Southeast Europe

Anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has been a central element of the Georgian Dream’s anti-democratic turn towards the far right. How do anti-LGBTQ+ statements and policies help GD expand its grip on power, and why does this strategy work? 

The judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina has issued arrest warrants for Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska and two other officials for violating the state constitution. The political crisis threatens state institutions and the rule of law.

The ruling Georgian Dream party won Georgia’s 2024 parliamentary elections by engaging in election manipulation, adopting the classical illiberal-authoritarian playbook. The EU must now insist on an independent investigation.

On September 20, 2024, a group dressed in Serbian nationalist clothing entered KROKODIL's office, removed the Ukrainian flag and intimidated the staff. KROKODIL, a literary organization and partner of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, is facing increasing attacks on civil society in Serbia. We herewith express our solidarity and continuous support for KROKODIL.

The Rio Tinto controversy in Serbia revolves around the planned Jadar lithium mine. Despite economic benefits, strong opposition arises due to environmental concerns such as water shortages and pollution. Local protesters demand more environmental protection.

Serbian memory politics obscures the reasons for the NATO intervention, which strengthens Vučić's power. He presents himself as a defender of the fatherland, despite contradictions with reality.

This article discusses the potential of a feminist approach to climate justice and feminist foreign and development policy. The authors, Gina Cortés Valderrama and Katy Wiese, argue that feminist perspectives are unabdingbar in addressing economic rights, energy transition, and climate-related damages and losses.

In December 2023, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev surprisingly announced snap presidential elections. Accordingly, Azerbaijani voters will go to the polls on February 7th. These elections signal one thing: the consolidation of authoritarian power.

Corrupt politicians have been systematically plundering public budgets and natural resources in the Western Balkans for years. Increasingly, international actors are also discovering an El Dorado for dubious investments in these countries.

Under the umbrella of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), thirteen journalists, press freedom, and civil society organizations are calling the EU institutes and the governments of member states to impose greater transparency on the media and their relations with political decision-makers and economic players.

On April 19, 1943, Jews condemned to death in the Warsaw Ghetto rose up in an unprecedented heroic struggle against the German occupation. The commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the ghetto uprising is approaching. Joanna Maria Stolarek, director of the Warsaw office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation spoke with Zygmunt Stępiński, director of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews POLIN in Warsaw about the commemoration, the nature of remembrance, and the universal message that the uprising and its commemoration bring.

Founded in 2021, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Tirana Office, works to build and expand democratic, accessible and diverse public spaces in urban as well as rural areas in Albania.

After Armenia's defeat in the war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, foreign and security policy developments in the small South Caucasian republic are happening at an unprecedented pace.

This dossier explores climate and energy issues in Thailand and Southeast Asia. It contains analyses, features, research, and other multimedia materials from regional experts, academics, journalists, and our partners.

No Single Pathway. Southeast Asian countries’ targets and wish lists toward carbon neutrality are like individual recipes that use different ingredients in various ways, to produce the same dish (hopefully).

Looking back at 16 years of Angela Merkel's Balkan policy, there were ups and downs, but the objective of eventually bringing Serbia closer to the EU has failed. It is now high time for a fresh, new start to Germany‘s relationship to the key enabler or blocker of a European future for the region - Serbia.

A war that has garnered little to no attention in the rest of the world has been raging in Nagorno-Karabakh since 27 September 2020. With its multiple casualties, tens of thousands of refugees, and confirmed war crimes, this war signifies a humanitarian catastrophe.