debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
My objective in coming here today is to discuss the euro crisis. I think you will all agree that the crisis is far from resolved. It has already caused tremendous damage both financially and politically and taken an extensive human toll as well. It has transformed the European Union into something radically different from what [...]
Many obituaries, from both political supporters and opponents of Margaret Thatcher have made the point that she “re-made the political weather” in Britain and that she decisively “moved the centre ground of British politics to the right.” So she did. But claims that her ideological “Jihad” in support of unfettered free markets, wholesale privatisation of [...]
Very much pressured by Tory backbenchers as well as by the rise in the polls of the strict anti-EU ‘UK Independence Party’, Britain’s PM David Cameron eventually presented his long announced and often postponed speech on the future relations of the UK with the EU. No surprise in regards to the content of his speech. [...]
In constructing Europe’s monetary union, political leaders did not think through all of the implications, which led to major design flaws. Worse, they do not appear to have learned from that experience, for they are about to take the same approach to the monetary union’s political analogue. The logic of the financial crisis is driving [...]
A remarkable political consensus is emerging both within Britain and across much of the European Union that the UK is heading inexorably towards withdrawal from the EU. Opinions differ about the speed of a potential British exit and also about precisely what new relationship London expects to negotiate with the Union in the longer term. [...]
Despite the welter of economic problems surrounding Europe, one fact should not be forgotten: the European Union remains the world’s largest economy. With a GDP of more than €15.5 trillion, it is larger than that of the United States. And, with 20% of world trade, the EU is also the world’s second-largest exporter and importer, [...]
Some 2,500 years ago, the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus concluded that war is the father of all things. He might have added that crisis is their mother. Fortunately, war between world powers is no longer a realistic option, owing to the threat of mutual nuclear destruction. But major international crises, such as the current global [...]
For the first time since the demise of the Eastern Bloc Cuba’s socialist rulers are undertaking serious reform. However, the leadership lacks courage and trust in the people. In Cuba, some things work differently. The visit to the island by Pope Benedict XVI at the end of March 2012 brought this home once again. The [...]
Against the backdrop of the economic and financial crisis and recent discussions on the need for growth, industrial policy seems to be back on the European public agenda. Echoing positions put forward by major European think tanks, Social Democratic leaders in Europe have challenged the idea of industrial policy as purely national issue, and called [...]
The euro crisis reflects the failure of a dead-end policy. The German government lacks the courage to move beyond a status quo that has become untenable. This is why, despite extensive rescue programs and countless crisis summits, the situation of the eurozone has steadily deteriorated over the past two years. In the wake of its [...]
Europeans, whether they realize it or not, have passed only the first few bends in the road of a years-long journey to overhaul their key economic and political institutions. This redesign will be more profound than the one experienced by Communist member states after the breakup of the Soviet Union; that one was a tumultuous [...]
Blogosphere There has been another round of discussion about the European blogosphere and how it compares with the US scene as well as national blogospheres in different European countries. The debate was kicked-off by Ronny Patz at the new EUROPP@LSE Blog and was picked up by Bruegel’s new blog and Kantoos Economics. The reasons cited for [...]
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