Dit artikel is het tweede artikel van onze driedelige serie over de politieke situatie in Georgië. In het eerste artikel gaat activist Tamar Jakeli in op het protest en de urgentie van de verkiezingen op 4 oktober. In dit tweede artikel schrijft Shota hoe zowel extreemrechts als de regerende partij van Georgië gender en het gebrek aan actie van Europa als wapen gebruiken.
Queers, verraders, liberalisme en westerse oorlogsstokers – deze vier ruiters van een door een oligarch gecreëerde Apocalyps vormen nu de kern van de Georgische officiële ideologie. Elk heeft een doel: queer-paniek om morele verontwaardiging aan te wakkeren, ‘verraders’ om repressie te rechtvaardigen, en antiwesterse retoriek om democratische aspiraties te ondermijnen en Moskou de deur te openen. Ondertussen blijft Europa steken in symboliek: harde woorden, zachte daden.
This article is the second article of our three-part series on the political situation in Georgia. In the first article first article, activist Tamar Jakeli, adresses the protest and urgency of the 4th of October. In this second article Shota writes how the ultra-right as well as Georgia’s ruling party weaponizes gender and Europe’s inaction while this happens.
Queers, traitors, liberalism, and Western warmongers – the four horsemen of an oligarch’s manufactured apocalypse now define Georgia’s new official ideology. Each serves a use: queers to ignite moral panic, traitors’ to justify repression, ‘liberalism’ and Western warmongers to discredit pro-western democratic aspirations and surrender to Moscow. Meanwhile, Europe’s response remains theatrical, offering symbolic penalties for elites to disguise a deeper inaction.
This upcoming Sunday, the local elections will take place in North-Macedonia. We at IFG follow these closely, as our partner organization, the Democratic Renewal of Macedonia (DOM), provides us with important insight into local political dynamics and the broader context of the country. North Macedonia’s eighth local elections since independence in the early 1990s are to choose mayors and municipal councillors in 80 municipalities, plus the capital Skopje, which is considered the prize and has a special status.
On Wednesday the 1st of October, thousands of Serbians marched the streets reflecting 11 months of protest against the autocratic president Aleksander Vučić. Serbia has been rocked by eleven months of protest since the railway canopy collapse at the Novi Sad main station on November 1,2024, which claimed sixteen lives. Public outrage fueled by the belief that the disaster was a direct consequence of deep-seated corruption, rapidly escalated into demands for an end to President Aleksander Vučić’s rule and the immediate calling of new national snap elections. Furthermore, protesters demand transparent investigations, criminal prosecutions for those responsible for the canopy collapse, and a free media, a right they argue Vučić is actively attempting to stifle. The current unrest focuses sharply on the critical health of detained student Bogdan Jovičić, who conducted a hunger strike to protest the work of the court regarding his detainment.
This article is the first article of part of our three-part series on the political situation in Georgia. Each article will be written by activists, political experts, and researchers who have long been committed to green politics, equality, and social justice.
On October 4th, we as Georgians face a decisive moment: a choice between the farce of the ballot box and the battleground of the street. Less than a year after the ruling party, Georgian Dream, rigged the 2024 parliamentary elections, local elections are being held to choose municipal councils and mayors. In the opposition and civil society, October 4th is now viewed as the beginning of a "peaceful revolution." Those calling for this will not participate in the municipal elections because the regime has systematically destroyed all trust in the electoral system. For many, street action is now the only way to save Georgia.
De leden van GroenLinks en de PvdA hebben in groten getale vóór gestemd: we gaan samen meedoen aan de verkiezingen, en gaan in 2026 op in een nieuwe partij op. Een historische stap in onze politieke samenwerking!
Vanaf vandaag kunnen leden van GroenLinks en de Partij van de Arbeid stemmen over gezamenlijke deelname aan de komende Tweede Kamerverkiezingen en over de toekomst van de twee partijen. In het referendum dat tot 12 juni loopt, liggen twee vragen voor. Door de val van het kabinet hebben de partijbesturen, zoals eerder aangekondigd, besloten het principebesluit gelijk in stemming te brengen.
In this third and final article on the Serbian student movement, the Foundation Max van der Stoel and the International Foundation GroenLinks once again joined forces. We had the opportunity to speak with Dinko Gruhonjić, a journalist with over two decades of experience and programme director of the Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV). In addition to his media work, Mr. Gruhonjić is also a professor at the University of Novi Sad. The mass student protests in Serbia are still ongoing, as the demands, focusing on demanding justice and accountability of the ruling government, have not been met by the Serbian regime. One of the most prominent topics Gruhonjić highlights is the struggle over national broadcasting, which is increasingly losing its independence. Lately, students and other citizens have blocked the national broadcaster’s headquarters for over a week. In this interview, we discuss the role of the media in Serbia, the ongoing protests, solidarity within the academic community, and the broader role of the EU and geopolitical tensions in the region.
Over the past few weeks, leaders from 30 nations have gathered in Paris to discuss Ukraine’s protection, with European commitments under scrutiny. The Dutch government, cautious about its financial pledges, is debating GroenLinks-PvdA’s proposal to allocate an additional €500 million annually in military aid. As political debates unfold, Ukrainians on the ground continue to navigate the war’s brutal realities. To understand their perspectives, IFG spoke with representatives from the Ukrainian Green Party and the NGO Green Youth of Ukraine, its youth branch. Their message is clear: Ukraine needs more than just weapons, it needs comprehensive and long-term support.