International Politics - Heinrich Böll Foundation

International Politics - Foreign policy and policy analysis

Introduction

For the past several decades, the Arab-Israeli conflict has been a major topic in international debates. 20 years after the Oslo process a solution seems further away than ever. Ongoing Israeli military occupation, Palestinian internal division, and international disorientation dominate the political agenda. Shifting regional power relations, the transformations in the Arab world, and the rise of Islamism add new layers to the already complicated political conflicts and social struggles.
In cooperation with its Palestinian and Jordanian partners hbs organises conferences, studies, debates, and expert meetings on national and regional levels, in order to analyse the underlying causes of the conflicts, anticipate future challenges, and provide policy advice. Furthermore, hbs organises visiting programs to contribute to the political and cultural dialogue between Germany, Europe, and the Middle East. hbs provides well researched and analysed information about policy options for decision makers on the Palestinian, Middle Eastern, German, and European level.

Projects and Partners International Politics

By Nicolas Pelham - Sep, 2012

Sinai: The Buffer Erodes

October 15, 2012 - This new study by Nicholas Pelhem, which was co-funded by hbs Ramallah, tries to shed light on the background of the recently destabilized situation in the Sinai. During the rule of Mubarak, especially since the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, Sinai has served as a buffer zone between the players in the region. Ever since the Egyptian Revolution created a security vacuum in the Sinai the situation is changing rapidly. Recent cross border assaults increase tension between Israel and Egypt. Hamas is expanding its own sphere of interest beyond the borders of the besieged Gaza Strip toward the Peninsula. Finally, the indigenous people of the Sinai, organized in around 20 tribes and largely economically and socially excluded for years, struggle for power as well. The study provides an in depth analysis of what is going on in the Sinai. more»

Ramallah, July 2012

IJS Yearly conference on “Area C and the Jordan Valley”

- September 9, 2012 - According to its mission to document, research, analyse and publish on the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Institute of Jerusalem Studies (IJS), the local branch of the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS), hosted its yearly conference under the title “Present and Future of ‘Area C’ and the Jordan Valley: Strategies of Confronting Israel’s Colonial Control” on 6-7 July in Ramallah - Al Bireh. The IJS is a long term partner of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (hbs). more»

The Institute of Jerusalem Studies - IJS

Research Gaps in Palestinian Scholarly Work

- The IJS is a branch of Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS), a highly respected institution, which is very influential in the Palestinian context. For the last six years IJS cooperated closely with Heinrich Böll Stiftung (hbs), mainly in publishing the Jerusalem Quarterly (JQ) journal. more»

Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies - MASARAT

Palestinian Youth Communication Project- phase II: “Young people are planning… Young people are doing”

- Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies (MASARAT) in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Stiftung started on 2011 a project to facilitate communication between different young Palestinians in different locations: West Bank, Gaza Strip Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The communications was mainly through video conferences and internet. more»

Palestinian Delegation on Reconciliation

“European support for Palestinian reconciliation needed”

- March 13, 2012 - From February 27 to March 2nd the Heinrich Böll Stiftung in Ramallah co-sponsored a delegation of Palestinian experts to Berlin and Brussels to discuss latest developments in the Palestinian reconciliation process
more»

Raji Sourani in Berlin

End Israeli Closure of Gaza Strip Now!!

- The Heinrich Böll Stiftung in Ramallah invited Raji Sourani, head of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), to Germany. During the trip he briefed officials, NGO activists and politicians from all parties represented in the German Parliament about the current situation in Palestine and the Gaza strip more»

Print and Online Publications/ Articles

NEW REPORT

How the EU needs to improve work in area C

June 2, 2013 - A new report by Members of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), an umbrella organization of more than 80 international aid and development agencies working on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (including the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation) , analyses the EU initiatives in area C of the Westbank. The report concludes that the EU needs to do more to address the problem of area C to improve the lives of Palestinians living there and to coordinate systematic action backed by highlevel political leadership in order to protect the most vulnerable Palestinian communities.
more»

Article

Jordan’s Elections: Transparent but not Democratic

- January 30, 2013 - Anna Lührmann was part of a short-term election observation mission of the National Democratic Institute (NDI). In addition to briefings and debriefings in Amman, she observed polling in Jarash in Jordan’s North. Based on this experience and NDI’s preliminary statement on the election she assesses the democratic quality of last week’s elections for the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation... By Anna Lührmann more»

Perspectives #4 November 2012

Qatar: Aspirations and Realties

- November 25, 2012 - In the newest issue of Perspectives: Political Analysis and Commentary from the Middle East & North Africa, the authors explore a political actor in the Gulf region who is becoming more visible, seemingly more engaged in navigating these uncertainties, and in filling the gaps in the political scene: The state of Qatar. Perspectives is a quarterly journal dedicated to highlighting research and debate from authors who live and work in the region. It is now jointly edited and published by the three HBS offices located in Tunis, Beirut and Ramallah. more»

Dr. René Wildangel in conversation with Sandra Schulz/ Deutschlandfunk

Representative of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in the West Bank Worried About Further Escalation in the Middle East

- November 20, 2012 - 17 November 2012. Dr. René Wildangel, head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s office in Ramallah, warns of an Israeli ground invasion in Gaza and a repetition of the "absolutely disastrous war" of 2008. Instead, an immediate cease fire and new policy options to include Gaza in regional negotiations are needed. more»

Print and Online Publication

Perspectives #2 May 2011, Special Issue: People's Power - The Arab World in Revolt

- Perspectives - Political Analysis and Commentary from the Middle East is a publication series of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung’s offices in Beirut and Ramallah provides a platform for analysis and viewpoints of experts from the region. The self-immolation of young and jobless Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi in the provincial town of Sidi Bouzid, being deprived of his vegetable stand and humiliated by the authorities, triggered popular movements and historic events in the Arab World completely unexpected in their magnitude…
more»

Article by Nadia Al - Sakkaf/ Chief Editor of the Yemen Times

Yemen’s revolution: The lack of public reasoning

- The sound of heart beats was deafening in Sanaa’s 20th street when protestors moved in the demonstration’s forefront. Around 15 snipers were positioned on rooftops on two sides of Dairi street intersection with 20th street. Protestors planned on Friday, March 18th, to expand the sit-in area and to erect new tents at the intersection.

An account of the people’s revolt in Yemen prior to the departure of Ali Saleh by Nadia Al-Sakkaf/ Chief Editor of the Yemen Times......

Egypt: The End of a Dynastic Republic? By Joachim Paul
Democracy protests in Egypt:EU has to decide whether it will continue with its support for authoritarian Arab regimes and their security apparatuses that, for decades, have prevented democractic change? or whether they are willing back a difficult, possibly chaotic process of democratic change.

Voices from insight: Dr. George Giacaman, Co-Founder and General Director of The Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy (Muwatin) in Ramallah, writes about the political implications of the event with the aid flotilla for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, its political aftermath and the consequences for the international community. This article is also available on the hbs main website www.boell.de (in German).

Head of Human Rights Committee Tom Koenigs visits Palestine

July 18, 2012 - From 09 July to 12 July 2012 the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (hbs) Ramallah organised the visit of Tom Koenigs, MP of the party Alliance ‘90/The Greens and Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the German Bundestag, and Barbara Meincke, human rights advisor for the Green Party Group. more»

Barbara Unmüßig visits Palestine

- The Heinrich Böll Stiftung Ramallah welcomed Barbara Unmüßig, the co-president of the hbs, from 01 April to 05 April 2012. Ms Unmüßig attended numerous meetings with civil society actors and conducted three field trips... more»

West Bank visit by German MPs Jürgen Trittin and Kerstin Müller

- March 20, 2012 - The Chairman of the Green’s parliamentary group, Jürgen Trittin, and the Green’s parliamentary spokesperson on foreign affairs, Kerstin Müller, visited the Palestinian Territories between March 12 and March 15, 2012. HBS Ramallah organized various meetings with Palestinian officials and civil society representatives. more»

Visit of the German Green Youth (23rd- 24th of March 2011)

- On the occasion of their visit to the region, 15 members of the Grüne Jugend (Green Youth), the political youth organization of the German Greens, spent two days in Palestine. Heinrich Böll Stiftung Arab Middle East Office Ramallah organized meetings with Palestinian politicians, partner organizations and a tour to the Jordan Valley. more»