Demokratie International

In three short articles, German journalist Rainer Hörig, who has been living in Pune since 1989, reports on the election campaign in India. He visited a village in Maharashtra, accompanied young campaign aids from the Aam Aadmi Party on a canvassing mission in Pune, and interviewed urban slum dwellers on what they expect from the election. These reports provide a vivid impression of how the election campaign is carried out there and what moves the people politically.

The Karzai era has been given a moderate appraisal. But the Afghan president alone isn't responsible for everything he's being accused of. The West must take part of the blame too.

A decade of UPA-Congress rule in India ends with limited progress on the Indo-Pak relations.The fact that outgoing Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, despite his good intentions, could not visit the country of his birth even once sums up the structural constraints of this troubled relationship.

Many police officers in Bosnia-Herzegovina have not been in the situation before to deal with non-heterosexual people. "Coming out!" an EU-funded projects reflects emerging stereotypes and predjudices in trainings to increase the sensitivity for needs and rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender.

It is election season in India, and there are few places like Uttar Pradesh to get a feel which way the wind is blowing. Photo journalist Nikhil Roshan has captured some impressive scenes on his travels.

On 6 April, Fidesz obtained another two-thirds majority in the Hungarian parliament. What will Viktor Orbán want to do with his supermajority, and what are the next four years likely to bring in Hungarian politics and society?

Author György Dalos finds in his analysis of the parliamentary elections that Hungary needs to re-assume its original place among young democracies: with social and democratic political initiatives that can be compelling for voters and non-voters alike and that could contribute in dismantling the culture of hatred.

On 6 April, election was held in Hungary. The winners were Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party but also Jobbik With 20,5 percent, Jobbik is now the strongest extreme right-wing party in the EU. Eva van de Rakt spoke with political scientist Bulcsú Hunyadi about the outcome.

Slovakia is about to change its constitution that limits diversity of family forms strictly. However, the results of the presidential election bring glimmers of hope to sexual minorities in Slovakia.

Video: Masood Karokhail is a founding member and now the director of The Liaison Office (TLO) in Kabul, Afghanistan. Mr. Karokhail is an expert on governance, tribal issues, and the political economy of Afghanistan and has authored and co- authored numerous articles on these subjects.

Nargis Nehan, director of Equality for Peace and Democracy speaks about the election process, requirements for a sustainable political settlement process and the need for Afghan civil society to support the new administration and the national security forces.

The left-of-centre opposition parties ended the protracted period of negotiations by creating a type of alliance. The alliance exhibits resembles the former governing left-wing coalition and has hitherto been incapable of mounting a serious challenge to the ruling right-wing majority in 2014.

It might be the first time for Hungarian voters to re-elect a conservative government and Viktor Orbán is confident of winning the elections with a two-third parliamentary majority. Bulcsú Hunyadi gives a detailled overview on Hungaries political landscape and depicts that there is no competition among equals.

Since its unexpected victory in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party has led two coalition governments. Now, ten years later, the party finds itself in deep crisis. If nothing else, then at least the heavy defeats in the last assembly elections 2013 mean that the Congress enters the Lok Sabha elections with a considerable handicap.

Habibullah Haqtash is a young candidate for the Kabul provincial council election. He studied political science at Kateb University and is active in social and cultural affairs. We spoke with him about his wishes and dreams for Afghanistan.

Narendra Modi of the hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the most conspicuous contender for prime minister in the Indian general elections. Sebastian Schwecke analyses his party's chances to win sufficient seats in India's lower house of parliament.

Indian "middle classes" had for long been spectators in electoral politics. However, as the country prepares for the 16th general elections, this time around, they seem to be audible and visible everywhere. Who are the middle class in India and what are their role in the election?

Despite economic liberalization since 1991, the promotion of exports and increasing foreign direct investment, India is still not a heavy weight in the global economy. However, foreign policy issues have increasingly triggered domestic controversies and government crises in recent years.