Democratization

The Heinrich Böll Foundation Turkey Representation wants to intervene in the efforts to protect human rights and liberties, and to establish a democracy which defends social peace and equal rights against ethnic, religious and gender based discrimination in Turkey. Our primary goal is to support a conception of democracy which is libertarian, transparent, participatory and accountable.

In defense of dignity: Seyla Benhabib’s Arendtian spirit in dark times

In 2025, the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought was awarded to Seyla Benhabib, a philosopher whose life’s work confronts one of the most pressing questions of our time: what social, political, and moral conditions are necessary for human beings to recognize one another as equals.

Gaye İlhan Demiryol

Trade, politics and the future: Which path should Europe choose in supply chains?

News

Europe stands at a crossroads. Should it build its trade relations on fundamental values such as human rights, environmental sustainability, and labor rights—or align them with geopolitical interests? In our recent panel held in Berlin, we discussed the role of supply chains in German-Turkish relations.

Turkish flag and election flags of Justice and Development Party, Nationalist Movement Party on the window of village house Isparta, Türkiye, 2023

Is nationalism on the rise in Turkey?

Article

Yahya Kemal Can

Heinrich Böll Stiftung’un Tiflis’teki Güney Kafkasya Ofisi Temsilcisi Sonja Schiffers ile Heinrich Böll Stiftung Derneği Türkiye Temsilcisi Dr. Dawid Bartelt, 12 Haziran 2024’te gerçekleşen basın toplantısında.

Dr. Sonja Schiffers: “In Georgia the intention is to crush civil society, especially ahead of the elections in October”

Press Release

Dr. Sonja Schiffers, Heinrich Böll Stiftung's South Caucasus Office Representative in Tbilisi, shared her evaluations regarding the new legislation in Georgia publicly known as “foreign agent law” at the press conference held at the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Istanbul Office.

Research

Home Care and Time Use During The Pandemic

This research report was prepared by the KONDA Research and Consultancy Inc. for the Turkey Representative of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Association. It aims to understand the domestic work, home care, working practices and time use of the Turkish population aged 18 and over during the Coronavirus Pandemic, and to examine differences before the pandemic and in different periods of the pandemic.

Publications

Art, Gender and Displacement

Research

Our new report, Art, Gender and Displacement, explores how Istanbul became a space for care, political expression, collective visibility, and solidarity among migrant artists navigating gendered precarity and displacement. Through performance, music, comedy, visual art, and object-based storytelling, the report shows how artistic practice can turn memory into testimony, and visibility into a claim for dignity and freedom.

Gülay Uğur Göksel , Meriç Çağlar

In it together!

Book

The Feminist Resilience Toolkit brings together strategies from feminist activists across five continents. It shares practical exercises on well-being, digital security, leadership, and funding. Case studies show how movements resist repression and build collective strength.

Derya Binışık et al.