Democracy

With a new CDU/CSU–SPD coalition government in Berlin, the future direction of Germany's EU policy is in the spotlight. As the largest EU Member State, any shift in Berlin will inevitably echo across Europe. There are a lot of hopes and expectations and of course challenges that this coalition government will have to navigate. We asked Chantal Kopf MdB, the Europe Spokesperson for the German Green Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag, what this new coalition means for the EU.

This May invites a moment of reflection. We mark Europe Day and 75 years of the Schuman Declaration, a proposal that laid the foundation for what would eventually become the EU. We also commemorate 80 years since the end of World War II, and 70 years since Germany joined NATO. These dates remind us of how our continent’s institutions have woven diverse countries together in peace, prosperity and shared values.

A wave of pro-democratic uprisings is pushing back against the rise of authoritarianism in the United States, Turkey, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and many other countries. In Serbia, four months of sustained protests have left the country in political limbo — without a functioning government and facing the prospect of yet another snap election.

While Brussels may see the Jadar lithium mining project as a strategic step toward a greener future, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić sees it as a tactical tool to reinforce his grip on power - just as hundreds of thousands rise to reclaim democracy.

The rise of the far-right movement and recent shifts in global politics have led to significant cuts in foreign development assistance. What are the impacts on feminist and civil society organisations?

To understand the importance of self-representation within photography, Merel Maan Galama sheds a light on the history of photography, showing how prejudiced representation of Roma became part of archives, how this influenced the widespread development of stereotypes and how these are now continuously spread through algorithms. 

The global order is shifting. Old certainties are crumbling, and the structures that once upheld stability are being tested, eroded, or dismantled. In this moment of flux, the question is: who will hold the line?

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.