Foreign & Security Policy

Healthy democracies have proven to be more resilient in the face of crises and pandemics. However, in recent years, signs of democratic backsliding has become increasingly visible around the world, manifesting through political polarization and the weakening of the liberal international order. The Heinrich Böll Foundation East Asia Office and the Indo-Pacific Democracy Forum (IPDF) co-hosted a session at the 2025 KDF Global Forum titled “Parliamentarians’ Voices for Democratic Unity in the Indo-Pacific.” 

On December 3rd, 2024, former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law on the basis to protect national stability from “antistate actors.” This was quickly overturned by the National Assembly and eleven days later the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon. After months of investigation, the Constitutional Court unanimously voted to accept the impeachment of Yoon, triggering the snap elections to be held on June 5, 2025. The Heinrich Boll Foundation discussed the significance and implications of the South Korean elections.

In Germany, Snap elections were held on the 28th of February with the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister Christian Social Union (CSU) coming victorious with 28.6 percent of total votes. However, the key question remains: What do the results mean, and what does the future of German politics look like? To answer this question, the Heinrich Boll Foundation East Asia Office invited three guests for a fireside chat discussion on the 2025 German Federal election.

“The expansion of militarism around the world in the wake of the Ukrainian war will also negatively affect the settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula and denuclearization. In the wake of the Ukrainian war, all countries are trying to strengthen their military power.”

The invasion of Ukraine has shocked Japan. The country participates in the sanctions against Russia. Still, people in Japan look at the war in Europe against the backdrop of security threats in their Northeast Asian region, says Akira Kawasaki, a peace activist with the Japanese NGO Peace Boat. He sees opportunities for civil society action even under current war conditions.

This article provides an overview of how Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine is being viewed and assessed in various regions and countries in Asia, and how the governments there are positioning themselves and reacting: in the Southeast Asian ASEAN countries, in Northeast Asia, and in India, China, and Myanmar.

This year, Indonesia holds the presidency of the G20. During the preparations for the upcoming summit in November 2022 in Bali, how does Indonesia navigate growing controversies amongst the G20 member states concerning the Russian aggression towards Ukraine?

2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the landmark United Nations Security Council resolution on Women, Peace and Security. What still needs to evolve in countries in Northeast Asia to realise the resolution’s goals?