Articles

We are looking for a part-time communications and web manager (20 hours weekly) to design and implement the external communications work of our Yerevan office. We are seeking a creative individual who is comfortable with routine tasks and meticulous in their attention to detail. Are you motivated to ensure the best possible – and politically sensitive – dissemination of information about our activities and programs? Would you like to work in an international team and context? Do you share our values? Then apply now! 

Located in the south of Georgia, bordering Armenia and Türkiye, lies the region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. This article analyses the challenges of youth (those aged 14-29) in and from the region, focusing on mental health, political participation, recreation, and emigration. In demographically and geopolitically complex surroundings, youth issues usually do not stand in the spotlight of public and political discourse. This results in a lack of awareness and support from decision makers, which in turn reinforces the struggles young people face in their daily lives, likely contributing to high youth emigration rates.

Heinrich Boell Foundation Yerevan Office – South Caucasus Region invites you to take part in the four-day Green Laboratory Armenia 2025, whether you are eager to deepen your understanding of the connections between biodiversity and political ecology, or critically engage with the pressing environmental and social challenges shaping Armenia’s future.

On April 29, the Heinrich Boell Foundation Yerevan Office – South Caucasus Region, the Turpanjian Institute of Social Sciences (AUA), and the Oral History Matters (OHM) initiative (AUA) hosted the official book launch of the Armenian translation of David Leupold's Embattled Dreamlands: The Politics of Contesting Armenian, Kurdish, and Turkish Memory in Akian Art Gallery at the American University of Armenia.

This article explores the relationship between identity, heritage, and place in the villages of Akhali Khulgumo and Tambovka near Paravani Lake. It highlights the social change these villages have experienced since 1991. It examines how the interplay between memory of the past and the changing dwelling practices of the Dukhobor houses in Tambovka is constitutive of broader socio-cultural transformations, positioning the two villages also within current (geo)political dynamics and new identity negotiations.

Cengiz Aktar critically analyses the enduring impact of the denial of the Armenian Genocide on Turkey's state formation, social ethics and political culture, arguing that unresolved memory perpetuates systemic decay.

While a tamada, the traditional master of ceremonies, is no novelty in the Georgian cultural context, taking the seat at the head table of the Energy Community’s Ministerial Council marks a first occasion in Georgia’s political and regulatory journey towards energy transition. But will this presidency move Georgia from participant to a true agenda-setter, or remain largely symbolic amid domestic challenges and current tensions with the EU? Can it become a genuine turning point after years of stalled reforms?

Small parties in Armenia face numerous challenges, including limited resources, a narrow economic base, unequal access to media, a personalist party tradition, and barriers to political inclusion. Despite these obstacles, they can still play a vital role in post-election coalitions and contribute to the development of democratic and inclusive governance.

Anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has been a central element of the Georgian Dream’s anti-democratic turn towards the far right. How do anti-LGBTQ+ statements and policies help GD expand its grip on power, and why does this strategy work? 

The Kremlin denies sovereignty and territorial integrity not only to Ukraine but also to Georgia. But unlike Ukraine, the ruling Georgian Dream party follows the Russian playbook and uses the Russian threat to maintain authoritarian power. 

In the face of increasingly shrinking space for freedom of speech and tightening repressions against independent media in Azerbaijan, the only way for them to continue their activity is immigration and working in exile. But to do this means adapting to an entirely new reality, frightening and complex. 

The Heinrich Boell Foundation has been cooperating with Mzia Amaghlobeli, the founder and director of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, for many years. We call for her immediate release.

Historian and former politician Mikayel Zolyan talks about what has changed in Armenia since 2018. On the one hand, the reform agenda lags behind the expectations of the society. At the same time, Armenia has gone through a dramatic transformation.

In this article, the author examines the role of masculine governmentality in sustaining President Aliyev's authoritarian traditionalism through a poststructuralist feminist lens.

For the Azerbaijani regime, hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku represents a chance to obscure its poor climate record and relentless attacks on civil society. In reality, the government seems far more interested in capitalizing on rising fossil-fuel demand than in combating global warming.

As Armenia grapples with the political, environmental, and ethical dimensions of COP29, set to take place in neighboring Azerbaijan, the nation’s civil society raises concerns. 

Baku hosts COP29, the most recognized conference on combating climate change. This year’s summit is unfolding as a complex diplomatic game with regional conflicts and human rights issues. How should Armenia position itself, and what makes this year's climate summit important?  

Trans men in Azerbaijan face severe challenges when trying to express their gender identity. In an environment where society, especially their families, finds it difficult to accept them, leading their daily lives becomes a significant problem. They struggle to survive independently while confronting both legal and social obstacles.

By unpacking key global climate debates and their implications for Georgia, this article highlights the pressing need for a more nuanced public discourse on climate justice, as well as greater accountability from both state and international actors, in Georgia and beyond.

Azerbaijan has strengthened its energy ties with the EU since 2022, ramping up gas deliveries and articulating ambitions to export renewable energy and green hydrogen to Europe in the future. However, the EU’s shrinking gas demand and Azerbaijan’s lack of a genuine decarbonization strategy cast uncertainty on the long-term prospects of this partnership – all the more so given the EU’s persistent criticism of political repression and human rights violations in the South Caucasus republic.