On the occasion of the new Israeli residence order for the West Bank, Bernd Asbach interviewed Issam Nassar, co-founder of the "Institute for Jerusalem Studies" from Jerusalem.

Political scientist Dariha Erketaeva works for the Danish humanitarian organization DanChurchAid and lives in Bishkek at the moment. For boell.de she answered some questions via e-mail about the present situation in Kyrgyzstan, the interim government and the differences between north and south of the central asian country.

In February, one day before the end of the Afghan parliament’s winter break President Karzai passed a presidential decree that limited the role of the international community in the upcoming elections to being a sponsor and also brought a number of other changes to the electoral process. Now the representatives of the people defied his blunt attempt to change the rules of political participation without any consultation.

The Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB) and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, in cooperation with the Center for the Promotion of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (CPDNP) at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), held an experts conference in Tokyo, Japan on March 8, 2010. A Report

How do the US bilateral nuclear deals with India and the United Arab Emirates influence the visions of a nuclear weapon-free world and the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in May? An article by

Despite real changes for the Afghan people, especially women continue to suffer from human rights abuses in many areas of life. This policy paper focuses on progress and shortcomings in the area of womens rights and their participation in society, followed by a number of recommendations on how to further improve the condition of women in Afghanistan.

On 11th February 2010, the Heinrich Boell Foundation organised an expert round table discussion to inaugurate the release of their new publication “Pakistan – Reality, Denial and the Complexity of its State”. Two authors who published articles in the book were invited from Pakistan to Berlin to present and discuss their work.

In many parts of Afghanistan, non-state institutions remain relevant to security and stability, despite repeated and concerted state-led attempts from the late 19th century onward to expand its administrative influence, including control over the provision of security and the administration of justice. This policy brief examines the historical background of tribal contracts, to what extent they still play a role in local governance today, and what implications can be drawn for the current promotion of community governance arrangements.

An interview with Shanthie Mariet D’Souza (Associate Fellow at IDSA, Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS),National University of Singapore (NUS).

The clash between secularism and Islam in Palestine dates back to the beginning of the Palestinian Israeli conflict more than sixty years ago. The current split between the PA and Hamas will not be resolved in the foreseeable future, and a national unity government reunifying the West Bank and Gaza is not within sight.