Democracy

Civil Society Innovation and Populism in a Digital Era

Innovation Report: Civil Society Innovation and Populism in a Digital Era

Published: 28 November 2019
Publication
Across 14 case studies from international and national civil society organisations, networks and movements from populist contexts around the world, the report highlights their innovativeness, effectiveness in countering different elements of populism, and responsiveness to the potential of digital media in the specific context.

Free, fair, and alive: the insurgent power of the commons

Published: 6 September 2019
Book
Ambitious, sophisticated, and resolutely grounded in everyday realities, "Free, Fair and Alive" present a compelling vision of a future that can actually work. Written by two highly experienced commons activists, this book is at once a penetrating cultural critique, table-pounding political treatise, and practical playbook for building a new world of commoning.

Governing Ecologically

Published: 4 July 2019
Study
In voter surveys, the German Greens regularly come out as the party deemed to have by far the greatest competency in this area and in energy policy as well. This study by Arne Jungjohann tries to answer if this image is justified, as it looks at the subnational level of the federal states.

Stabilization via change? The European Union’s support for human rights advocacy in Lebanon

Published: 16 April 2019
Paper
Civil society is identified as a key partner for the European Union (EU) and receiver of financial support in the European Neighbourhood Policy, as civil society is closest to the citizen’s needs, for example in terms of human rights. However, the existing body of research questions whether such aspirations for human rights are compatible with the EU’s main priority in neighbourhood, stabilization. 

What Is at Stake in the 2019 European Election?

Published: 18 December 2018
Event report
The upcoming European election in 2019 might bring about an unprecedented political earthquake, already foreshadowed four years ago, blowing away the political centre altogether. What is likely to happen in the end: the feared come-back of nationalism or is there hope for a pro-European revival?

Upping the Ante on Bulk Surveillance

Published: 8 November 2018
Study
The precarious balance between the need for security and the right to privacy will continue to characterize “risk societies” of the 21st century. This compendium by Thorsten Wetzling and Kilian Vieth provides robust oversight practices and good laws that can serve as bulwarks against the erosion of fundamental rights in Europe and America.

Feminicide: A Global Phenomenon

Published: 13 October 2017
The fifth edition of “Feminicide: A Global Phenomenon” covers topics such as feminicide in different countries, the recent call of the UN-Rapporteur and the absolute criminalization of abortion.