Article

The definition of "good life" depends mostly on political, economical and cultural circumstances, but due to the effects of climate change and global warming, it also depends on issues of nature and environment. Georg Koessler investigates the relationship between climate change and living conditions.

We should be bold and say that the current paradigm of sustainability is obsolete. The paradigm needs an additional pillar: culture.

Looking at the upcoming parliamentary election in Iran, the sociologist Dr. Hosein Ghazian analyses the challenges of this election in the light of recent political developments in Iran.

We need to understand that alongside the social, economic and ecological pillars, culture is the fourth dimension related to the emergence of cultures of sustainability. We need policies in support of - and in full recognition of-  the cultural potential of art, in particular in social transformation processes.

The security needs of Afghan men and women differ. Whereas men bear the brunt of the direct impacts of conflict, women disproportionately suffer from the indirect effects such as increased levels of domestic violence, decreased access to health care and poverty. Due to this difference in security needs, gender must be taken into account when evaluating the relationship between citizens and the Afghan National Police (ANP).

Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán participated in a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The agenda included current political developments in Hungary. Shortly beforehand, the European Commission had launched three infringement proceedings against the country. The Hungarian prime minister had invited himself to this session.

The migration stream going through Mexico is the largest in the world. Violence is on the migration routes of the day. At least since the discovery of 72 dead migrants in the northern state of Tamaulipas in August last year, brings the issue of serious human rights violations against migrants in Mexico increasingly into the public interest. An inventory

Six months have passed since Yingluck Shinawatra was elected to the first female Prime Minister in Thailand. Since her election she provoked a variety of debates, which are connected to her femininity. 

By 2014, all international troops withdraw from Afghanistan. Which future perspectives exist for the country? Will the civil commitment continued beyond? These questions were pursued at the conference “10 Years after Petersberg: Where does Afghanistan stand today?”

Hungary’s new constitution, adopted without a referendum or the support of parties in opposition, came into force on the 1st of January 2012. In the last week of 2011 members of the ruling coalition – despite warnings from their fellow MPs and the country’s international partners – passed a number of bills which break the pillars of the liberal democratic edifice, erected just two decades ago to replace an authoritarian system of rule.