Democracy

Over the last weeks Poland has witnessed an unprecedented mobilisation of women against the tightening of the abortion law. Our colleague Gert Röhrborn from our Warsaw office sheds light on recent events.

What comes after the failed referendum in Hungary? Political scientist Bulcsú Hunyadi about Orbáns objectives and about Hungarians who are tired of the migration topic.

Today’s central line of conflict runs between open societies and various forms of Identitarian radicalism. The challenge we face is to reconcile rapid changes in a globalized modern age with our need to belong and our need for security.

Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán and his ruling party Fidesz failed with their referendum to obstruct the EU’s effort to impose an obligatory quota scheme for the resettlement of refugees. However, they could benefit from this defeat in domestic policies. A commentary.

Populism is a growing movement. Democrats need to investigate on its characteristics to come up with counterstrategies.

Is the EU the cause of the injustices we face? Zygmunt Bauman discusses Brexit and the impact it has on the world.

Close on the heels of the UN adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 the HABITAT III conference offers the international community a timely opportunity to revisit and revision its commitments to putting human rights at the heart of sustainable urban development. The global context is adverse, marked by growing inequity, rising levels of homelessness and landlessness, forced migration, environmental degradation and climate change.

Russian NGOs are under pressure: They are hindered in their work with laws and checks by the authorities, paralyzed and driven to close down. External support is not only helpful, but vital.

The repression of civil societies activites in countries like Egypt and Russia are justified with the "protection of the states sovereignity" and the "principle of non-intervention". When unwelcomed critique is silenced, activists need all our solidarity and support.

An analysis carried out by CIVICUS indicates that in far too many countries and in all global regions the conditions for civil society work and activities has worsened. Some of the solutions to this problem could be taken by civil society itself.