The grave financial and economic crisis that broke into full view in the fall of 2008 has dominated headlines and politics. The imagery of a Green New Deal is important in that it suggests an ambitious approach predicated on the need for strong government action and a decisive break with old policies.

Publication Series on Ecology 5: The sustainable city of tomorrow faces not only ecological, but also major social challenges, and these are reasons enough to dedicate a conference and this associated compilation to urban development and urban lifestyles of the future.

The involvement of women in Afghanistan’s public life is decreasing. Attacks, vigilantism, and legal processes that contradict the basic principles of human and women’s rights are the order of the day. This book, based on interviews of male and female members of parliament, examines the realities of parliamentary work in Afghanistan.

Publication Series on Ecology 4: The automotive industry is not only suffering from the economic downturn, it has also been in a structural crisis for some time. Overcapacity and years of ignoring medium and long-term challenges such as climate change, the finite nature of fossil fuel resources and the fading symbolic value of cars in urban areas are contributing to the industry’s troubles. It will not be possible to stay the course.

How to restore the credibility of a country whose foundations and self-understanding are based on the universality of freedom and human rights, but that has violated precisely those rights by practicing torture in Guantánamo and other prisons around the world?

Publication Series on Ecology 3: There is growing recognition of the imperative to address the economic and environmental crises together rather than separately. This means that the solution to current economic problems lies not in pushing “shovel-ready” programs like more road building or in simply restarting the engine of consumption, but rather in laying the foundations for a fundamental green transformation.

Publication Series on Democracy 11: This publication describes a new start of cooperation between Europe, the United States, and regional partners in the Middle East to tackle the challenges in Iraq and to help bring peace, stability, and sustainable development to the wider region.

This study aims to shed some light on China’s economic role in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as a basis for constructive dialogue between decision makers and other stakeholders in China and the Mekong countries. The research focus is on Chinese investments in natural resources while also touching on issues related to trade and aid.

Publication Series on Democracy 9: This publication contains contributions to an international conference held by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in April 2008. In it, policymakers, academics, political educators, and consultants examined how the international community has dealt with the phenomena of ethnonationalism and religious fragmentation in the past fifteen years and the lessons for the future that can be gained from these experiences.

The Greenhouse Development Rights Framework provides an interesting approach towards combining sustainability goals and development equity. Revised second edition, November 2008, with new analysis based on updated data!