Twenty years on from the Kosovo War, the collective memory of both parties in the conflict remains burdened by myths and incontestable truths about what actually took place. In this issue of Perspectives we aim to highlight the fact that Kosovo is not just a toponym, but a country burdened by its recent violent history, where common people are struggling to rebuild the broken societies that the conflict has left behind.

A decline in democratic quality can be observed worldwide. The terms populism, nationalism, illiberalism, and authoritarianism are omnipresent in attempts to explain and describe this development. The e-paper examines overlaps, differences and their relationship to one another, highlights global and regional trends of autocratization and highlights the consequences of this development for civil society in the affected countries.

Nineteen Dos and nine Don'ts explained, which are helpful for developing a successful Global Biodiversity Framework.

Stop flooding the world with plastic! For the first time in Germany, major civil society actors have come together in an alliance to resolve the plastics crisis and have formulated 15 demands for the German government to act on.

This special edition of Perspectives was compiled with the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s North Africa offices and the Transform Africa project. It is dedicated to the emerging conversation of alternative approaches that challenge the historical bias towards the industrialisation of agriculture and the food system as the main strategy to address food insecurity while preparing for a +2°C world.

The Fact Sheet provides figures and numbers on the current state of the Ukrainian energy sector and outlines the benefits of a decarbonisation strategy for energy security, economic prosperity and climate protection.

The report “Thar Coal Project and Local Community” traces the development of the coal projects in Tharparkar in Pakistan. The report brings together the opinions, concerns, observations and experiences of the local communities, civil society, and experts, with regard to the Thar Coal project. The information gathering and documentation process has been guided by a human rights approach. This consolidation of information and opinions may provide a basis for a better understanding of the project from the perspective of the socio, economic and environmental landscape of the local communities.

Is the delivery of human rights a consequential outcome of liberal democracy? This paper explores the role of human rights in democracy, and specifically whether human rights is a necessary ingredient for its sustenance.