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KULTURAUSTAUSCH

Special

The end of the West

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Dossier

Informal living around the world

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Dossier

Mexico between resilience and a fresh start

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Dossier

Indigenous culture today

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Under a blue sky lies a rugged mountain landscape of light-colored stone. Three men are posing in the middle ground, a fourth is photographing them.

Dossier

Living in the desert

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Foto: Lars Hübner
Shift to the right
„People want faster solutions“
In Europe and the USA, right-wing parties are increasingly gaining influence, while resistance to them is waning. Anthropologist Arjun Appadurai diagnoses a collective democratic fatigue
Interview with Arjun Appadurai04/08/2025
Photo: Maciej Zienkiewicz
New Global Order
An era of uncertainty
The old order is breaking down: historian Anne Applebaum reflects on the profound changes of our time
Interview with Anne Applebaum05/03/2025
Photo: Tong Niu
End of the West | China
They continue to dream
Unlike in the West, people in the East still believe in the future, says Xiaolu Guo. The author and director, who commutes between Europe and China
By Xiaolu Guo05/03/2025

Denise Pintsch is the editorial assistant for KULTURAUSTAUSCH. She makes sure that everything runs smoothly during the production of our printed edition. She has just returned from a trip to Naples and is very impressed by the city! Here are her current top picks:

Photo: Bas Losekoot
Family life | South Korea
The silent protest of women in South Korea
The East Asian country has a demographic problem: its population is ageing rapidly but many women have no desire to have children
By Hawon Jung04/30/2024

A woman with large red earrings looks into the camera

Older woman with short gray hair looks friendly into the camera. She has blue eyes and wears a yellow blouse. She holds her hand on the back of her neck.

A middle-aged man stands in front of a simple background. He is wearing a short-sleeved shirt and glasses and is looking sideways into the distance.

Young woman with long hair piled on top of her head looks into the camera seriously..

Middle-aged man looks friendly into the camera. He is wearing a checked shirt, glasses and a cap and has a beard.

M’hammed Kilito

[Translate to English:]

Der Schriftsteller Saïd Khatibi sitzt vor einer Bücherwand auf einem Sessel. Er trägt ein dunkelblaues Hemd und Brille und schaut seitlich an der Kamera vorbei

Abdulrazak Gurnah

Irina Sherbakova

Mustafah Abdulaziz

Máxima Acuña de Chaupe

Roongtip Luilao

Mohamed Amjahid

Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung

KULTURAUSTAUSCH’s editorial team works from Berlin, but our networks of authors stretch around the globe – to Lagos, Taipeh, or Bogotá, for example.

Would you like to get in touch, send us feedback or drop a message to one of our contributors?

Foto: Johnny Miller

Special

Informal Living

Around one billion people live in informal settlements worldwide. Stereotypes of these dwellings often reduce them to poverty and deprivation. How are the people living in these places really doing?

On the beach in Tijuana, a Mexican band dances with their feet in the water while playing their instruments. The men are wearing a dark blue shirt, black trousers and straw hats. They play a drum, a timpani and brass instruments. The border wall between Mexico and the USA can be seen in the background, protruding into the water — Photo: José María Cárdenas Camacho

Dossier

Mexico

Between resilience and a fresh start: Mexico is beloved by tourists but also struggles with inequality and rising violence. Will the new President Claudia Sheinbaum be able to usher in change?

In einer Allee — Photo: Luisa Dörr

Dossier

Indigenous culture today

Indigenous groups have long struggled to protect their traditional ways of life. Young activists are now building up international networks. Insights from a world that is being reshaped

Under a blue sky lies a rugged mountain landscape of light-colored stone. Three men are posing in the middle ground, a fourth is photographing them. — Photo: Solmaz Daryani

Dossier

Living in the desert

Dry, empty and hostile to life: the desert is etched in our collective imagination. But this unique landscape is often not what we expect

On a stony plateau, a group of people are sitting on several blankets under a tree. There are women, men and children of different ages. A little to the side, a boy dips his foot in a small stream. Mountains can be seen in the background. — Photo: Swinde Wiederhold

Dossier

Parents and children

Unconditional love and huge conflicts: few relationships are as emotional as those of parents and children. What connects us - and what have we always wanted to say to our parents?

View from a high vantage point over a modern city. Green plants can be seen in the very foreground, as if the viewer is standing in a park. In the middle ground rises a modern city center with many skyscrapers and a prominent high-rise tower. The sky shows an extremely dramatic cloud atmosphere between sun and darkness. — Photo: Franky Verdickt

Dossier

Voices from Taiwan

Taiwan is a key democratic ally in Asia for the West. But, looking beyond the looming threat from China, what makes this place unique and what do people in Taiwan dream of?

The outer wall of a one-story house is insulated with straw, there is no external facade. A ladder leans against the house, a middle-aged man steps out of the open door onto the dirt floor. He wears jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. — Photo: Antoine Bruy

Dossier

The limits of growth

The limits of growth have been reached, the climate crisis is real, the war in Ukraine is shaking up global politics. With the world in crisis mode, it's time to consume less!

A woman is standing at the open window, her face turned away from us, looking into the distance. She wears a black headscarf and a patterned outer garment. — Photo: Sayed Aman Sadat

Dossier

Women’s rights in Afghanistan

Since the withdrawal of NATO in 2021, women in Afghanistan have been stripped of their rights, freedom and dignity by the Taliban. In this dossier, they raise their voices!

Three people standing on a sheet of water. — Photo: Mustafah Abdulaziz

Dossier

Are we running out of water?

Without water, life on our planet would be impossible, but we are too careless with it. A dossier on the complicated relationship between humans and the big

[Translate to English:] — Illustration: Julia Neller

Colonialism | England

In love with Angelina Jolie

The Nigerian author Stephen Buoro rejected the culture of his homeland for a long time. Today, he criticizes how heavily it is being exploited

By Stephen Buoro06/04/2025

A cold-water coral — Photo: Saul Villegas

Art | USA

The secret life of cold-water coral

The Latin American-Californian artist Saul Villegas blends art and science in his unique 3D digital worlds.

By Morgane Llanque05/22/2025

[Translate to English:] Wladimir Putin und Donald Trump bei ihrem ersten offiziellen Treffen in Helsinki — Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Russia

Face to face with Donald Trump

Putin is fighting in the Ukraine for the right to an equal dialogue with the West

By Oleg Kashin05/03/2025

Photo: Tong Niu

End of the West | China

They continue to dream

Unlike in the West, people in the East still believe in the future, says Xiaolu Guo. The author and director, who commutes between Europe and China

By Xiaolu Guo05/03/2025

Photo: Maciej Zienkiewicz

New Global Order

An era of uncertainty

The old order is breaking down: historian Anne Applebaum reflects on the profound changes of our time

Interview with Anne Applebaum05/03/2025

Foto: Erika Goldring/Getty Images

Mardi Gras | Louisiana

The muses of New Orleans

For years, Louisiana’s grand carnival was a men-only domain – until the Krewe of Muses was founded and women took the parade by storm

By Morgane Llanque05/02/2025

Foto: Lars Hübner

Shift to the right

„People want faster solutions“

In Europe and the USA, right-wing parties are increasingly gaining influence, while resistance to them is waning. Anthropologist Arjun Appadurai diagnoses a collective democratic fatigue

Interview with Arjun Appadurai04/08/2025

Photo: Noah Emrich

Photography | International

Twilight

In his digital travel miniatures, New York photographer Sam Youkilis documents the decline of our analog culture

Interview with Sam Youkilis01/22/2025

The rapper 19Tyger stands in the center of the picture looking into the camera and holds his hand next to his face while spreading his middle finger and index finger. He is wearing yellow-tinted sunglasses and a turquoise sports jacket. — Photo: Mai Sararporn

Music | Thailand

The Sound of Khlong Toei

The rapper Kasidech Saengjan voices the struggles of people in Thai slums. In this playlist, he gives his personal soundtrack to day-to-day life in Khlong Toei

By Kasidech Saengjan01/11/2025

Vetiver grass — Photo: Mittul Vahanvati

Solomon Islands | Climate change

"Nature-based solutions are for the long term"

Informal settlements in particular can benefit from nature-based solutions. Researchers Darryn McEvoy and Mittul Vahanvati explain how planting the right grasses is helping a community in the Pacific region

Interview with Darryn McEvoy, Mittul Vahanvati01/01/2025

[Translate to English:] Die Cidade de Deus in Rio de Janeiro in Brasilien — Foto: Cristian Lourenço/ Getty Images

Brasil | Favelas

No to scarcity and yes to power

Favelas are a hotbed of innovation. This is where the Expo Favela business trade fair comes in, working to showcase companies from Brazil's informal settlements

By Angelica Mari01/01/2025

Helon Habila stands behind an orange desk, speaks into a microphone and gestures to the side with his right hand. — Photo: private

Literature | Personal history

Living words

The writer Helon Habila grew up in Nigeria, later moved to the UK and now lives in the USA. In his books he revisits the people, places and politics he has experienced first-hand

By Helon Habila12/19/2024