Foreign & Security Policy

Any Hope for a Kurdish State?

Published: 8 July 2016
Iraqi and Syrian Kurds have gained increasing international recognition for their efforts in combating ISIS and some observers conclude that the conditions for an independent Kurdistan have never been as favorable as they are now. What are the prospects for a Kurdish nation state? 

Identity and Exile: The Iranian Diaspora Between Solidarity and Difference

Published: 27 April 2016
Over five million Iranians are in exile – about 120,000 of which live in Germany. They are influencing political and cultural debates in Iran on a daily basis. The aim of this publication is to promote a process of reflection within the diaspora and provide an input concerning the role and potential of the diaspora community in the US and Germany as well.

Ensuring Deterrence against Russia: The View from NATO's Front-Line States

Published: 11 February 2016
Last week NATO announced its plan to deploy troops to six NATO members in Central Europe to strengthen collective defense. Security guarantees for the front-line states have been discussed since Russia’s intervention in Crimea. This publication from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies analyzes the perceptions of governmental and nongovernmental experts in six NATO front-line states.   

A Transatlantic Conversation on Drone Policy

Published: 7 July 2015
Armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — more commonly referred to as drones — have become a central pillar of the United States’ counterterrorism strategy. A number of European actors have expressed growing concern regarding the lack of transparency, accountability, and clarity surrounding the U.S. drone program. Read the joint conference report by hbs and the Stimson Center on this pressing issue here. 

The Federal Budget and Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2016: Democracy, Governance, and Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa

Published: 22 May 2015
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.  

Germany should support a ban on nuclear weapons

Published: 30 April 2015
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.

Foreign Fighters - The Perils and Perks of Western Policy Responses

Published: 4 February 2015
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.