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Category: Democracy

From democracy to autocracy: how Erdoğan keeps expanding his power

Source: Marko Djurica | REUTERS Turkey still has elections, a parliament and an opposition. But anyone who looks closely can see that the political system has changed considerably in recent years. Under President Erdoğan, the space for dissent has become smaller and smaller. Journalists, judges and political opponents face intimidation, persecution or censorship. The arrest in late [...]

NATO in The Hague: Peace is more than defence!

As world leaders prepare to meet in The Hague for the 2025 NATO summit, we call for a balanced vision of peace and security. A vision that puts people at the centre. At a time when the focus is increasingly on defence and military preparedness, we urge equal [...]

In conversation with a generation standing up for its future

Source: Getty Images When I arrived in Belgrade on 13 May, I immediately felt that we were at a special moment in the country. Together with a delegation of 11 people, I travelled to Serbia on behalf of Friends of the Western Balkans (FoWB) and Foundation Max van der Stoel (FMS), to see for myself [...]

Through the eyes of a Serbian journalist: Dinko Gruhonjić on media, fear and the student uprising in Serbia

Photo: Dinko Gruhonjić (Wikimedia Commons) In this third and final article on the Serbian student movement, the Max van der Stoel Foundation and the International Green Left Foundation once again join forces. We spoke to Dinko Gruhonjić, a journalist with more than 20 years of experience and programme director of the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV). In addition to his [...]

Bosnia & Herzegovina at a tipping point: Why Europe must act now

Photo: Dodik and Putin in 2024 (WikiMedia Commons) The FMS is publishing this piece from a collaboration of organisations from the Netherlands that want to put EU integration of the Western Balkans on the map. We are doing this together with PAX, NHC, Free Press Unlimited, Dutch-Albanian Friendship Foundation and Humanitarian Intervention Committee. Follow our calendar for future events [...]

Opinion: Georgia drifts towards autocracy, and towards Putin

This piece was originally published in the Trouw and was written by Ties Huis in 't Veld, international secretary of the Labour Party. The FMS was part of this trip to Georgia, and is therefore also sharing Ties' experiences on our website. 'Are you going to report?' During my recent visit to Georgia [...]

Belarus Stamps Social Democratic Party as 'Extremist' in Unprecedented Step

In a historic and worrying escalation of political repression, the Belarusian Interior Ministry on 7 May 2025 officially classified the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada), or BSDP, as an "extremist formation". It is the first time since the country's independence that a legally registered democratic opposition party has been classified in this way. [...]

Our Statement on Serbia during 'Friends of the Western Balkans'

Amid growing concerns about the deterioration of democracy in Serbia, the Friends of the Western Balkans (FoWB) gathered in Ljubljana for their seventh meeting. This network of progressive politicians, civil society leaders and social democrats from across Europe had one clear goal: to express their support for the region's European future. This [...]

Myanmar in the shadows: the democratic struggle behind the humanitarian disaster

Photo: Protests in Myanmar against Military Coup in February 2021 - Wikimedia Commons Myanmar was briefly in the news after a massive earthquake on 28 March 2025. Since then, media coverage of the situation has largely disappeared. Although the devastation is similar to the earthquake in Morocco in 2023, Myanmar gets three times [...]