The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) and the Heinrich Böll Foundation of North America are pleased to announce the release of a new publication, The Federal Budget and Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2016: Democracy, Governance, and Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa. U.S. support for democracy, governance, and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa is needed now more than ever.
The war in Syria has now lasted for more than four years and there is still no end in sight. However, a surge of rebel gains over the course of the last weeks show that Assad’s position is in peril. Is the timing ripe to launch a new, sincere attempt to empower the moderate opposition?
The five-yearly Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is taking place from April 27 to May 22, 2015. In order to increase pressure for nuclear disarmament and to strengthen the non-proliferation regime, nuclear weapons need to be banned under international law.
The recent Charlie Hebdo attacks have raised the level of alert about the security threat foreign fighters might pose to their home countries upon their return from Syria and Iraq. Rudine Emrich, trainee at the Heinrich Boell Foundation, assesses Western governments’ policy responses to violent extremism thus far and highlights what risks and opportunities different policy approaches might harbor.
The development of women’s representation in the political and security sector over the last decade can be seen in analogy to the developments of their general opportunities. Heinrich Böll Foundation trainee Timea Kasa gives an overview of women’s development in Afghanistan from the US-invasion in 2001 until today and highlights the current state of women’s rights in the country.
A collaboration of the Center for American Progress and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung.
The past four years have swept away the old pillars of U.S. policy toward the Eastern Mediterranean. For the United States and Turkey, the rapidly changing political situation in Syria and Iraq underpins the need for new partners with whom to work toward regional stability and the provision of basic governance. This reality necessitates a re-evaluation of U.S. policy toward Kurdish political groups and a reinvigoration of Turkey’s peace process with its own Kurdish minority.
The Iran Advisory Group convened its 10th meeting on May 30, 2014 in Beirut, Lebanon. The seminar shed some light on the impact the domestic dynamics under President Rouhani have on Iran’s regional policy agenda.
This paper, by Foreign & Security Policy trainee Fabian Staudenmeyer, identifies US and Russian primary interests regarding the Syrian crisis, and aims to analyze to what extent they have been advanced respectively in the UNSC.
Examining the trajectory of U.S. assistance to the Middle East and North Africa, there is little evidence to suggest that support for democracy, governance, and human rights is now any higher of a priority for the U.S. government than it had been before the uprisings of 2011.
Until now, transitional justice has, in many places, failed to address gender dimensions but increasingly so the issues of inequality, hierarchies and violence patterns. This study details these problems and presents the resulting challenges facing politicians and society.
Afghan women have brought together a very personal account of achievements they have made over the last decade and they have lined out their interest in how the transformation decade beyond 2014 should look like for Afghan women.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is seeing escalating public criticism from Iran's conservative factions, once seemingly stifled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Will Rouhani's presidency follow in the footsteps of the Mohammad Khatami era? HBS and the Stimson Center hosted a panel discussion on the shifting internal political dynamics in Iran.
Perspectives is a publication series of the Africa offices of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung. With this series, we intend to let experts from Africa express their views about current political issues in their region. Perspectives focuses on Southern- , East- and West Africa where the foundation has established offices.
The Stimson Center and the Heinrich Boll Foundation North America held a discussion on positive social and political changes in Iran, the role of Iranian youth in changing the political culture and the implications of a Rouhani presidency on the future of US-Iran relations. Watch the recorded event here
United States has decided to host a nuclear security summit in 2016, which would be the fourth such meeting to strengthen and deepen the "existing nuclear security architecture" before the summit process ends. Although a July 2013 ministerial-level conference on the topic played an important role in strengthening and institutionalizing nuclear security, the White House does not deem progress in this area to be sufficient for the summit process to end.
This report, authored by POMED's Executive Director Stephen McInerey and Advocacy Director Cole Bockenfeld, offers a detailed look at U.S. funding and assistance for democracy and governance in the Middle East, the congressional appropriations process, and implications for U.S. policy in the Middle East during a turbulent time.
Unmanned weapons systems are already changing the nature of warfare. At its 14th Annual Foreign Policy Conference, the Heinrich Böll Foundation sought to address the challenges posed to peace-oriented security policy by these new technologies.Read the Conference Report and related publications here.
Bashar al-Assad’s regime depends on an extensive propaganda machine for its political survival. This has had a tremendous impact on the Syrian conflict, dividing the international community and helping to discredit the opposition. Despite there being hardly a place in Syria in which the regime rules unchallenged, Damascus has largely won the power of information: the ability to define facts in this war.
As a follow-up to the closed workshop "The responsibility to protect in Syria - What can the European Union do?" organized by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union and Dutch peace organization IKV Pax Christi on 5th of December 2012, this joint policy paper focuses on what could be done by the EU in Syria.
Afghanistan represents a very particular case of military intervention-cum-state-building-cum-democratization. Afghan women parliamentarians and civil society actors have positioned themselves against a complete withdrawal of the international community by 2014.
Growing evidence of links between climate change, migration, and conflict raise plenty of reasons for concern and it’s time to start thinking about new answers to these multifaceted crisis scenarios. - New report on Climate Change, Migration, and Conflict in South Asia!
The Heinrich Böll Foundation will close its office in Ethiopia at the end of 2012. The current political and legal situation in the country is such that the Foundation is unable to carry out its work in a politically sustainable and practicable manner. We can no longer fulfil our mission of working with local partners to support democracy, gender justice and sustainable development.
In the midst of bombastic rhetoric exchanged among Iran, Israel, and Western states over the nuclear issue, Iranian public opinion is seldom heard on topics such as the nuclear program, international sanctions, and a potential military strike. Where do the Iranian people stand? Watch the discussion of Iranian Public Opinion hosted by HBF and the Stimson Center.
Hardly a year has passed since Sudan split in two. For much of the time, both sides have been embroiled in conflict. The authors lay out new approaches to a new region, providing guidance to understand the complex political realities of the two Sudans, and point out areas where constructive international engagement is possible.
This fifth annual report offers a detailed look at the U.S. administration's approach to funding and providing assistance to support democracy and governance in the Middle East and North Africa. As some countries in the region embark on political transitions and others continue to protest authoritarian rule, it is important to examine changes in U.S. funding for the Middle East and the impact on Washington’s relations with the region.
From mid-2010 to mid-2011 a working group of Israeli and Palestinian security experts developed concrete proposals and practical steps for international security guarantees in the case of a two state solution between Israel and Palestine. This work was undertaken at the invitation of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung. The group presents their recommendations at several events in Berlin, Brussels and Washington, DC.
It is almost a year ago that Syrian citizens, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, courageously took to the streets in protest against the decades-long denial of their basic rights by the Assad regime.
The discovery of 72 killed migrants in the northern state of Tamaulipas in August 2011 was a tragic event that accelerated and enhanced public awareness for the problem of severe human rights violations toward migrants in Mexico. Since then, new cases are continually coming out in the open. The majority of the migrants killed in Mexico are never identified and remain nameless.
The Pashtuns are the ethnic majority in the border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the Pakistani government is not caring about their issues. In the war on terror they often feel like cannon fodder.
From Syria, 8 months after the beginning of the popular uprising, this article offers a personal account of the brutality of the repression and its implications on the lives of human rights activists.
During the Arab uprisings, an unprecedented number of women took to the streets, paving the way for a more important role in politics. However, in the transitional period that follows, they now have to fight against their exclusion from the political arena.
The US is currently facing a tremendous loss of influence in the region. Changing US policy toward authoritarian regimes has been like turning an oil tanker.
German involvement in Afghanistan did not begin with the attacks of September 11. German humanitarian and development aid existed before the German military intervention – and it will (and must) still be there after the military mission is over.
The self-immolation of young and jobless Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi in the provincial town of Sidi Bouzid, being deprived of his vegetable stand and humiliated by the authorities, triggered popular movements and historic events in the Arab World completely unexpected in their magnitude.
This report offers a detailed look at the U.S. funding and assistance for democracy and governance in the Middle East, the Congressional appropriations process, and implications for U.S. policy in the Middle East during this turbulent time.
It is young people at the heart of the Arab revolt who are rebelling not for jihad but for freedom and democracy. Nevertheless, bin Laden's death opens up huge opportunities worldwide. President Barack Obama needs to follow up on the promise he made in Cairo, two years ago, when he pledged to build bridges to the Muslim world.
Should Arab countries with less advanced technological capacities invest in nuclear power that proved uncontrollable in Fukushima, Japan? Activists and policy-makers from the Arab World and Europe critically discuss these and other questions in this report.
The people of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and also in other countries such as Yemen, Bahrain and Algeria are revolting against encrusted structures. Which direction the movement will take is still open, but one thing has become clear during the last few weeks: Neither the EU nor the EU Member States can claim that the current transition process in Tunisia or Egypt is a direct result of the European democratization policy.
The European Union ushers in the new year amid the ruins of its foreign policy with regard to Eastern Europe. If the EU wants to be a strategic actor in Eastern Europe, it will have to offer credible accession perspectives to all countries wishing to be a part of democratic Europe.
The Jasmine Revolution has prevailed, and the dictator has fled. The Tunisian people have outlined a new page in their history and the history of the Arab world during this first half of 2011.
As more time passes since the disputed June 2009 election in Iran that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power, the Iranian regime’s campaign of repression against its own citizens deepens. Now more than ever, the segment of the Iranian population seeking positive change feels depleted and disillusioned. This report focuses on the desires of Iranians who are directly involved in the opposition movement or who support the movement regarding the steps governments should take to pressure Iran on its human rights violations.
How to restore the credibility of a country whose foundations and self-understanding are based on the universality of freedom and human rights, but that has violated precisely those rights by practicing torture in Guantánamo and other prisons around the world? Thomas C. Hilde outlines several post-Guantánamo detainee policy proposals – and their difficulties – that address these distinctive sets of issues.
At a time when the Obama administration is pressing NATO allies to do more in Afghanistan, should Europeans devote resources to support stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Iraq?
The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) has become a centerpiece of the administration's efforts to engage civil society and support democracy in the region. Following a 30% increase in funding in FY10, the new budget requests an additional 32% increase up to $86 million.
The geographic and social fragmentation of the Palestinian people is essentially a result of the conflict in the Middle East. This topic represents the main focus of our two-day conference with international experts in March 2010. Our dossier provides further information about the conference and the invited experts.
As we are approaching the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, hopes for a positive outcome are high. While the Obama Administration’s actions do support this prospect, there is a possibility that bilaterally concluded nuclear deals set the treaty in danger.
In the post-London scenario, caution becomes even more necessary; if the international community wants to try the dialogue option, it shall have to lower the temperature by scaling down combat operations.
Nine years after 9/11 and all the blood and treasure expended on efforts in the region, President Barack Obama told People magazine on January 11 that 'the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan remains the epicenter of al’ Qaeda, their leadership and their extremist allies.
December 28, 2009This publication is designed to provide a differentiated view of Pakistan’s complex political processes and social challenges to a broad international audience. Authors from a variety of disciplines present their analyses of Pakistan’s deficits and shortcomings, as well as their ideas and visions for a more democratic and peaceful future.
The risk of nuclear anarchy is no longer a distant horror scenario; it has entered the realms of possibility. Heinrich Böll Foundation held its tenth Annual Foreign Policy Conference on September 10 and 11.
In May, President Obama submitted to Congress the full details of his first budget request, for Fiscal Year 2010.This report offers an in-depth analysis of Obama’s attempts to support democracy, governance, and human rights in the Broader Middle East and North Africa.
President Obama has approached the European Union to become more active in Iraq, and the EU itself has expressed interested to re-engage. But what can, and what should, Europe do? And how shall this be articulated with the American effort?
