Promotion of Democracy

Since taking office in 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has focused on turning Canada into an energy superpower. The strategy behind this is the proposed doubling of the extraction of oil from Canada’s bituminous tar sands, located primarily in the western province of Alberta.

The Gezi protests have energized the LGBTIQ movement in Turkey, giving it a sustainable boost. The history of the movement, however, began at the start of the last century at the latest.

In the nine years under the Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canada has focused primarily on its oil industry without regard for the environment and local populations. However, that line of reasoning is now losing its force.

This Sunday, September 20, Greek citizens will go the polls for the third time in just eight months. While the refugee crisis in Europe has ousted Greece from the international headlines, the country’s political landscape is undergoing some deep and significant shifts. We spoke with Olga Drossou, director of our regional office in Thessaloniki.

Ahead of the 19 October election, there is a tight, three-way race to run Canada. The embattled incumbent - conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper – is running neck-in-neck with two contenders: Tom Mulcair, Leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) and Justin Trudeau, Leader of the Liberals.

At the panel discussion "Media (un) freedom in South Eastern Europe" on July 9, 2015 journalists from Bulgaria, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia reported on the highly critical situation of the media system in their countries.

In June, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that his government would build a fence along the Serbian-Hungarian border to keep illegal immigrants out of the country.

On the day after the World Refugee Day, five thousand nationalists and neo-Nazis marched through Bratislava, demanding to stop “the Islamisation of Europe” - the police had to intervene. Still, many Slovak politicians are casting about anti-immigration sentiment.

Canada votes on October 19. An interview with Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for the Green Party, about Canada’s climate performance, the state of democracy, and the prospects for her party in the upcoming elections.

In Burundi parliamentary and local elections are held today regardless of criticism and unrest. The incumbent President is running for office for the third time, although he therefore violates the Constitution.