Politics are brimming with metaphoric references to games – be it the famous “Great Game” as the diplomatic confrontation of great powers in Asia at the beginning of the 20th century was referred to, the understanding of strategic moves in a region as a “chess board,” war “theatres” or references to the “players,” the strong of them framed as “actors,” the weak as “pawns”, or the crazy ones behaving like “wild cards.”
2017 marks 50 years since Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory. During this period, Israel has implemented a variety of policies and practices in order to maintain and seize further control over the territory, while creating uninhabitable living conditions for the Palestinian population. This comes despite Israel’s obligations, as the Occupying Power, to protect the environment and the well-being of the protected population.
Without the ocean there would be no life on our planet. But the future of this unique ecosystem faces a grave threat today. The Ocean Atlas 2017 delivers with its 18 contributions and 50 graphics the relevant facts and figures about the ocean.
In Paris in 2015 governments agreed to keep global warming to well below 2 degrees. The mainstream pathways pin theirhopes to risky and costly technologies. In this joint publication, together with Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) and Misereor, we present alternatives that are possible and necessary for a change of course.
During the summer of 2014, environmentalists Muna Dajani and Lina Isma’il conducted research for an innovative Palestinian guidebook, which will soon be published by the Heinrich Boell Foundation’s Ramallah office. The authors visited farmers, artisans, and companies throughout Palestine, and wrote 100 profiles introducing their work. The result of their journey is a guidebook that invites its readers to get to know the people behind the products they buy, and to build and expand their own individual network of producers.
How could a just and democratic resource politics look like that respects both planetary boundaries and human rights? The Memorandum “Resource Politics for a Fair Future” is the outcome of a two-year international dialogue process of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
Through misuse, we lose 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil every year. For the International Year of Soils in 2015, this Atlas shows, why the soil should concern us all. Jointly published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies.
Food is a necessity. And it’s very personal. Satisfaction reflects ethical decisions, and private concerns can be very political in nature. We are more and more alienated from what is on our plates and in our hands, so responsible food consumption is something that an increasing number of people demand. These people need information on which to base their decisions and to answer their questions.
This publication sheds light on the impacts of meat and dairy production, and aims to catalyse the debate over the need for better, safer and more sustainable food and farming.
When women in the Middle East make the headlines, it is usually as victims. Disturbing stories of the so called 'Islamic State' (ISIS) kidnapping and raping tens of thousands of women are sadly often the ones which stick in the Western memory. But there is more to women's political lives in the region than their victimisation and oppression. We decided to look to the future, present and past in this issue, in order to present an alternative narrative which challenges these representations of women.
When ISIS announced the establishment of the so-called ‘Islamic State’ it fuelled discussions as to whether this would herald the ‘end of Sykes-Picot’ – borders artificially drawn by the colonial powers at the beginning of the twenti- eth century. But borders are more than ‘lines in the sand’: they divide. While the privileged few may cross legitimately by simply presenting their passport, for most, these borders present difficult if not insurmountable hurdles. People fleeing from war, climate change or economic hardship, attempt to cross the Mediterranean but many drown trying.
More than twenty years after the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA), opinion polls persistently reveal a general belief in the presence and practice of corruption in the PA institutions, despite reports about improvement in good governance and transparency in recent years. According to a freshly released report by the Palestinian Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (AMAN) -Transparency International chapter in Palestine- 85% of the Palestinian public believe in the existence of corruption in PA institutions.
They are only 'hot air' but anyone who has been affected by rumours is familiar with their unhallowed dynamics, and the serious consequences they can entail. Rumours fulfil social functions. They serve as a medium through which unfulfilled hopes or unspecific fears can be voiced. They bond and drive a wedge between people and population groups at the same time. They can destroy reputations, credibility and even lives. Read here twelve experts from the MENA region discussing the topic!
Sadly, the Middle East has witnessed some of the largest mass displacements of people worldwide over the past decade. As it currently stands, millions of Syrians are fleeing their homes, moving within the country and sometimes far outside of it. Not surprisingly, neighboring states have absorbed most of these people and have managed well under the circumstances. However, the question of how to deal with the waves of those who have lost everything and might not be able to go back in the near future is a huge challenge for the refugees and for host communities, especially since there is no settlement on the horizon.
Our Partner -Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association- relased a report about COURAGEOUS VOICES, FRAGILE FREEDOMS Israel’s Arrest and Detention of Palestinian Human Rights Defenders against the Annexation Wall.
