Politics

Interview with Amel Grami

''The Arab Revolutions Have Triggered A Male Identity Crisis''

The Arab revolutions are calling traditional gender roles into question. In this interview with Martina Sabra, Tunisian intellectual Amel Grami tells how strong women in Tunisia are resisting the Islamisation efforts of both the ruling Ennahda Party and the Salafists
By Martina Sabra
Sanctions against Iran

Like a Slow Poison Injected into Society

With its concept of targeted sanctions against Iran, the West has found a narrative with which it – and, ironically, the Iranian regime – can live. The people of Iran cannot. Sanctions are destroying the economy and harming the people. By Ali Fathollah-Nejad
By Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Protests in Turkey

Civil Society Versus Father State

For the first time in the history of Turkey, an increasingly confident civil society is peacefully calling for more freedom and, so far, the military has not got involved. This is a completely new experience for Turkey, writes Cemal Karakas
By Cemal Karakas
Europe's Syria Policy

Union of the Unwilling

The Syrian conflict has shown that the UN's "responsibility to protect" concept and the EU's common foreign and security policy are no more than wishful thinking, writes Andreas Zumach
By Andreas Zumach
Protests in Turkey

Erdogan Braces Himself for a ''Civilian Coup''

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan refuses to be cowed by recent demonstrations. He is planning huge rallies in Istanbul and Ankara this weekend as a show of strength and determination. He has also warned that his patience has run out. By Ayhan Simsek
By Ayhan Simsek
Protests against Construction Projects in Istanbul

A Government Addicted to Superlatives

The unrest in Istanbul is not only an expression of resistance to a misguided urban development policy, it is also a protest against a government that seems to be determined to construct monuments to itself. By Marian Brehmer
By Marian Brehmer
Post-Mubarak Egypt

Veering off the Path of Progress

When Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power, many thought Egypt would enter a new era. But the country is more divided than ever, and democracy is still a distant dream. Markus Symank asks what went wrong
By Markus Symank
Interview with Bahman Nirumand

The Pasdaran Holds the Reins of Power

Many consider the Pasdaran, Iran's Revolutionary Guards, to be the real centre of power in Iran. In this interview with Shahram Ahadi, Bahman Nirumand talks about how the role of the Pasdaran in the Islamic Republic has changed in recent years and its possible influence on the presidential election
By Shahram Ahadi
Iran before the Elections

Hunger Strikes and Love Letters

Four years after the Green Movement protests in Iran and right before presidential elections there, repression against political prisoners and their families is increasing. Maryam Mirza and Marcus Michaelsen report
By Marcus Michaelsen
Verdict against NGO Representatives in Egypt

Methodical Political Subjugation

In Egypt, employees of a number of foreign NGOs have been sentenced to jail terms in absentia, among them representatives of the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The shameful process throws a spotlight on decades of state control and the legal insecurity of NGOs operating in the Nile region. A commentary by Karim El-Gawhary
By Karim El-Gawhary
Michael Luders on the sanctions on Iran

"The objective is regime change"

For years, the nuclear dispute between the West and Iran has been at a deadlock. In this interview with Thomas Latschan, Middle East expert Michael Lüders says that the West's main objective is not in fact to find a solution to the problem, but to stop Iran from being a power factor in the region
By Thomas Latschan
Mass Protests against Erdogan

On a Knife Edge

Turkey's head of government is finding himself under more and more pressure: Protest against his policies and billion-dollar development projects continue, with sustained criticism even being levelled against him from within his own camp. But the "Sultan of Ankara" is allowing the situation to escalate, as Jürgen Gottschlich reports
By Jürgen Gottschlich