Democracy

At the southern border of “Fortress Europe”, the Mediterranean has turned into a graveyard. The current migrant crisis in Europe is about more than a risk to the EU’s reputation. It strikes at the core of the EU’s founding values.  A continuation of its half-hearted response to the migration crisis is out of question.

We spoke with Katrin Göring-Eckardt, co-chair of the parliamentary group of The Greens in the German Parliament, about the value of diversity, the willingness of the German society to welcome refugees and how to improve their situation in everyday life.

We talked with Luise Amtsberg, Member of the German Bundestag, about Germany’s response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Middle East, the refugee influx at Europe’s southern borders, and what needs to be done to increase European solidarity in response to these challenges.

Officially, there are no legal obstacles to women participating in politics in Afghanistan. However, only one woman registered as a presidential candidate among many men, making discrimination against women in Afghan politics obvious.

Five years into the financial and economic crisis the European Union has not been left unchanged. Is (more) Europe still a good idea?

The NSA scandal is not just a problem for the American democracy. Other American, European, Asian, and African people have also a right to know the whereabouts of their private data.

As international troops begin to withdraw from Afghanistan, it is important to strengthen the civilian component of international assistance beyond 2014. The Heinrich Böll Stiftung and the Center for American Progress brought three Afghan civil society leaders for meetings with the U.S. administration and United Nations in February 2013. You can find their policy recommendations on the presidential elections in 2014, talks with the Taliban, and broader political reforms here ...