Political Participation

After the social and economic transformation in 1989 Polish cities fell into chaos and decline. Many of them suffered from closures of industrial facilities, and crime was on the rise. After the EU accession in 2004, authorities decided to take use of the stream of money coming from the Union. The problem was that it came with a cost…

The Spanish citizenry has organised the so-called “convergence list of candidates” for the local elections in May 2015. These lists have integrated political parties, civil society and independent citizens aiming to regenerate the local policy from a political, social, economic and ecological point of view. What are the common points of such lists?

Bashir Ahmad Fatehi has been busy with cultural and educational projects since completing post-graduate work in political science. Here he gives his impressions of the political scene in post-Taliban Afghanistan, the challenges which lie ahead and the important role of young politicians in the prospects for a stable and vibrant future.

The rise of the radical Podemos party in Spain raises some serious questions for the Greens and all progressive parties and movements. We should look deeply at the party’s platform, leadership and policies and draw lessons from its rise – rather than resorting to pointless name-calling.

The trajectory of the ‘End Ecocide’ ECI has highlighted some of the challenges faced by activists in using this democratic tool, and some of the flaws which need to be improved if it is to fulfil its aim of making the EU more responsive to citizens. An interview with Thomas Eitzenberger and Lilia Tamamdzhieva, coordinators of the ECI.

The AfD is elbowing its way into the right-wing populist gap in the party political landscape with a call for a nationalistic approach to economic policy based on free market fundamentalism. As a counter-reaction to the pluralist and multicultural immigration society, it stands in opposition to everything that is Green.

There is a certain amount of naivety surrounding the question of democracy. We have arrived at a situation in which a large proportion of the public has turned against democratic institutions, or at least withdrawn from any engagement in them. And therefore it might look as though the public has become apathetic towards the big political issues of our time. But is this really the case?

The European Citizens’ Initiative opened a much needed channel for citizens to reach the European Institutions directly, and brought with it immense potential to reinforce the EU’s democratic legitimacy.

Agora Voting is an innovative project using free software to establish social citizen networks for the development of a system for secure electronic voting. Spanish Green party Equo collaborated on this project to carry out Spain’s first real experiment with direct democracy.

In Belgium voting is compulsory. Nevertheless, more and more people choose not to vote.