The Romanian government wants to impose Europe’s most severe, IMF-approved austerity program. Next Monday, trade unions have called for the first general strike since Ceausescu's rule. This will test not only budget austerity plans but, most importantly, state-society relations in Romania’s version of liberal-democracy
Internationals and locals in Kosovo, two groups that sometimes seem to inhabit separate worlds, have difficulties communicating because of stereotypes held by both sides. Playwright Jeton Neziraj and his German counterpart Kathrin Röggla have explored the subject in a series of correspondences; now edited under the title “Pizza UNMIK”
Urban development concerns over church territory restoration in Yerevan. After the destruction of city parks and controversial projects such as Northern Avenue, the reaction of residents against the planned demolition of historical Cinema Moscow Open-Air Hall
After Moldova's contested parliamentary elections on 6-7 April 2009, peaceful demonstrations degenerated into violent clashes between protesters and police. Civil activists Ghenadie and Oleg Brega remember those days. An interview
Political and religious satire in Turkey. The old humour tradition, popularity among the masses, legal controversies. Our interview with Metin Üstündağ, cofounder of the humour and satire magazine "Penguen"
Istanbul is the 2010 European Capital of Culture. The calendar of events, the debate between artists and urban planners on the choices by the Istanbul 2010 Agency. The Turkish identity, the European identity
The Slovenian weekly newspaper Mladina has proposed the following: abolish the army and transform soldiers into either caregivers for the elderly or emergency management staff. More than five thousand people have already signed a petition in support of the proposal and the debate is heating up. Insight from our correspondent
International organisations, both governmental and non-governmental, find it difficult to co-operate with NGOs in Nagorno Karabakh because its de facto independence is not recognised at the international level. These are some of the difficulties facing civil society in a territory not officially recognised
The Bosnian political crisis in the election year. The European Court of Human Rights' statement on the Dayton Peace Agreement, the force of the Ethnopolis
The work of the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor in Belgrade, public opinion, and the initiative of a group of NGOs to create a regional truth commission. An interview with Bogdan Ivanisevic, consultant of the International Center for Transitional Justice
Recently, a group of young protesters from Skopje seems to have chosen music as the credo of their civic and political activism. They protest by singing. They call themselves Raspeani Skopjani [Singing Skopjans], and their popularity has been growing
Gyumri, the city symbol of the quake that 21 years ago struck Armenia. The stories of the homeless, the domiks, the migrants, waiting for the opening of the borders with Turkey. Reportage
Emin and Adnan, two young activist-bloggers earlier detained in Baku, Azerbaijan on charges that many international organizations consider fabricated, were condemned to serve heavy prison terms
The Romanian generation born in 1989, what they do not know about their past, and what they want from the future. A reportage from Bucharest on the memory of Ceasescu in nowadays' Romania, where the events of 1989 continue to divide society and generations
At the end of the Seventies when Yugoslav society was calm and predictable, punk was born in Slovenia and young people began to mock communism. Then came the death of Tito, the economic crisis, and the road to independence. A new contribution to our dossier "The long lasting '89".
In Georgia, opposition activists are victims of aggression and suffer violent attacks, even at the hands of the police. The government minimises these accusations and speaks of a Georgia which is headed straight on the path toward democracy
Alena Arshinova is the leader of "Proriv"("Breakthrough"), a youth organization founded in 2005 in Transnistria, a de facto independent territory that, in Soviet times, belonged to the Moldovan SSR. We met her at the organization's headquarters in downtown Tiraspol. An interview
Mariam Sukhudyan, a local environmental activist, faces up to 5 years imprisonment after alleging cases of child abuse in a Yerevan boarding school. This seems to be part of a growing trend of governments in the region targeting youth activists
Sexual minorities may not be the most fashionable topic in international cooperation, but there is quite a lot more that Europe can do - and in a better way. Human rights, the NGO sector, and neo-colonialist ghosts in a conversation with Svetlana Ðurković
What is behind the adoption and discussion of anti-discrimination laws in SEE? LGBT rights, EU conditionality, and international cooperation in an interview with Lilit Poghosyan, ILGA-Europe's Programmes Officer for the Balkan region
Music in all three republics continues to be dominated by those singers and musicians who are subordinate to nationalist or predominant political interests. But rock and rap bands are starting to speak out, especially in Azerbaijan
An urban-renewal plan for Istanbul has been destroying entire neighbourhoods and expelling residents to the city's periphery. The Roma population has been expelled from their ancient neighbourhood, Sulukule, where a third bridge will be built on the Bosphorus
Domestic violence is a taboo topic in Azerbaijan. Every attempt to discuss issues that touch the private, family realm is perceived as a threat to the country's national identity
A further take on corporations, responsibility, and the market in Romania. The strong focus on environment, funding mechanisms, and fashion in an interview with Dragos Bucurenci, founder of a specialised NGO
Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizada have been recently detained in Azerbaijan because of apparently groundless accusations. Despite inquiries to the local authorities by foreign embassies in Baku, they are still being held in jail
The European Commission proposed visa liberalization for Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro, which would bring an end to a costly and sometimes humiliating ritual for people who need to travel abroad. Kosovo, Bosnia and Albania, though, were excluded from the recommendation
Sensitivity on corporate social responsibility is embryonic in Romania as well as elsewhere. Trade unions are absent, institutions are fragile, and NGOs draw on the business sector for their fund-raising activity
Recent amendments to the law on NGOs in Azerbaijan have been milder than earlier expected. And while the local NGO community is relieved, there is some dissatisfaction and worry that the struggle is not over yet
An interview with Senad Pećanin, director of the news weekly Dani, about the ongoing clash between High Representative Inzko and the institutions of Republika Srpska, the position of the international community, and the future of the country
