Foreign & Security Policy

Just one month after Wladimir Putin's official visit to Azerbaijan, where the chance for signing a binding trade agreement between Baku and Moscow was squandered, the Russian president welcomed his Armenian counterpart in Moscow. It's the latter who made headlines on September 3rd by surprisingly announcing that Armenia would join the Russian-led Customs Union.

Introduction to the panel discussion "The future of arms control - Cooperative arms limitations and reductions in times of global change" by Ralf Fücks, president of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

Lebanon is facing a complete paralysis of all state institutions, accompanied by a deteriorating security situation and a fragmentation of Lebanon into zones of sectarian conflict. The conflict in Syria is worsening the division within the country.

On June 20, 2013, the Heinrich Böll Foundation Israel, the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue held the conference 20 Years since the Oslo Accords - Success and/or Failure?. In advance of a comprehensive publication of contributions, we are pleased to present this analysis by Dr. Ephraim Lavie on the early foundation of obstacles in the Oslo negotiation process.

Kabul women have two main fears when moving through public spaces: suicide bombers and harassment. Although the risks associated with harassment are less severe than those of a suicide attack, the everyday threat of harassment creates considerable anxiety amongst women. As part of the safety audit, women were asked how they would feel when confronted with various situations when walking down the street

Kabul women have two main fears when moving through public spaces: suicide bombers and harassment. Although the risks associated with harassment are less severe than those of a suicide attack, the everyday threat of harassment creates considerable anxiety amongst women. As part of the safety audit, women were asked how they would feel when confronted with various situations when walking down the street.

The Lebanese author and leftist activist Fawwaz Traboulsi has followed the the Arab revolutions as a writer and analyst, writing down his insights 2012 in his book „Democracy is Revolution“. Mohammad al-Attar met him for the interview about Syria in Beirut.

The results of the elections to the 19th Knesset hold a potential for a significant change in the gender thinking of Israel’s legislative body. Out of 120 parliamentarians, 27 women will be serving in the Knesset - the largest number of women MKs since the establishment of the state. What are the necessary conditions for bringing this potential to fruition?

"It is not enough for a court to just produce legal debates in the courtroom, and to be ignored in the management of massive violence." In her lecture, Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), comments on the achievements and challenges of an international criminal justice system.

The Arab Spring, which was welcomed euphorically two years ago, has now given way to a sobering political reality. At our 13th Annual Foreign Policy Conference in early November, numerous policymakers and experts from Germany and elsewhere discussed ways of interacting with political Islam, the geopolitical context of the Arab Spring, and possible strategies for action by the EU. 

Qatar must be regarded as an established regional and international actor. It played a key role in supporting the Arab Spring movements and it is now hosting the UN climate summit COP18. Salman Shaikh gives an overview of Qatars ambitions and priorities.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation will close its office in Ethopia. Under the current political and legal circumstances, the office cannot, in the foreseeable future, fulfil its mission of promoting democratisation, gender justice and sustainable development.

In an interview with Sandra Schulz from German radio station Deutschland funk René Wildangel, head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s office in Ramallah, warns of an Israeli ground invasion in Gaza and a repetition of the "absolutely disastrous war" of 2008. Instead, an immediate cease fire and new policy options to include Gaza in regional negotiations are needed. 

The NGO Monitor inquired again about our funding for "+972 - Advancement of Citizen Journalism", which helps managing and editing their site 972mag.com. The NGO monitor cites a number of contributions to the site as too critical of Israel and accuses the site of being part of the international campaign to demonize Israel. We neither share this general assessment nor do we agree with everything that is posted on 972mag.com.

In Afghanistan, natural resources and conflict have a intimate and complex relationship. In conflict assessment surveys, access to natural resources have been consistently reported as the cause for more than half of local level conflict incidents in Afghanistan. In particular, access to land and access to water are regularly cited by communities across Afghanistan as two top two causes of conflict.

Since protests in Syria arose, Western press increasingly deals with the situation of Christians in the country. In most articles they are presented as a threatened minority. The media coverage is likely to promote the picture of an upcoming Islamization in Syria after the fall of Assad.  

This paper outlines the tasks and character of an international mission aimed at supporting Israel and Palestine in the implementation of a peace agreement. It is the result of intensive consultation among a group of high-level experts - amongst them security experts from Israel, Palestine, Europe and Canada. The consultation process was organized by the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

The security needs of Afghan men and women differ. Whereas men bear the brunt of the direct impacts of conflict, women disproportionately suffer from the indirect effects such as increased levels of domestic violence, decreased access to health care and poverty. Due to this difference in security needs, gender must be taken into account when evaluating the relationship between citizens and the Afghan National Police (ANP).

On November 23rd Heinrich-Boell-Foundation organized the international conference “10 Years after Petersberg: Where does Afghanistan stand today?” that addressed the current state of affairs in the country, the role of the regional neighbors and inquired about future prospects for Afghanistan.

One of the clear messages of the international community to the Afghan administration in the recently-held Bonn conference on Afghanistan was that the world is commited to support Afghanistan even after 2014. However, the question of what these commitments will look like, remains unanswered.