Search results

Habibullah Haqtash is a young candidate for the Kabul provincial council election. He studied political science at Kateb University and is active in social and cultural affairs. We spoke with him about his wishes and dreams for Afghanistan.

Narendra Modi of the hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the most conspicuous contender for prime minister in the Indian general elections. Sebastian Schwecke analyses his party's chances to win sufficient seats in India's lower house of parliament.

Indian "middle classes" had for long been spectators in electoral politics. However, as the country prepares for the 16th general elections, this time around, they seem to be audible and visible everywhere. Who are the middle class in India and what are their role in the election?

Days before the presidential elections in Afghanistan much is discussed amongst the candidates: foreign policies, economic development and reconstruction of the country. No or little attention is being paid to environmental protection, neither from the candidates nor from the people.

Days before the presidential elections in Afghanistan much is discussed amongst the candidates: foreign policies, economic development and reconstruction of the country. No or little attention is being paid to environmental protection, neither from the candidates nor from the people.

Despite economic liberalization since 1991, the promotion of exports and increasing foreign direct investment, India is still not a heavy weight in the global economy. However, foreign policy issues have increasingly triggered domestic controversies and government crises in recent years.

11 candidates were approved by the Afghan Election Commission to compete in the presidential elections in Afghanistan on May 3rd. Here's an overview on the three candidates with the highest chances of winning.

Especially the 120 million young first voters could have extraordinary impact on the outcome of the elections. It is no surprise then that some political parties started chalking out strategies to attract the young voters of India, by putting forward young candidates and reaching out to the youth in colleges and universities.

After it was sworn in as the ruling party at Delhi's Legislative Assembly in December, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has had nothing short of a roller coaster ride. This photo essay offers a few glimpses of its rocky ride through their 49 days in office in the first two months of 2014.

International Women's Day is celebrated in Ukraine to honour 'women's beauty'. Women of Maidan are now aiming to remind of the original meaning of the day and to draw attention to women’s issues in the country. Thus they organized a solidarity action “Women of Maidan – to Women of Crimea”.

Global climate change and its possible impact on water availability in the Indus river system are matters of vital concern, on which India and Pakistan must work on together. However the ongoing cooperation between them must go beyond the limited issue of emission reductions.

On November 7, 2013, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that homosexual asylum seekers be granted asylum in EU Member States. An important judgment that is, however, a drop in the ocean in the light of the EU’s policy of closure with regard to asylum and refugee policy.

Hameeda is a candidate in the Kabul provincial council election. The 26 year-old student has studied international relations and is currently studying gynaecology. She’s a firm advocate of women’s rights.

Wahid Omar has served as the spokesperson of the president of Afghanistan. He was born in Kabul and has expertise in transitional justice.

Moeed Yusuf is director of the South Asia programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace and have been engaged in expanding the institute’s work on Pakistan/South Asia since 2010. In this interview he talks about his publication "Getting it Right in Afghanistan" and the difficult relationship between Afghanistan und Pakistan.

A conversation with Mykola Rjabtschuk, a writer based in Kiev, regarding some issues that have led to heated discussions within the EU.

The plans for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) caused a controverse debate about food standards and legal privileges to international investors between the U.S. and Europe. However, TTIP's impact on the rest of the world is immense. An analysis by Rainer Falk and Barbara Unmüßig.

Most important now is that the international community responds speedily and clearly to what amounts to a Russian occupation of the Crimea and the additional threat of Russian troops being stationed in Ukraine. Europe is in no way powerless in the face of Russian actions, as Ralf Fücks and Walter Kaufmann illustrate in a ten-point plan.

India is driving a nuclear and missiles arms race in one of the world’s most volatile and poorest regions, marked by persistent strategic hostility and a hot-cold war between India and Pakistan since 1947. There is very little clarity about India’s nuclear deterrence doctrine. This is likely to add to regional insecurity and instability.

For more than a decade, fast-growing India appeared to be well on the path to become another superpower. However, a considerable part of India’s population has remained poor; India’s growth lacks social inclusion. The debate is not new, but it is gaining increased attention in the current economic downturn, with elections pending for spring 2014.

Since India's economic liberalisation in 1991, the country has experienced impressive growth figures. Two decades after the reforms, social and ecologic costs of India's economy are surfacing. In an interview, environmentalist Ashish Kothari draws a picture of the Indian growth story and its deficits.

Being queer is still a stigma in Kenya and leads to social invisibility. With his Book "Invisible" the Kenyan author Kevin Mwachiro challenges the myths about alternative ways of love and living.

On 29 January, Bohuslav Sobotka’s government was appointed by President Miloš Zeman. In contrast to Austria and Germany, the Czech president exercised much greater influence on the formation of the government, and process was clouded by an institutional controversy over the role of the head of state.

The next Hungarian parliament could include two green formations: Dialogue for Hungary (PM), which will surely have some members in parliament, and Politics Can Be Different (LMP). If LMP surpasses the election threshold an independent parliamentary group is guaranteed.

The 21st century has inherited the unfinished agenda of globalising democracy in a more vibrant form. In many instances there is a feeling of unease about the achievement of representative democracy because of the ongoing tendency of democratic nations to exclude or marginalise large sections of society. After 65 years of freedom and democracy India’s democratic structures continue to be restricted by their patriarchal foundations and women still fail to enjoy full and equal citizenship right across the country.

India will be witnessing a revival of communalism in the 2014 general elections, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, the Hindu nationalists party) making a decided pitch for power with their prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The so called Hindutva agenda seeking to establish a theocratic state is being given a decisive push with the BJP hoping to divide the electorate along religious lines, and thereby consolidating the majority Hindu vote in its favour.

The recent local elections in India and the upcoming general electionhave opened up for speculation and debate on the role of smaller state-based regional parties. This article analyses how regionalism shapes India's political system.

The “rise” of regional political parties seems to be an eternal theme on the Indian political scene. The exponential increase in the number of parties contesting elections, particularly over the past two decades, and the shrinking margins of victory in parliamentary elections are direct results of the emergence of new regional power centers.