Publications - Heinrich Böll Foundation

Statehood & Participation

Edited Volume

Democratic Transition in the Middle East

December 26, 2012 - Popular uprisings and revolts across the Arab Middle East have often resulted in a democratic void in power. The book edited by Heinrich boell foundation examines how societies in Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Iraq and Lebanon seeks to fill that void, regardless of whether the regime falls or survives. Larbi Kadiki, Heiko Wimmen and Layla Al-Zubaidi more»

Study

Walking A Tightrope

- December 11, 2012 - Over the past 15 years, the Arab World has witnessed the rapid development of its news media, raising standards of reporting as well as expectations. With the outbreak of what has become known as the "Arab Spring," the media landscape is again in a heightened state of flux. How far the Arab media have been, and will be, able to contribute to social and political change? Layla Al-Zubaidi, Susanne Fischer and Magda Abu-Fadil more»

Collaborative Study

Censorship in Lebanon: Law and Practice

This study aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of censorship in Lebanon which will hopefully allow the many local artistic and cultural actors the opportunity to lobby for the most appropriate legislative amendments to the current censorship regulations which are currently not conducive to their work.

Research

Narrating Beirut from its Borderlines

- Narrating Beirut from its Borderlines is a collection of four small research studies that examine a number of the physical and immaterial borderlines that have come to define the contemporary geography of Beirut and its peripheries since 2005. By Mohamad Hafeda, Hiba Bou Akar, Dana Mazraani and Massa Ammouri more»

Perspectives Middle East #3 February 2012 - Syria's Revolution: Society, Power, Ideology

Print and Online Publication

Perspectives #3 February 2012 - Syria's Revolution: Society, Power, Ideology

- It is almost a year ago that Syrian citizens, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, courageously took to the streets in protest against the decades-long denial of their basic rights by the Assad regime. more»

Publication

Gender Politics Makes a Difference: Experiences of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Across the World

- The Heinrich Böll Foundation presents some of its experiences -- both setbacks and successes -- in the promotion of gender democracy. It is just a small sample of HBS' work all over the world. HBS is very much aware that its political and financial contributions are often only part of a larger network; yet its work does make a difference – for more gender justice. by Barbara Unmüßig more»

Study

Cases of Femicide before Lebanese Courts

- “Cases of Femicide before Lebanese Courts” is a study that sheds light on some of the crimes committed against women and girls within the context of the family structure and its relations in Lebanon. By Azza Charara Baydoun more»

Print and Online Publication

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

- 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… With Contributions from Mouin Rabbani, Fawaz Traboulsi, Ahmad Beydoun, Mohammed Ali Atassi, Hussein Yaakoub, Yassine Temlali, Asef Bayat, Muhammad Ali Khalidi, Terry Regier, Mansoura Ez-Eldin, Aref Hijjawi, Magda Abu-Fadil, Doreen Khoury more»

Edited Volume

Diversity and Female Political Participation: Views on and from the Arab World

- What does the political participation of women look like within the immense diversity of the Arabic world? This edition of the Heinrich Boell Foundation’s series on Democracy analyzes the historical and current developments of gender relationships, and the role of women in the politics of Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. With contributions by Claudia Derichs, Hoda Salah, Azadeh Zamirirad, Hala Kindelberger, Dana Fennert, and Vania Carvalho Pinto. more»

Handbook

Homosexuality, Bisexuality: Myths and Realities

- Homosexuality is a subject that induced the persecution of a lot of individuals and the shed of their blood.

The situation in Lebanon is not as dangerous as in other countries in the Arab world for those individuals whose sexual orientation does not comply with that of the majority, but it is not less serious. Threats of death, humiliations, blackmails, attacks, marginalization, discriminations, rejections, depressions, suicide attempts, shame, guilt, emotional life ruined, isolation, are in great majority the load of the openly or clandestinely homosexual persons living in homophobic societies.

Edited Volume

At the Edge of the City - Reinhabiting Public Space toward the Recovery of Beirut’s Horsh Al-Sanawbar

- Since the early 1990s, Beirut’s Park, Horsh Al-Sanawbar, was sealed off from the lives of many Beiruti residents and visitors, with numerous justifications for their exclusion. At the Edge of the City aspires to chart an alternative discourse from that which produces this exclusion. Through exploring issues of advocacy and politics, the book aims to provide a platform to contest the existing governance of Horsh Al-Sanawbar and to bring forward a well-informed public space policy agenda.

Published by DISCURSIVE FORMATIONS with the support of Heinrich Böll Stiftung – Middle East Office

Book

Signs of Conflict: Political Posters of the Lebanese Civil War

- From 1975 to 1990, different factions in Lebanon’s civil conflict flooded the streets with posters to mobilize their constituencies, undermine their enemies, and create public sympathy for their cause. This is how the military performance on the front lines and on demarcation lines was in junction with another kind of conflict rotating around the image and words and the symbolic claiming of territory and land. more»

Book

Bareed Mista3jil

- MEEM launched in 2009 the book “Bareed Mista3jil”: a collection of 40 true stories from voices in Lebanon that we seldom hear. Their common thread is that they are all from persons of non-conforming sexualities and gender identities, the life of queer women and transgender in Lebanon.

Published by MEEM and with the support of the Heinrich Boll Foundation-Middle East Office

Edited Volume

MNSG – Navigating the Space between Exile and Home

- A publication by offline:events in collaboration with independent Iraqi artists, filmmakers, and authors documenting the lives of Iraqis navigating the space between home and exile and lending Iraqi refugees and those living in exile a voice to express their realities and reflections inter alia on notions such as Homeland and Exile, East and West, and Identity more»

Edited Volume

Cities of the South: Citizenship and Exclusion in the 21st Century

- Major cities worldwide are caught in a whirlwind of change that is turning urban spaces into strategic sites where history is being rewritten. Migration, civil society and an array of national and transnational players are transforming assumptions about citizenship in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. From the slums of Mumbai to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, from the skyscrapers of Dubai to urbanizing Palestinian refugee camps, the new cities are altering the answers to one of mankind's oldest questions: where do I belong? more»

Conflict & Intl. Politics

PRINT AND ONLINE PUBLICATION

Perspectives #4 November 2012 - Qatar: aspirations and realties

November 27, 2012 - In the Arab Gulf Region, one political actor, in particular, is becoming more visible, seemingly more engaged in navigating the uncertainties caused by the fast changes emerging in the region and in filling the gaps in this political scene: The state of Qatar. What is the role Qatar is trying to play in the region and is it being translated internally? more»

Publication

To the Death: A survey of the continuing experiences among fighters from Lebanon's Civil Wars

- No history of the Lebanese civil war can ever be complete if it fails to explain why ordinary Lebanese chose to fight and how they perceive the actions they took during the war. With that in mind, this work has attempted to identify and elucidate some of the many factors that compelled Lebanese to enter the fray.
more»

Edited Volume

Emerging Powers and the Middle East

- One of the most important focal points of overlapping and competing interests of both established and emerging powers is the Middle East. This region is an arena where the new rules of the game are being developed and acted out. This publication attempts looking at the effects of the global shift of power on the Middle East to explore the perspectives of the region to become a partner in an emerging multi-polar system, rather than a stomping ground or even a battlefield for the interest and the prestige of others. With contributions by Azmi Bishara, Parag Khanna, Hermann Schwengel, Vitaly Naumkin, Ibrahim Saif, Yasmeen Tabaa, Sven Behrendt, Mingjiang LI, Praful Bidwai, Ziad Abdel Samad, and Kinda Mohamadieh. more»

Edited Volume

Sudan - No Easy Ways Ahead

- As the six-year transitional period defined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement draws to a close, Sudan is sliding into another crisis. The Heinrich Böll Foundation, which has been working both with civil society partners in Sudan and on Sudan-related issues in the German context for several years, has put together this publication in order to reflect on such scenarios. With contributions by Alex de Waal, Atta El-Battahani, Marina Peter, John Yoh, Roland Marchal, and Peter Schumann. more»

Edited Volume

What Can Europe Do in Iraq? Recommendations for a New U.S.-European Collaboration

- This publication describes a new start of cooperation between Europe, the United States, and regional partners in the Middle East to tackle the challenges in Iraq and to help bring peace, stability, and sustainable development to the wider region.

With contributions by Layla Al Zubaidi, Bülent Aras, Megan Chabalowski, Richard Gowan, Faleh Jabar, Daniel Korski, Sami Moubayed, Daniel Serwer, and Heiko Wimmen

Study

Unpacking the Dynamics of Communal Tensions: a Focus Group Analysis of Perceptions Among Youth in Lebanon

- 'Unpacking the Dynamics of Communal Tensions: A Focus Group Analysis of Perceptions among Youth in Lebanon' is a pilot study on a prevailing trend in Western Asia, namely communal tensions. The study aims to dismantle the dynamics of communal tensions through a focus group analysis that targets the largest segment of the Arab population: youth between the ages of 18 and 25. Lebanon is used as a case study to steer the debate and increase the understanding of the factors fermenting communal tensions that are the root causes of conflict. more»

Report

Beyond Guantánamo - Restoring U.S. Credibility on Human Rights

- How to restore the credibility of a country whose foundations and self-understanding are based on the universality of freedom and human rights, but that has violated precisely those rights by practicing torture in Guantánamo and other prisons around the world? By Thomas C. Hilde more»

Study

Walking the Line

- The Heinrich Böll Stiftung, the German Development Service, the Forum Civil Peace Service and the Working Group on Development and Peace jointly commissioned a study as to understand more the conflict and peacebuilding context and for reflection on options for peacebuilding by German development and peace organisations. more»

Environmental Justice

Policy Paper

The Green Economy – The New Magic Bullet?

Exactly what a green economy is and should be, and with what measures and instruments it should be implemented, has not yet been defined and is the topic of intense political debate. Nevertheless, efforts are being made to develop a “Green Economy Roadmap.” Rio+20 should not simply be a repetition of previous international conferences. Instead it must offer a true breakthrough on the path to a social, just, low-carbon and resource-efficient world. Barbara Unmüßig - co-president of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung more»

Print and Online Publication

Perspectives #1 April 2011: Nuclear Energy and the Arab World - Ambition and Peril

In the first edition of Perspectives Middle East, activists and decision-makers from the Arab world and Europe critically discuss the transfer and use of civilian nuclear energy in the region.

With contributions from Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Hamed Beheshti, Ali Darwish, Leila Ghanem, Dennis Kumentat und Nikolaus Supersberger, Najib Saab, Larbi Sadiki, und Jürgen Trittin. more»

Edited Volume

Urban Futures 2030

- Half of the world's population lives in cities. This publication gathers the answers of selected experts to the challenges of sustainable urban planing and architecture. more»

Study

Climate Change and the Right to Food

- This study highlights how the climate change regime and the human rights regime addressing the right to food have failed to coordinate their agendas and to collaborate to each other’s mutual benefit. It proposes concrete methods by which institutions can address climate change problems and realize the right to food symbiotically, in compliance with the principles of systemic integration under international law. more»

Guide Book

The Myth of Nuclear Power

- The myth of nuclear power keeps persevering. Therefore the Heinrich Böll Foundation has commissioned renowned international nuclear experts to deliver detailed facts central to the myths of nuclear energy. This overview provides the public with a current, facts rich and nuclear-critical know-how. more»

Magazine

Bada’el Issue on “Health, Epidemics and Climate Change”

- Bada’el is a Lebanese environmental magazine published by the Lebanese Association Ecologia. With the support of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, an issue of Badae’l on “Health, Epidemics and Climate Change” will be released in September 2010. more»

Book

Tales of the Badia - Bedouin Folk Tales from Lebanon

- This book, written by a woman of the Bedouin community in the Lebanese Bekaa valley, is a compendium of some of the Bedouin tales (Sawalef) orally transmitted in the Abu Eid community. The tales are recounted in Bedouin dialect. By making public some of the oral history of that community, the books sheds light on the life of the marginalized Bedouins of Lebanon.

Edited Volume

At the Edge of the City - Reinhabiting Public Space toward the Recovery of Beirut’s Horsh Al-Sanawbar

Published by DISCURSIVE FORMATIONS with the support of Heinrich Böll Stiftung – Middle East Office

Report

Slow Trade - Sound Farming: A Multilateral Framework for Sustainable Markets in Agriculture

- Within the Workshop "Food Sovereignty vs. Free Trade, Towards an Alternative Multilateral Agricultural Governance Framework" organized by the Green Line Association, the launching of the Arabic version of the "Slow Trade - Sound Farming: A Multilateral Framework for Sustainable Markets in Agriculture", will take place. This publication was developed by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and MISEREOR. more»

Conference Report

Green Wars? Environment between Conflict and Cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa

- This conference was held on November 2-3, 2007 and tackled the darker side of the environment-conflict-nexus, but also the opportunities for find common ground over environmental issues. more»

Culture & Dialogue

Publication

Anywhere but Now

December 18, 2012 - This publication derives its title from a three-day symposium held in Beirut in April 2009, which brought together scholars, writers, filmmakers and artists to explore questions around landscapes of belonging. "Anywhere but Now" assembles diverse desires for elsewhere. It is a compilation of apart-ness, a chronicle of ruptures, violence and yearning, through time and across geographies. Edited by Samar Kanafani, Munira Khayyat, Rasha Salti and Layla Al-Zubaidi more»

Edited Volume

Cultural Practices of Arab Youth - Volume XIV 2009-2010

- The latest volume of collected articles and essays published by Bahithat (The Lebanese Association of Women Researchers) analyzes and contextualizes contemporary cultural practices and forms of entertainment applied by young people (aged 15 – 24 years) in several Arab countries and in the Diaspora. more»

Edited Volume

What a Story: Children’s Literature Today

- Children’s literature in Lebanon nowadays is characterized by its dynamic development which shows through different traditional and contemporary narrations. Nevertheless, there are a number of factors that prevent the development of innovative children’s literature such as a lack of analytical studies, its quality, the absence of not modern issues (such as gender, conflict, environmental issues etc), and a lack of opportunities to exchange different experiences on the local, regional or international levels. more»

Book

Damascus: Tourists, Artists, Secret Agents

- This book concludes an artistic research project which took place in Damascus in October 2008 and through an online platform in the months before and after. The project “Reloading Images: Damascus / Work in Progress 2008” brought together cultural practitioners from Syria, Germany, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Turkey, USA, Egypt and Slovakia to discuss forms of artistic agency and work together on artistic projects taking the city of Damascus as a starting point. more»

Edited Volume

Waiting for the Barbarians - A Tribute to Edward Said

- In engaging with the richly varied and seminal scholarship of Edward Said, Waiting for the Barbarians aims to recover the notion of culture as a collective, hybrid and plural experience, inlight of the political imperative that rules our present. In bringing together some of the figures most closely associated with Said and his scholarship, this comprehensive volume looks at Said the literary critic and public intellectual, Palestine, and Said’s intellectual legacy: the future through the lens of his work. more»

Conference Report

‘All that is banned is desired.’

- The report is a documentation of a regional conference "Freedom of Expression in Music", that was held in Beirut from 7 to 8 October 2005, in collaboration with Freemuse - World Forum on Music and Censorship and Irab-Arabic Association for Music. more»