Publications

The Middle Eastern and Northern African (MENA) region, faced with tumultuous changes in the last five years, shows a picture of shrinking spaces for civil society activism. In contrast, ecological activism is growing and connecting the fight for climate justice to other demands for community and indigenous rights, gender equality, democracy and transparency.

Over the last years, Asia has undergone an impressive digital transformation. Large parts of the continent have turned from the world’s factory into a creative industry.The different contributions across the continent highlight both the opportunities and risks of digitalization in Asia.

This issue of Perspectives light on the ongoing struggle of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people for equality in Africa. The articles demonstrate that despite the myriad of challenges and hostile environment there is a growing movement towards changing Africa into a continent where LGBTI people enjoy the full range of human rights.

This issue opens with an article by Yunus Sözen that evaluates the local elections which were held on 30 March. Our special dossier is on capital and capitalists in Turkey. We analyze the varieties of business groups from Gülen community to capitalists of the Kurdish region. Democracy section features an article on recent internet censorship efforts by the government.

In recent months, a number of rapid and dramatic developments have unfolded that demand our attention. The most prominent of these include the tsunami and the ensuing nuclear reactor crisis in Japan, political upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East, and most recently the Green Party‘s swift rise in popularity in Ger many, which led to the election of Germany‘s first Green Minister President at the federal state level – namely in the state of Baden-Württemberg.