debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
That the disease which brought the European Union into the intensive-care ward and has kept it there since, for quite a few years, is best diagnosed as a ‘democratic deficit’ is fast turning into a commonplace. Indeed, it is taken increasingly for granted and is hardly ever seriously questioned. Some observers and analysts ascribe the [...]
The renowned German philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas came to the University Leuven and shared his perspective on the future of a democratic Europe on April 26 2013 in the Pieter De Somer Auditorium. The lecture was introduced by the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy.
The recent publication of the critical edition of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan (edited by Noel Malcolm, 3 volumes, 1,832 pp., Clarendon Press) brings our attention to modernity and the actual role of the state (cf. David Runciman, “Where’s Hobbes?”, in TLS, 27th February). In the beginning there was a monster, Leviathan, a dark presence removed from the [...]
Angela Merkel’s European policy has so far not succeeded in solving the Eurozone crisis and has been widely criticised across Europe. The recent Italian election has again shown the level of discontent with Europe’s political direction. If you are part of the next German government what would you like to change in the German European policy approach? [...]
The answer is no. In a recent blog post he has revealed the tactics – also employed in the US during the Bush years – that are at work here: if you attack a policy and a leading proponent of it – what he did with Olli Rehn and the EU’s austerity push – you [...]
The outcome of the Italian elections should send a clear message to Europe’s leaders: the austerity policies that they have pursued are being rejected by voters. The European project, as idealistic as it was, was always a top-down endeavor. But it is another matter altogether to encourage technocrats to run countries, seemingly circumventing democratic processes, [...]
The Italian elections have again revealed the degree of political discontent with ‘austerity Europe’. The only good news, as Paolo Borioni made clear, is that in contrast to countries such as Greece Italy’s protest vote did not lead to a strengthening of extreme political forces. When I visited Athens about a week ago this graffiti [...]
A group of masked far-right nationalists disrupted a lecture at Warsaw University. The lecture was given by the centre-left politician Magdalena Środa. The protestors shouted ’anti-communist slogans (such as – Hammer and Sickle, Red Rabble - Raz sierpem, raz młotem czerwoną hołotę). The demonstrators were eventually removed from the building and the lecture allowed to go ahead. Organisers claimed that [...]
Before we delve into the reasons for the crisis of the state it is necessary to clarify the meaning of ‘nation’. Nation has a cultural connotation and its distant origins are historically much older than state: it is still recognisable as a nation even when its borders have not been marked out and, at least [...]
Admiral Horthy may be long gone, but just lately he appears to have become all the rage in modern Hungary. Newspapers sympathetic to the governing Fidesz party continually run glowing editorials about this ‘honourable’ man, along with statues and parks being awarded his name. Despite their legacy as ‘The Alliance of Young Democrats’, some in [...]
The Fiscal Compact of December 2011 On December 9th 2011 the European Council announced a new Fiscal Compact, as part of the series of measures undertaken in order to resolve the Eurozone sovereign debt and banking crises. It was incorporated into the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance (TSCG), signed by 25 EU governments in [...]
For the crisis to end, Europe has to change. As it stands, we have a Europe bogged down by economics and losing its political identity, where growth and employment are stifled by tight budgets. But the single currency can be salvaged. To do so, regulations and economic policies must be reformed and countries (and economies) [...]
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