Tag archive for ‘Politics’
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 [...]
On the Justification of the Iraq War – In Memory of Robin Cook
I was a big fan of Robin Cook and decided to watch again his resignation speech when Tony Blair revealed that he thought the Iraq War was justified even if there were no WMD (obviously there weren’t any). Blair seems to have completely lost touch with reality if he thinks his own “moral” believes were [...]
The Copenhagen Failure shows: There is no effective Global Politics!
In the early hours of this morning the news of the failure of the Copenhagen summit on climate change hit the news wires. I won’t repeat the individual disappointments as the papers will be full of it today. But I would like to comment on the political implications of this disaster. It shows that there [...]
The Politics of the Financial Crisis – Stephen Haseler
Professor Stephen Haseler (The Global Policy Institute London) discusses the politics of the financial crisis at a seminar at London Metropolitan University, 2nd December 2009.
The Right to Towers
The Swiss vote to ban the building of minarets shows that Europe’s view of Islam is still plagued by fear and ignorance.
The Swiss vote to ban the building of minarets has led to a global outbreak of irritation and indignation. On the surface this may have concerned a building ban, but the core issue was [...]
Ken Livingstone on the State of the European Left and the Good Society Debate
Former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone shares his thoughts on the state of the European Left and the Good Society in a Videoblog for Social Europe Journal.
The Winner is: Democracy!
Habemus Presidentem. With the Lisbon Treaty ratified, the European Council appointed the Belgian Prime Minister Van Rompuy as its President, and Lady Ashton as Vice-President of the European Commission. The echo has been devastating. The Financial Times has called it ‘a colossal failure of ambition’. However, the decisions by the heads of states and governments [...]
The Principles of Communal Reciprocity
Jerry Cohen’s camping-trip fable offers a down-to-earth approach to social-democratic principles.
Being a socialist often requires a leap of faith. Though there are real institutions we can point to that at least in part embody key socialist values such as equality and community – the NHS of course springs to mind – the cause of [...]
Down, but (definitely) not out
Social democrats need to work more closely together in Europe to reassert a policy agenda reflective of their values.
Social-democratic parties are not dominating decision-making in Europe. The recent gain in Greece was matched with losses in Germany and Bulgaria, and in Portugal we retained control but lost absolute majority. This decline was reflected in June’s [...]
The Party-Union Link and the Future of Social Democracy
A rejuvenation of the party-trade union link could play an important part in the recovery of European social democracy.
Coinciding with the biggest financial crisis since the second world war, and an economic crisis whose full consequences have yet to emerge, the ‘good society’ debate offers social democrats an opportunity for reflection and programmatic rejuvenation. [...]
Does Europe’s Social Democracy still have a Future?
Social democracy will only be able to sustain a social Europe through strengthening European democratic institutions.
German Social Democrats are lucky. Although in September they received their lowest vote in a federal election since the war– 23 per cent – things could have been worse. The result was still three percentage points more than they received [...]
The Future of Social Democracy
In spite of their rhetoric, the right’s solutions to the crisis will lead to ordinary people paying the costs.
This past year has been overshadowed by the dark clouds of economic crisis. Ordinary people have taken many hard knocks. Unemployment is rising. Businesses are going bust. Homes have been repossessed. Pensions have been decimated by stock [...]
