Asia

On November 8, Myanmar votes for a new parliament. What do the parties stand for and what can they change? An interview with Sui Khar, Joint Secretary-General of the Chin National Front.

Myanmar prepares for the second nation-wide poll in 25 years. The elections in November 2015 promise to be a watershed for the country’s democratisation.

Myanmar and its power elites do not have experience with electoral politics. That makes Myanmar’s elections exciting, and at the same time risky.

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What is at stake? Will the elections be free? Who is competing and how does the electoral process work? Our FAQ on the most democratic elections since 1960 in Myanmar.

The tension between the imperatives of “market sovereignty” and the entrenched principle of “state sovereignty” of authoritarian oligarchies will define the open-ended tendencies and outcomes of the ongoing regionalisation process in Southeast Asia.

Although ASEAN’s efforts to balance economic growth and environmental sustainability are growing, they are often overshadowed by the group’s economic integration agenda.

Some countries, as Vietnam, fear it, others, like Thailand, have high hopes - what can be expected of ASEAN's neo-liberal project? About its future perspectives and an alternative vision.

Southeast Asian cities will play a critical role in the unfolding of the ASEAN Economic Community, which is to be launched at the end of 2015. A discussion of the inter-linkages among economic growth, urbanisation, consumption, and the environment.

As the so-called advanced economies fail to fulfill their commitments to stop climate change, people in Vietnam, Myanmar or on the island states of the Pacific have to pay with their lives. Big Oil, Big Gas, and Big Coal need to accept responsibility and start making real contributions.

Afghan Women have had a long journey in terms of their rights and socio-political participation since the Taliban downfall in 2001. As Afghanistan has just entered into a new decade of transformation, the main questions related to women, peace and security remain: What has been built to ensure women’s protection and participation over the last decade? And what strategic approach could consolidate gender equality in the decade to come?

Ranjana Kumari is a veteran Indian feminist who has been following the International Women’s Conferences since Nairobi in 1985. We talked with her about women’s rights and gender equity in India.

Our office in Phnom Penhh is working with civil society organizations to create a critical dialog on environment, gender, social justice and inclusion within the general public and communities.

The Foundation's Southeast Asia program, being restructured in 2015, will focus on highlighting how globalization and integration in the ASEAN countries have an impact on people’s lives.

The work of the hbs China office focuses on the complex interactions between Chinese and global developments. Against this backdrop, the office supports Chinese partner organizations who implement projects in areas such as ecology/sustainability and follow China’s role in processes of global change.

Current Afghan politicians must allow and help young politicians to assume better roles in the country’s political system so that we can move towards an ideal society with modern politics.

I will struggle for social justice using all of my physical and mental capacity. It actually does not matter whether you are alone or in a group, but what is important is how you manage and structure your energy.

The Regional Office of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung in New Delhi coordinates the work of the foundation in India since 2002. Since 2019, the foundation also cooperates with partners in the South Asian region, especially in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The focus of our work is on the protection of natural resources, climate and the environment and on energy transition. Together with partners from civil society and think tanks, we work to foster a pluralistic and inclusive society, on body politics and support a discussion of alternative development paradigms and about India’s regional and global participation and influence.

This is the story of one Cambodian fisherman whose case stands for those of thousands of other men being forced to work on fishing trawlers.

Myanmar's democratic reforms hold a great promise: the resolution of the world’s longest ongoing civil war. But the peace is hampered by an economic logic of limited utility.