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Articles published in Eurozine
Democracy put to the test
While democracy evaporates on a national level, it doesn't reappear anywhere else, least of all in Europe. Maintaining the democratic nature of our societies depends on the rules of the game we impose on ourselves at the European level, argues José Ignacio Torreblanca. [more]
Unreal estate
Freemarket disregard for the elementary moral truths of debt and obligation is to blame for the current crisis, says Roger Scruton. But the call for a return to economic morality is no endorsement of the financial fictions of the social democratic state. [Romanian version added] [more]
Five reasons why Europe is cracking up
Can Europe really break apart? Yes, of course it can, writes José Ignacio Torreblanca. Few times in the past has the European project been so questioned and its disgraces so publicly exposed as now. It's time to stop looking the other way. [more]
Multiculturalism and the politics of bad memories
Behind the recent attacks on multiculturalism is a false memory of stability disrupted by the arrival of people of other cultures, writes Markha Valenta. A row over the absence of non-white characters in the detective series "Midsomer Murders" says a lot about our idea of "home". [more]
Which "multiculturalism" has failed, David Cameron?
The multiculturalism recently attacked by David Cameron bears little in common with the integration policies of previous British governments, writes Cécile Laborde. What it does resemble is a securitization approach that places citizens under suspicion on the basis of their religion. [Hungarian version added] [more]
Scapegoater hunted down as a witch
Geert Wilders and the Dutch press
Judgmental journalism directed at members of parliament is an orchestrated form of "mob-justice" in the Netherlands today. Self-appointed media watchdogs present a bigger danger to society than the persons they pursue, writes Tjebbe van Tijen. [more]
The intolerance of the tolerant
The advance of populist anti-Islamic forces in the liberal bastions of northern Europe -- Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden -- appears to reflect a betrayal of these societies' renowned social tolerance. But there is a more subtle logic at work, says Cas Mudde. [Hungarian version added] [more]
Foam on the tide of time: The ICJ ruling on Kosovo
The International Court of Justice ruling on Kosovan independence will not herald a sea-change in Serbian public opinion, but it is likely to facilitate a coming-to-terms with the fact that Kosovo is "lost", writes Florian Bieber. The much-feared domino effect is also unlikely to occur. [more]
Elitism, philistinism and populism
The sorry tale of British higher education policy
With government pressure increasing to make employability the sole goal of higher education in all but the elite institutions, universities in the UK will soon be providing no more than tertiary training for the service, retail and media industries, writes Jeremy Gilbert. [more]
"The most important thing here is self-discipline..."
The Khodorkovsky-Ulitskaya correspondence
"Looking for loopholes in the law and exploiting them - this was the most that we allowed ourselves. And we got our kicks from showing the government the mistakes it had made in legislation." Mikhail Khodorkovsky confides in novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya. [Romanian version added] [more]
Plan B on climate: National deals
There is near universal consensus that a multilateral treaty is the only way to reduce global carbon emissions. Yet experience shows that deals focused on top-down mechanics fail. Unilateral action based on national self-interest is the only hope [more]
Fragmented memory
Stalin and Stalinism in present-day Russia
As contemporary witnesses disappear, collective memory in Russia is altering, writes the director of Memorial. The hardships of war and the Stalinist terror are being forgotten and Stalin is being remembered as the victor over the essence of evil. [more]
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