Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rule of law in Central Europe: Turning Crisis into opportunity? Published: 3 April 2020 Background The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 disease has brought about an extraordinary situation. Although the past decades have brought numerous challenges like terrorism or the climate change, the global spread of a disease for which there is neither a cure nor vaccination available is something that political leaders have no experience in tackling. By Pavlína Janebová
"We will give blood, but not our land" - The Citizenship Amendment Act protests in the context of Northeast India Published: 21 December 2019 Background India’s Northeast, a land of volatile identities having an uneasy experience with migration, is held together by a fragile consensus forged in the larger interest of peace and co-existence. The seams of these fault-lines pass by people’s lived realities, always at the risk of being burst open with an act of insensitivity. The enactment of the CAA is considered by many as one such act. By Dr Kaustubh Deka
“I want this state to succeed first” Published: 3 December 2019 Interview Simon Ilse, head of our Belgrade office, talks with the future Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, about his future government’s priorities, the dialogue with Serbia, his green agenda, and addresses the issue of ethnicity vs nationality in the Balkans. By Simon Ilse
Transforming the opposition in Hungary after the EP elections Published: 3 July 2019 Analysis The European Parliamentary elections have stirred up Hungarian politics. Though the support for the governing party Fidesz seems to be unwavering, the power relations have changed in the opposition. By András Jámbor
Sudan’s Civil Society - Aspirant Revolutionaries Once More Published: 30 April 2019 Civil society has always played a key role in Sudan’s long ongoing struggle for political reform and the National Congress Party, which has ruthlessly clung to power for nearly 30 years, is cognisant of this.
Decriminalizing homosexuality in Kenya Published: 15 February 2019 On the 24th of May 2019, Kenya's High Court will decide whether the sections of the Kenyan penal code that proscribe homosexual activity are unconstitutional. The Kenyan National Gay and Lesbian Commission (NGLHRC) has for years been fighting to repeal these laws. By Caroline Kioko
“All we want is to work in partnership with our readers” Published: 9 January 2019 Interview Journalism is in a serious crisis. Nevertheless, alternative left-wing media are still out there in Europe, providing quality news and analysis with financial backing not from oligarchs or big business but from their readers. An exchange between the makers of merce.hu (Hungary), republik.ch (Switzerland), oko.press (Poland), and taz.de (Germany). By Krisztián Simon
Family and gender in Orbán’s Hungary Published: 4 July 2018 Viktor Orbán`s and his government`s decisions on family tax allowance and child benefits favour middle-class traditional families and portray their conservative view on family and gender. By Balázs Pivarnyik
Orbán - A Trendsetter? Published: 7 June 2018 The name Visegrad in Western European terminology has become synonymous with a lack of solidarity and nationalist politics. In Hungary, however, it also has implications for the future of democracy in Western Europe. How can the EU recover its appeal? By Eva van de Rakt
Malaysia’s Reformasi Movement Lives Up To Its Name Published: 1 June 2018 A revolution took place in Malaysia on May 9, 2018. It was a silent and peaceful one, amazingly achieved through the ballot box, and is therefore not noticed for what it is. But it is a revolution nevertheless. By Ooi Kee Beng
Why Armenians Call for a Velvet Revolution Published: 23 April 2018 Interview For almost a week now, huge rallies have shaken the Armenian capital of Yerevan, where Nikol Pashinyan, one of the leaders of the movement, called for a “velvet revolution”. But will the protesters this time successfully press for democratic accountability? By Olya Azatyan and Dr. Sonja Katharina Schiffers
Halfway there: Myanmar’s difficult transition toward freedom of expression Published: 14 February 2018 For decades, Myanmar was among the most isolated countries in the world. Although the process of democratization and the internet have changed things, people still cannot express themselves freely. By Nay Phone Latt
The Nightmare of the Czech Presidential Elections Published: 1 February 2018 Commentary Thirty years after the Velvet Revolution, the atmosphere in Czech society is poisonous. Many who followed the course of the Czech presidential elections during the past few weeks in detail must feel they are trapped in a nightmare. By Eva van de Rakt
Photo Gallery AfriqUPrising Published: 10 August 2017 [external_media:flickr.com/photos/boellstiftung/sets/72157687344058886]
Shrinking Civic Spaces in ASEAN Published: 2 August 2017 Despite its diversity, ASEAN member states have one common trait: state repression. This is in contrast to ASEAN´s aspiration to be people-centered. How repression looks on the ground can illustrate the example of the Bersih movement for fair elections in Malaysia. By Dr. Khoo Ying Hooi
New Perspectives on Civil Society Engagement with ASEAN Published: 2 August 2017 So far, the engagement of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People´s Forum has been disappointing. A new strategy for people-to-people regional integration is needed. By Eduardo C. Tadem
Shrinking Spaces and the G20 Published: 12 July 2017 When the 19 member countries and the EU gathered in Hamburg for the G20 Summit one important topic was not on the agenda: from China to Mexico, Turkey to Russia, Saudi Arabia to India – the respect for fundamental human rights can no longer be taken for granted. By Barbara Unmüßig
An eclipse of Myanmar’s civil society? Published: 5 July 2017 Myanmar’s transition to democracy has earned the country a lot of appraisal on the international stage. But over the last year, the boundaries between what is permitted and what will get people in trouble slid back and blurred again. By Dr. Stefan Bächtold
Azerbaijan – Closed Space? Published: 4 July 2017 On 22 June 2017 international experts Gerald Knaus, Rebecca Vincent, and Berit Lindeman spoke with Anar Mammadli and other representatives of Azeri civil society about the critical human rights situation in the country, ways to potentially solve it, and European strategies. By Alexander Formozov
The Treaties of Rome sixty years on: Moving Forward with Europe! Published: 31 March 2017 Sixty years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome, Europe finds itself at a crossroads. Understanding what this wake-up call means for a liberal Europe was the subject of discussion at an international conference titled “Moving Forward with Europe!”. By Ama Lorenz