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Author: Forum Transregionale Studien

A colorful mural depicting indigenous people preparing food. On the left side, it shows people injured by police during protests against extractivism.

Water sovereignty from the Andes to Palestine: On the global expansion of the national Israeli water company to Argentina and the formation of transnational solidarity

By Miriam Bartelmann. Mekorot, the national water company of Israel, is increasing its presence in Argentina through agreements over water management in ten provinces. This includes all provinces along the Andes, where struggles around water are linked to the extraction of resources. These struggles are often led by Indigenous populations and urban activists affected by water shortages and pollution through extractivist corporations. United by the opposition to the loss of autonomy over water, groups connect transnationally, learning from the experience of water apartheid in the occupied Palestinian territories and resist the loss of sovereignty over their water resources.

A monitor showing voting results in Albania.

Constitutional Imperative vs. Parliamentary Defiance in Albania: The Unresolved Case of an Alleged Mandate Incompatibility

By Arnisa Tepelija. When can a constitutional court compel a democratically elected parliament to act against its will, or compel it to vote in a certain way? Or, to put it differently, can a parliament ignore the decisions of the constitutional court? These questions lie at the heart ofa protracted standoff between the National Assembly in Albania and its Constitutional Court. The standoff reveals competing visions of democracy: one prioritising majority rule and legislative autonomy, the other emphasising constitutional obligation and political party minority protection.

Stamps of different colours on top of a desk.

Bureaucrats Under Illiberal Rule. How Governments Subdue Bureaucrats and How They Fight Back

By Dániel G. Szabó. This blog post summarises and analyses some of the leading scholarship on bureaucrats under illiberal rule and compares leading authors’ taxonomies on government approaches and strategies towards the bureaucracy, and bureaucratic reactions to these actions. It is discussed how governments might try to influence and subdue the public service and how it can fight back or resist. Despite the immense importance of the topic – governments in our societies cannot do anything without the intermediation of an army of bureaucrats – it is relatively understudied.

Stamps of different colours on top of a desk.

Illiberális kormány és a közigazgatás. Az államapparátus térdre kényszerítése és bürokratikus ellenállás

[HUNGARIAN] By Dániel G. Szabó. Ez a tanulmány az illiberális kormányok mellett működő közigazgatásról szóló szakirodalmat elemezte és összehasonlította, hogy különbőz szerzők hasonló jelenségeket milyen különböző fogalmakkal írnak le. A közigazgatás óriási jelentősége ellenére – hiszen a modern társadalmakat hivatalnokok működtetik – ez továbbra is kevéssé kutatott terület. Záró gondolatként a blogbejegyzés amellett érvelt, hogy a kormány és az apparátus viszonyát kutató szakirodalom általános szervezetszociológiai keretben is értelmezhető, valamint kiemelte a kérdőíves és interjúalapú kutatások megvilágító erejét, valamint – új elemként – a bírósági jegyzőkönyvek forrásértékét.

The skyline of Tunis in front of a cloudy sky.

Re-thinking Peace and Conflict Studies in a Postcolonial World

By Miriam Bartelmann, Viviana García Pinzón, and Fabricio Rodríguez. The conference Re-thinking Peace and Conflict Studies in a Postcolonial World took place in Tunis in October 2025, marking the culmination of four years of collaborative research, while opening a space for collective reflection on the network’s contributions to the field. The discussions addressed the deep relationship between knowledge production and global hierarchies, showing that rethinking peace and conflict studies necessarily entails confronting the field’s epistemic foundations while remaining attentive to geopolitical developments, uneven power relations and the political economies affecting it.

A sign on a construction site showcasing pictures of the planed building.

Castles of Illiberal Thought. The Rise and Role of Government-Organised Non-Governmental Organisations in Academic Contexts

By Etienne Hanelt. Academic freedom has been significantly curtailed in recent years, albeit in Hungary, not the EU at large. The Hungarian government has done this both through pressure on academic institutions on the one hand and the creation and expansion of illiberal Government-Organised Non-Governmental Organisations (GONGOs). This article looks at Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), an Orbán-linked “think tank” and academy for nurturing illiberal elites. “Experts” from these institutes are often invited in Hungarian public television to present, elaborate and support the government’s positions.

A sign on a construction site showcasing pictures of the planed building.

Az illiberális gondolkodás bástyái: A kormány által szervezett nem kormányzati szervezetek felemelkedése és szerepe az akadémiai térben

[HUNGARIAN] By Etienne Hanelt. Academic freedom has been significantly curtailed in recent years, albeit in Hungary, not the EU at large. The Hungarian government has done this both through pressure on academic institutions on the one hand and the creation and expansion of illiberal Government-Organised Non-Governmental Organisations (GONGOs). This article looks at Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), an Orbán-linked “think tank” and academy for nurturing illiberal elites. “Experts” from these institutes are often invited in Hungarian public television to present, elaborate and support the government’s positions.

Between Trade-Based Food Security and Self-Sufficiency: Agricultural Policies and Sectors in Tunisia

By Emile van Ommeren. Around the globe, countries are rethinking their food policy strategies in response to the increasingly uncertain geopolitical situation and climate change. Many countries have expressed their interests in improving their levels of food self-sufficiency– i.e., the extent to which a country can satisfy its food needs from its own domestic production. Rather than taking a state-level perspective, my goal is to understand the role and position of Tunisian farmers in the current debate about food and trade policy. Is there broad support among farmers for a shift towards policies that prioritize local agricultural production? Or are producers in Tunisia divided over the question of how higher levels of food security can be attained?

A two-part collage showing a rustic brick house with a blue door frame on the left, and on the right, a woman in an apron near an outdoor table with another person in a green garden setting.

A Body of Clay: The Vanishing Tradition of House-Building in the Donetsk Region

By Anton Dorokh. A traditional Ukrainian village house (khata) had one floor, white clay-and-wood walls, a hay-covered roof, and small windows. Is there something in this architectural tradition that can serve as a counterpoint to the Soviet narrative? Our family house, which was built in the same style, was destroyed, the ability to return there every summer taken away, and this article is an attempt to resist further dehumanisation and erasure. This purpose made me ask my grandmother questions I had never asked before, to learn histories I did not know as a kid, and I hope that by sharing them with other people I can spark curiosity toward other aspects of Ukrainian culture that are now being erased.

A poster reading "The Samira Al-Khalil Award" and further details on the event, in the background a drawing of a woman.

“The struggle has always been one” – On the Third Samira al-Khalil Award Ceremony

By Anne-Marie McManus. On December 9th, members and allies of the Syrian community gathered at Spore Initiative in Berlin-Neukölln to remember the life, activism, and disappearance of Samira al-Khalil. They did so under the aegis of the Samira al-Khalil Award, a three-year old prize that recognizes and honors activists – particularly women – who “struggle to end violations of fundamental rights and freedoms in the Arab and Mediterranean regions.” It was an evening dedicated to individuals who resist in the face of violence and despair, through their activism, narrative, and solidarity.