Democracy

The arrest of Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has sent shockwaves through Turkey’s political landscape. Civil society has been protesting every day, amidst a media crackdown that attempts to contain the unrest. What does this mean for Turkey's democracy and the rule of law, and for EU-Turkey relations? We asked 3 Questions to Dawid Bartelt, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's Istanbul office.

Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) is a global coalition of over 50 leading climate and anti-disinformation organisations demanding robust, coordinated and proactive strategies to deal with the scale of the threat of climate misinformation and disinformation.

The student protests have sparked a wave of democratic mass mobilization throughout Serbia. However, it remains to be seen whether the students’ demands can be translated into political and parliamentary action to enable a peaceful democratic new beginning. On March 15 2025, the most massive protest action yet is called for. Here are some assessments from an activists, journalists, analysts and representatives of the political opposition.

In this Böll·Europe Podcast episode we focus on the snap federal elections in Germany, which took place on Sunday 23 February 2025. Our guest is Dietrich Herrmann, since 2024 Head of the Government, Administration and Political Parties Division at the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's headquarters in Berlin. Dietrich holds a PhD in modern history from the Free University of Berlin. From 1994 to 2013 he worked in political science research at Dresden University. He worked at the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group in the Saxon State Parliament from 2015 to 2020. From 2020 to 2022, he established the new Department of Citizen Participation in the Saxon State Ministry of Justice and for Democracy, Europe and Equality.

This week marks 100 days of the von der Leyen II European Commission. A deadline by which President von der Leyen promised a range of initiatives, as outlined in her 2024-2029 political guidelines. We take a look at the main initiatives launched, in a time when Europe is adapting to shifting geopolitical paradigms.

Europe must step up. While EU leaders have expressed solidarity in the wake of the Trump-Vance-Zelensky Oval Office meeting, tweets and statements do not help on the battlefield. Ukraine needs weapons and financial support. The challenge Europe faces is not a lack of capability, but a weakness of will. Europe possesses immense resources but struggles to mobilise them effectively.

Despite the more difficult majorities in society and parliaments, the Greens should not spend too much time licking their wounds. Instead: open the gates and invite people everywhere to get involved in forward-looking politics.

Germany held snap federal elections on 23 February 2025. What will the new political constellation mean for European unity, the EU’s decarbonisation and competitiveness agenda, and the EU’s role in the world? Roderick Kefferpütz analysed the election results and their implications for Germany’s role in Europe with Dr. Jana Puglierin, Sven Giegold, Leonore Gewessler, Jeanette Süß and Jolanta Szymańska.

The Greens emerge from the election relatively stable despite losses. Formation of the political will within and outside of parties must reorganise itself. Democratic parties must remain able to compromise among themselves in order to fulfil their responsibility for the political order in Germany and beyond.

In this Böll·Europe Podcast episode we focus on parliamentary elections in Kosovo, which took place on Sunday 9 February 2025. Our guest is Granit Gashi, Kosovo Contact Point at the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's Belgrade office. Granit is an environmentalist and sustainability pioneer in Kosovo, and has previously worked for civil society organisations such as GAIA Kosovo, BirdLife Serbia. He’s also the co-founder of the Foundation for Animal Rights in Kosovo.