Latest Journal Issue
A Lasting Impression from the Man who would be European King?
Just two years after his departure from Downing Street comes this early attempt to assess Tony Blair’s legacy as British prime minister. And it arrives at a time when Blair was being considered for the new role of President of the European Council; an ambition he was unable to realise. Such renewed interest surely [...]
Good Capitalism… and what would need to change for that
The ongoing financial crisis points unmistakably to the glaring weaknesses of the present economic system. An event that seemed relatively manageable in economic terms – the real estate bubble in the United States – has brought the globalised economy to the brink of a new depression, reawakening memories of the world economic crisis of 1929.
The [...]
Can The State Still Be Saved?
After eleven years in government, the German Social Democratic Party are now having to cope with their greatest electoral defeat in the post-war period. On the day of the election there was a feeling almost of unbelief about what was happening, not just among party members but also among many supporters. How was it possible [...]
After the European Elections: Why we need a more European Social Democracy
Measured against the hopes of a positive shift in power in favour of social democracy in the wake of the financial and economic crisis, European social democracy, even if the real balance of power has barely changed, is the loser in the European elections in 2009. Leaving aside the general tendency at European elections for [...]
The changing Face of Global Governance: between past Strategic Failure and Future Economic Constraints
Until recently, the West has, by and large, determined the rules of the game on the global stage. During the last century, western countries presided over a shift in world power – from control via territory to control via the creation of governance structures created in the post-1945 era. From the United Nations Charter and [...]
New Commission, new European Parliament, new Treaty
The ratification of the Lisbon Treaty at the end of last year, following eight years of institutional introspection, gives rise to mixed feelings for proponents of EU integration – relief and an element of exhaustion. The debate on the Treaty pushed its proponents into a corner, to the point where in the end – to [...]
New Priorities for the EU Institutions
The priorities must be formulated, as always, in a manner that takes into account both form and content. I shall accordingly deal with both aspects, while placing greater emphasis on the latter. A first priority will be to ensure that the new institutional balance resulting from the Lisbon Treaty can be made to work. The [...]
Columns
The Greek Drama and the Social Justice of Responsible Fiscal Policies
I do not envy our Greek socialist friends. They got elected because the previous conservative government was catastrophically incompetent, but the mess they now have to sort out is worse than the wildest imaginations could have predicted. This is not just a local problem. The fate of the euro, and therefore of Europe, hangs in [...]
An Idea Whose Time Has Come
In 2002 I published an article on a maximum wage in the centre-left theory journal Renewal. The idea of putting a ceiling on what people could earn was left-field, to say the least. It was more a thought experiment than a serious attempt to influence political debate. The article and the idea sank without much [...]
The EU must act on a Tobin Tax
Have Gordon Brown, Nicholas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel and other EU leaders dropped their support for a Tobin tax, or will they press home the idea in the near future? This question is crucial, particularly now that there are widespread plans for ‘budget cuts’ amongst EU member states, including possible rises in VAT in the UK.
A [...]
A Year is Good but a Strategy is Better
We have had just about everything since the first one in 1983: small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism, languages, equal opportunities, intercultural dialogue. I am talking about ‘European Years of…’. The last mentioned – the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue (2008) in case you missed it – had Charles Aznavour as world intercultural dialogue ambassador. Whether [...]
Time to Put the Cards on the Table
On the 31st of January 2010, it is time to put the cards on the table. The ‘Copenhagen Accord’, a document that was presented during the last plenary session of COP 15 and which serves as a basis for the international negotiations until the next climate conference in Mexico at the end of 2010, requests [...]
What a Post-American World means for Europe
In recent months, Europe has learned some hard lessons about its transatlantic partner. President Barack Obama triggered great hope when he replaced George W. Bush at the American helm. But a year later, especially following Obama’s failure to produce anything of substance at Copenhagen, Europeans are realizing that Obama is going to have a difficult [...]
Front Page Blogs
Discussion on “Bankers: The real Terrorists?”
Social Europe Chief Editor Stephen Haseler took part in a discussion with Jagdish Bhagwati (Columbia University) and Peter Ghavami (Troika Dialogue Investment Bank) on Russia Today’s Crosstalk programme discussing the subject: “Bankers: The real Terrorists?”
Apart from the rather strange title it was a lively discussion.
Principles of a Social Democratic Internet Policy
Social democratic parties have had a difficult time adjusting to the internet age. They have severe difficulties in understanding in what way – positive and negative – online technologies penetrate people’s lives. The age structure of parties is an additional obstacle as different generations tend to use the internet differently.
When parties have dealt with online [...]
The Cleavage within Europe
One of the striking characteristics of the Good Society Debate was an often fundamentally different assessment between contributors from North, West, and Southern Europe and those coming from Central and Eastern Europe. To be very clear, we do not want to blame anybody for their views or analyses, but it is important to stress that [...]
Where now? The Future of European Social Democracy
Moving on from the analysis of social democracy’s plight, the future of social democratic politics in Europe was the focus of attention for many contributors to the Good Society Debate. Changes to the general approach of social democracy appeared necessary to some authors. Stefan Berger of Manchester University for instance stressed the need for a [...]
