False solutions prevail over real ambition at COP26 Analysis COP26 in Glasgow started with a plethora of declarations. But in the end it failed to deliver on the real and immediate action needed to avoid climate catastrophe, and to address the demand for justice and equity for those most impacted by climate harms. By Erika Lennon, Sebastien Duyck and Nikki Reisch
“Glass less than half full” – Glasgow climate finance outcomes leave much room for improvements despite some wins Analysis Progress on core climate finance issues at COP26 proved to be key to break deadlocks and to reach often inadequate compromises in the Glasgow Climate Pact. By Liane Schalatek
Afghan Musicians Report The story narrates ordeal of artist community of Afghanistan who are in deep crisis after toppling of Afghan government by Taliban. Almost all musicians and melody performers in Afghanistan abandoned their profession and went into hiding to escape Taliban’s wrath. By Ahmad Jan
Identity Politics Has Always Existed How Do We Deal with the Vagueness of the Term? A Suggestion A democratic, human rights oriented ‘We’ has to be interested in bringing transparency into the thicket of identity politics. By Ines Kappert
Veiled Bodies of Muslim Nonnormative Sexualities: Notes from a Youth Ethnography in Turkey The veiling experiences of two LGBTI+ women in Turkey open questions about the discursive constructions of femininity, masculinity, piousness, LGBTI+ secularity, and how these are used in political rhetoric. By Zeynep Kuyumcu
Everyday feminism and the authoritarian right in Poland Despite the authoritarian atmosphere, the contemporary feminist and queer movements in Poland are becoming more diverse, informal, intersectional, and focused on countering misogyny and homophobia in locally defined contexts. By Magdalena Grabowska and Marta Rawłuszko
From Cairo to Berlin: Architectures of Homophobia What does a police raid on a bathhouse in Cairo have in common with a police raid on a queer rave in Berlin? Through an examination of two case studies of homophobic violence in Cairo and Berlin, separated by temporal and spatial dimensions, the architecture of homophobia employed by state and media is revealed. By Ahmed Awadalla
Political homophobia and the making of a rainbow criminal in Turkey In the past months, Turkey has prosecuted students who have displayed rainbow flags in Istanbul, indicating a pattern of state-induced political homophobia and violence against marginalized groups, together with the motivation to delegitimize the political opposition in Turkey and elsewhere. By Tunay Altay
Women, Queers, and Far-Right Politics in Israel/Palestine Israel's embrace of far-right politics rendered the lives of the marginalized Jewish population and Palestinians ever more precarious with forces that promote women’s and queer rights, in tension with forces promoting misogyny and homophobia, all contributing to the contemporary far-right political landscape in Israel. By Sa’ed Atshan and Katharina Galor
School as a Battlefield: The Debate on Sexuality Education in Ukraine Over the past decade, activists and CSOs have argued with conservative and religious groups in Ukraine over the introduction of the so-called “comprehensive sexuality education” in Ukrainian schools. By Maryna Shevtsova