must first show that seabed mining can yield long-term net benefits for sustainable development.

Plastic is a material that used to be a symbol of progress and modernity. Now it represents an industry that subordinates everything to profit, even if the world is ruined in the process.

January 25th marks the beginning of the Egyptian revolution of 2011, which has been followed by a counter-revolution that continues to this day. More and more political and cultural actors end up in prison or flee into exile. As part of our series “Reminiscence of the future”, Alia Mossallam illuminates the inner spaces of the revolution, where fear and courage, kindness and monstrosity are inherently close to one another.

Our trilingual scroll story project: Three stories from Egypt, Syria and Tunisia show that 10 years after they began, the revolutions continue - despite the immense strain and sometimes violent setbacks from the old forces. After all, giving up means dying. 

Tunisia is often deemed the main success story of the “Arab Spring” after long-term dictator Ben Ali was ousted ten years ago. But in the first contribution of our series “Reminiscence of the future”, Rim Benrjeb writes about a revolutionary spirit that is in danger of falling asleep, patriarchal and state violence, and the impossibility of discussing all of this with one's own father.

The EU’s southern flank has been under immense security pressure by external actors recently. These security challenges require the EU to adopt a holistic approach and address a range of complex regional issues, making use of a wide range of tools.

The EU strives for strategic sovereignty and the capability to master global politics. The crisis in Belarus presents an opportunity for Brussels to contribute to stability in its eastern neighborhood. In order to support a democratic transfer of power in Minsk, however, the EU must enhance its engagement across five areas.  

The vision of a strategically autonomous Europe is not met with great enthusiasm in Poland and the Baltic states. On the contrary, the preferences between Warsaw, Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn point to a renewal of the transatlantic bond and a stronger NATO in order to contain the challenges represented by Russia and China.

President Macron has been promoting the concept of European sovereignty and strategic autonomy for quite some time. His vision of a strategically autonomous Europe is based on the premise of profound geopolitical shifts and a new reality of big power rivalries. Still, Paris will have to convince skeptical EU Member States about the soundness of this concept.