debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
In almost every major media source, print, television and online, one of the first comments on the recent election in France was, will financial markets freak out? To the relief of many and the despair of others, they have not as yet. That this question would leap to mind, at least to journalistic minds, is [...]
The official American establishment’s reaction to the Iranian youth venting briefly on the streets of Tehran their protest against fraudulent elections of June 2009 bore striking resemblance to a commercial campaign on behalf of the likes of Facebook, Google or Twitter. I suppose that some gallant investigative journalist, to whose company alas I do not [...]
To understand what is happening in Turkey’s murky world of judicial politics these days, it helps to imagine you are watching the closing scenes of a Hollywood courtroom drama. The movie’s protagonist stands accused of attempted murder. The prosecutor has produced a set of elaborate plans that the defendant allegedly drew up to poison an [...]
In February 2009, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on social economy which among other things called for “experimentation with new economic and social models” and declared that the social economy is “important, both symbolically and in terms of performance, for the purpose of strengthening industrial and economic democracy”. We see here a clear statement [...]
The state occupies a central place in social democratic thinking. It is the vehicle through which policies are delivered. Indeed, it is no coincidence that the growth of the modern state was a forerunner of the social democratic movement. Today, it is impossible to think about social democracy without considering the role of the state. But the relationship is not without [...]
Despite the huge sums expended to write down Greece’s foreign debt, there has been an outcry of censure against “interference” with the country’s national sovereignty. True, in exchange for considerable European aid, Greece’s ability to maneuver independently will be limited. But are complaints that Greek sovereignty has been severely impaired justified? The idea of a nation-state’s [...]
It’s time to stop perpetuating perceived practical constraints, insists Matthias Machnig. New progress calls for political initiative, debates about the future direction of policy, and a passionate commitment. At stake here is nothing less than a more just society. The hope was that technical advances would also enable us to achieve social progress for people [...]
Here in Myanmar (Burma), where political change has been numbingly slow for a half-century, a new leadership is trying to embrace rapid transition from within. The government has freed political prisoners, held elections (with more on the way), begun economic reform, and is intensively courting foreign investment. Understandably, the international community, which has long punished [...]
In 2011, Europe’s financial and banking crisis escalated into a sovereign-debt crisis. A problem that began in Greece ended up raising doubts about the very viability of the euro – and even of the European Union itself. A year later, those fundamental doubts remain undiminished. But, if one compares the EU with the United States [...]
It may have been established primarily as a political union, but especially in the new member states the EU is increasingly failing to convey the notion that it is a value-based political community as well, and not only a business club. An (understandably) materialistic mentality in the new member states may be partly to blame [...]
Last week I blogged about how the euro-crisis poisoned the way we talk about each other in Europe and I argued that this starts getting dangerous. I am happy to see that this observation has found its way into the FAZ Feuilleton and that even the FAZ starts to get concerned about this, although the paper’s take on the [...]
In August 1982 the government of Mexico announced it could not service its debts. Thus began an unnecessary, creditor-enforced depression that would sweep Latin American, and usher in the “Lost Decade” with appalling human suffering. Thirty years later we replay this grim history in Western Europe. The sorry fate of the European Union demonstrates the [...]
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