East & Southeast Europe

The Heinrich Böll Foundation is represented in East and Southeast Europe with a total of six offices. You can find more about the work of our East and Southeast Europe department and our country offices on this page.

Here you will find current articles, publications, and thematic focuses on East and Southeast Europe.

Recent Articles on East & Southeast Europe

Waves hit a wide sandy beach with many loungers under thatched roofs, trees and mountains in the background.

Montenegro’s Choice Between Multiplying Deals or Setting Regional Standards

Analysis

Montenegro stands at a crossroads: will it normalise exceptional, deal-driven investment practices, or set regional standards for transparent and rule-based development? The EU has a critical opportunity to guide this process.

Iliriana Gjoni

Destroyed road bridge with collapsed center section; guardrail bent, roadway severely damaged, city in the background.

“International Jurisprudence Is at a Crossroads”

Interview

He documented war crimes and advised the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office: Senior Public Prosecutor Klaus Hoffmann on sexual violence in armed conflicts, digital evidence, and the current challenges facing international criminal jurisprudence.

The “Alternative Diaspora” - Who Came to Berlin with the New Wave of Emigration from Azerbaijan?

Commentary

A new wave of Azerbaijani migration is taking shape in Berlin - politically engaged, largely left-leaning, and critical of both the regime and the opposition back home.

Mark Scheider

Can the Page Still Turn? Media under Pressure in the South Caucasus

Background

Independent media in the South Caucasus faces pressure, disinformation and funding cuts. Read our latest on the struggles - and resilience - of media in the region.

Arzu Geybulla, Lika Zakashvili, Arsen Kharatyan

Large crowd at night, many flags, smoke rising, some people wearing masks, light sources in the background.

Learning from the past, looking to the future: external resources and civil society in Azerbaijan and Georgia

Analysis

Civil society in Azerbaijan and Georgia is under profound pressure from authoritarian restrictions and declining Western aid, leaving many NGOs in dormancy. Their resilience hinges on transforming organizational behaviors and resource considerations.

Najmin Kamilsoy

All Articles on East & Southeast Europe

Thematic Focuses on East & Southeast Europe

Foto: Weitläufiger Tagebau in hügeliger, bewaldeter Landschaft. Ein großer brauner See ist in der Mitte der Grube sichtbar.

Critical Raw Materials in South Eastern Europe

Die Brücke über die Drina oder auch Mehmed-Paša-Sokolović-Brücke (serbokroatisch Most ... in der Stadt als Kontrollpunkt an der Straße von Sarajevo nach Serbien

A Watershed Moment for Bosnia and Herzegovina too?

Perspectives Turkey

All Thematic Focuses on East & Southeast Europe

Publications on East & Southeast Europe

itelseite einer Publikation mit Logos von Carnegie Europe und Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Titel auf Englisch: Rules or Deals? The EU’s Challenge in Regulating Corrosive Capital in the Western Balkans

Rules or Deals? The EU’s Challenge in Regulating Corrosive Capital in the Western Balkans

Policy Paper

The United Arab Emirates has become a major investor in the Western Balkans. With enlargement back on the agenda, the EU must ensure that foreign capital meets rather than undermines its governance standards.

Iliriana Gjoni, Iva Čukić, Alba Cela, Aleksandër Trajçe

Das Cover der Publikation zeigt schwarzen Text auf grünem Grund.

A Human Security Collapse: Enforced Disappearances and Detained Civilians in Russia’s War Against Ukraine

Enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions of Ukrainian civilians by Russian authorities are systematic and widespread, yet severely underreported. Germany and the EU must use diplomatic leverage to counter this deliberate tool of war.

Budgeting for Security?

Discussion Paper

As Europe rethinks its security strategy in light of global shifts, a new initiative aims to ramp up defense efforts. This paper warns the plan lacks real coordination incentives and calls for deeper reforms that tie funding to shared priorities like democratic resilience and climate security.

Georg McCutcheon, Anton Möller

All Publications on East & Southeast Europe