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donate Racism in a post-racial Europe
racism Critique of culturalism as a polite form of Eurocentrism is to be distinguished from the new wave of anti-multiculturalism, argues Alana Lentin. Ostensibly aimed at the illiberalism of multiculturalism's "beneficiaries", the latter expresses intolerance of "bad diversity". [ more ]
Multiculturalism and the politics of bad memories
debate 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?
debate 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. [ more ]
Monoculturalism is dead: Multiculturalism has yet to come
debate In Germany, conservatives criticize a pastiche of multiculturalism to justify authoritarian policies and deflect attention from decades of neglect, argues Claus Leggewie. Failure to recognize Muslims as part of society is to risk repeating an historical mistake. [ more ]
Read also Kenan Malik, "A Merkel attack on multiculturalism"
The intolerance of the tolerant
Tolerance 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. [ more ]
Ban the burqa?
France The French burqa ban met with broad agreement: the parliament was near-unanimous, Left and Right were both enthusiastic and public support was massive. This despite the fact it violated every principle of good lawmaking, writes Canadian ethical philosopher Paul Doumouchel. [ more ]
How to become a real Muslim
offence The media has colluded with self-promoting but marginal Muslim clerics to create a cycle of self-reinforcing myths around the Mohammed cartoons. The fear of causing offence undermines progressive trends in Islam and strengthens the hand of religious bigots. [ more ]
See no evil
cartoon controversy "They have turned my book into another chapter of this fruitless debate." Jytte Klausen talks to "Index on Censorship" about the controversial decision of Yale University Press to publish her book on the Danish cartoon crisis without reproductions of the cartoons themselves. [ more ]
Swiss self-defeatism
Islam in Europe The Swiss vote to ban minarets has less to do with a "populist factor" inherent in referenda than with resentment at high-level corruption and the fear of social declassification. Celebrated by rightwing parties across Europe, the vote augurs more Islam-baiting to come. [ more ]
In God's name
free speech A new UN proposal condemning "defamation of religion" cements oppressive governments' control of free speech while still sounding compatible with the advanced multiculturalism of liberal democracies, writes Miklós Haraszti. [ more ]
Shadow of the fatwa
free speech Salman Rushdie's critics lost the battle but they won the war against free speech, writes Kenan Malik. The argument at the heart of the anti-Rushdie case - that it is morally unacceptable to cause offence to other cultures - is now widely accepted. [ more ]
The dialectic of secularization
multiculturalism The opposition between "multiculturalism" and "Enlightenment fundamentalism" is misconceived, argues Jürgen Habermas. "The universalist claim of the political Enlightenment does not contradict the particularist sensibilities of a correctly understood multiculturalism." [ more ]
Culturalism: Culture as political ideology
multiculturalism The multiculturalism debate has changed the political fronts. The Left defends minority cultures while the Right stands guard over national culture. Both are variants of a culturalist ideology, argue Jens-Martin Eriksen and Frederik Stjernfelt. [ more ]
Multiculturalism and liberal democracy
multiculturalism Liberal values can be twisted to justify limiting the civil rights of ethnic groups, warns Will Kymlicka in interview. "The same forces that support ethnic politics within liberal democracy also channel it in democratic ways." [ more ]
Must we respect religiosity?
On questions of faith and the pride of the secular society
key text Secular society's "supermarket of faiths" principle appears from a religious standpoint to be indifferent and mistaken. On the basis for the respect between believer and non-believer that can prevent this tension becoming intolerance. [ more ]
Religion, European secular identities and European integration
Key text The rapid secularization of western Europe has not diminished the unease with which Europe considers Islam in its midst. In this benchmark essay, José Casanova argues that the "Islam problem" is an indicator of the disparity between liberal and illiberal strands of European secularism. [ more ]
The deep slumber of decided opinions
Rowan Williams and the Sharia controversy
Sharia debate When Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Anglican Church, suggested that the British public consider "some accommodation" to Islamic law, the response was one of outrage. Yet in most cases his words were wildly misinterpreted, writes Stephen Jones. [ more ]
Mistaken identity
multiculturalism Multiculturalist advocacy of collective rights opens the door for religious law to take precedence over civil law, argues Kenan Malik. Partly responsible is the idea that people are bearers of a particular culture as opposed to social and transformative beings. [ more ]
Multiculturalism and diversity
multiculturalism Kenan Malik's critique of multiculturalism as a perpetuation of racist thinking is based on false conclusions, writes Radostin Kaloianov. Yet institutionalized multiculturalism should be challenged for its concentration on only a narrow spectrum of differences. [ more ]
The Muslim woman
The power of images and the danger of pity
Islam and feminism Western feminists who speak on behalf of "oppressed" Muslim women assume that individual desire and social convention are inherently at odds. But veiling should not be confused with a lack of agency or even traditionalism. [ more ]
They removed the veil
islam and feminism Pernilla Ouis and Anne Sofie Roald adopted the headscarf back in the 1980s at the same time as political Islam began to grow. Now they are part of a global trend towards secularization in which more and more women are shedding their headscarves and veils. [ more ]
Between national church and religious supermarket
Muslim organizations in Germany and the problem of representation
Official Islam? In Germany, "cultural Muslims" have challenged the authority of conservative Muslim organizations to represent "the Muslim community". The problem of representation has to do with the German state's corporatist approach to negotiation, writes Claus Leggewie. [ more ]
Take me to your leader
Post-secular society and the Islam industry
Muslim representation A new cadre of "professional Muslims" have realized that kudos is to be gained in speaking on Muslim issues. But the "take me to your leader" approach, practised by government and the media, cuts out the majority of Muslims. [ more ]
Nicolas Sarkozy, the laďcité and the religions
Muslim representation Nicolas Sarkozy's recent comments on religion have alarmed many. Yet, as Jean-Louis Schlegel demonstrates, they bear a continuity with his policy while still minister of the interior to establish an official Muslim representative body. [ more ]
Culture as battlefield
public sphere A sea change in the public sphere has brought a "language of ethical demands", in which religion becomes the medium of conflict, writes Isolde Charim. [ more ]
The Islamist identity
Islam, European public space, and civility
public sphere It is not distance from, but proximity to modern life that triggers a return to religious identity among migrant Muslims in Europe, says Nilüfer Göle. The religious self for individual Muslims is being shifted from the private to the public realm. [ more ]
Muslims and the decadent West
multiculturalism Some commentators interpret young Muslims' self-segregation as the fault of the majority, writes Jörg Lau. What motivates this alliance between liberal self-critique and Muslim religiosity? [ more ]
You've got to swing your hips!
A conversation with Feridun Zaimoglu
literature "This whole ethnic crap gets on my nerves!" Forthright as ever, Feridun Zaimoglu explains why the discourse on integration and multiculturalism serves conservative interests and demonizes young Muslims. [ more ]
"I won't be an Uncle Tom"
A conversation with Navid Kermani
literature "Either I play my part and become a defender of Islam or multiculturalism – or indeed a denouncer of Islam, whatever role I get landed with – or else I write my books, with a view to people still reading them in twenty years." Navid Kermani explains why he won't have anything to do with the Islam industry. [ more ]
Pride and prejudice
literature Religions tend to suffer from humourlessness – but that doesn't disentitle them to respect, says Tahar Ben Jelloun. [ more ]
Beyond belief
atheism The "new believers" have been on the counter-attack in the God Debate. "While we need to take seriously the claim that scientific explanations are incomplete," rallies Richard Norman, "alternatives must still meet the same standards for what counts as a good explanation". [ more ]
The rebirth of religion and enchanting materialism
atheism While Europe is the exception in the global de-secularization of politics, theoretical interest in theological issues has been rising. Sven-Eric Liedman places "soft naturalism" against militant atheism and makes a plea for a "matérialisme enchanté". [ more ]
The concept of God - and why we don't need it
Atheism In these newly religious times, it no longer seems superfluous to rearm the atheists with arguments. When push comes to shove, atheists can only trust their reason. [ more ]
The role of religion in establishing social cohesion
secularization Nostalgia about a religious past will not help solve the question of a "European soul". Instead, the weakening of religion could prove a starting point for a reconsideration of Europe's religious heritage. [ more ]
European secularization: A special route to post-secular society?
A theoretical note
secularization Post-secular society is the contradictory and uncontrollable counterpart of the secular state. Both are accelerated and regulated by a third actor: a public sphere formed by the mass media. [ more ]
Beliefs in the US. Between new fears and old responses
secularization On the differing roles of religion in the public sphere in the US and Europe: "Have you ever heard the German chancellor say 'God bless Germany'?" Reset editor-in-chief Giancarlo Bosetti talks to Seyla Benhabib. [ more ]
Power and religion
Political Islam
social science To avoid a "clash of civilizations", the Western perception of the "Islamic world" needs to differentiate between religion and each separate country with individual social and economic issues. [ more ]
The new paths of modern Islam
social science In an interview about the Mohammed cartoons, Rachid Benzine advocates a new reading of the Koran with the instruments of the social sciences. [ more ]
The question of tolerance in Islamic societies
religious culture Today's Muslim societies must consider afresh the question of tolerance, and ask why they find themselves mired in indecision and resentment, says Abdesselam Cheddadi. [ more ]
Beyond the clash of intolerances
clash of civilizations? Today, we are not experiencing a clash of civilizations, but a clash of intolerances. "We must encourage opposing forces to adhere to values of moderation, tolerance, and non-violence", says the Iranian philosopher. [ more ]
The legislation of 1905
laďcité Should France's laws from 1905 regulating laïcité be reformed after a century of changes in the religious composition of French society? [ more ]
Discords in the French laicity
laďcité The ban on religious symbols in French schools reveals a crisis of the laicity. [ more ]
Theology of tidal waves
A post-humanist interpretation
disasters The tsunami disaster in southeast Asia in December 2004 prompted a leading Swedish political scientist to make a public return to the Christian Church. Why are the humanities no longer able to accommodate mass suffering? [ more ]
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More focal points
Changing media – Media in change
Media-technological developments are causing a fundamental re-structuring of the newspaper and book publishing sectors, with traditional media locked in fierce competition with online newcomers for market superiority. Yet media change is about more than the "newspaper crisis" and the iPad: property law, privacy, free speech and the functioning of the public sphere are all affected. [ more ]
The bonfire of the universities
The uni's burning! The slogan was everywhere in the German-speaking space last winter, as the protests at the University of Vienna set off a wave of similar strikes, first at Austrian universities, then beyond: in Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Marburg, Zürich... 2009/10 saw further protests at universities in Athens, Zagreb, Marseilles and London. The Bologna Process, one of the main points of contention, also marked its ten-year anniversary on 12 March this year by officially inaugurating the European Higher Education Area. Eurozine surveys a debate enflaming (not only) Europe. [ more ]
Climate of change? Debating the politics of global warming
Agreement about the necessity of radical ecological change may be unprecedented, yet rhetoric and reality go their separate ways; what looks good on paper fails to resonate in social and political practice. Will the Copenhagen Climate Summit be able to bring together word and deed? Or will business continue as usual in the global greenhouse? A Eurozine focal point debates the politics of global warming. [ more ]
Dilemma 89
Twenty years after 1989, most former communist states in central and eastern Europe are members of the EU. Yet the transition from closed to open societies is far from "complete". '89 not only historic moment of liberation, but also political and social dilemma for the present day. [ more ]
Media landscapes: Central and eastern Europe
Those in central and eastern Europe who, after 1989, saw the media as the handmaiden of democracy and the conventional watchdog on power, today have become targets for new and subtler forms of censorship. How media autonomy in Europe's newer democracies is being inhibited by market forces and continuing political intervention. [ more ]
The malady of infinite aspiration?
Sound in principle or sick at heart? Articles on the financial crisis, compiled under Durkheim's memorable phrase. Including: Jacques Rupnik, Ralf Dahrendorf, Daniel Daianu, Mircea Vasilescu, Heiner Flassbeck, Olivier Mongin. [ more ]
Olympic indifference
The Beijing Olympics 2008 are unusual insofar as not one country has boycotted them. This, despite the fact that the political dimension of the Games has seldom been more controversial. Are we seeing a new kind of "Olympic indifference"? With this in mind, Eurozine compiles articles on sport, politics, and protest. [ more ]
Shared space, divided society
Migration is part of modern society, meaning more and more people of different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds live together in Europe. The multitude of perspectives and experiences represents an enormous resource, but as cultural conflicts inherent in today's urban societies become visible, doubts are also raised about the value of diversity. [ more ]
1968: Beyond soixante-huite
Forty years on, the differences between the 1968 uprisings in western and eastern Europe move into ever sharper focus. "In retrospect, the great event of '68 in Europe was not Paris, but Prague. But we were unable to see this at the time." Including articles on '68 in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, France and West Germany. [ more ]
Illiberal Europe?
Parliament or the soapbox? Populist politics are enjoying renewed success in Europe, above all in the former socialist countries. Ivan Krastev, G.M.Tamás, Ralf Dahrendorf, Jacques Rupnik and others investigate the rise of "democratic illiberalism". [ more ]
Cultural citizenship
The concept of cultural citizenship responds to the multicultural context of contemporary societies, in which the concern with equality is increasingly being complemented with a concern with difference. Contributors include Gerard Delanty, Axel Honneth, Rainer Bauböck, Ivaylo Ditchev, Charles Taylor, Rada Ivekovic, António Sousa Ribeiro. [ more ]
Decentring Europe
Any reinvention of the concept of Europe that takes into account the complexities inherent in Europe's place in a globalized world must contain a critique of Eurocentrism. Learning from the South, i.e. absorbing the full critical impact of alternative approaches may be a key element in the rethinking – and unthinking – of "Europe".[ more ]
The future of war
Are wars that are fought between nations a thing of the past, and are the future challenges more a case of ethnic strife, break-up of failed states, secession and civil wars? In a special focal point, Eurozine analyzes the changing face of warfare in the twenty-first century, in which terrorism and new security threats have profoundly transformed the way wars are conducted. [ more ]
The city as stage for social upheaval
From the western European city to the Third World megacity, one is able to observe how a single principle asserts itself in the social structure of the urban space. That principle – privatization – is geared towards the concentration of wealth and assets on an increasingly global scale, a manoeuvre its beneficiaries seek to naturalize. [ more ]
Big Brother goes global
Post 9/11, governments are increasingly tailoring "international standards" to ratify domestic policies that intrude on civil liberties. Welcome to the phenomenon of "policy laundering". [ more ]
Changing Europe
As political Europe turns 50, the questions about its future are as open as ever. A special focus featuring some of Eurozine's most outstanding contributions on the European project: From analyses of the current crisis to a hilarious parody of Brussels' literary ambitions. [ more ]
European histories: Towards a grand narrative?
In order for there to be solidarity within the enlarged EU, it will be necessary to develop a broader historical consciousness that includes both western and eastern experiences. [ more ]
Europe talks to Europe: Towards a European public sphere?
The European integration project has made the discussion about transnational spaces for cultural and political debate acute. Can there at all be a common Europe without a pan-European public sphere? [ more ]
Politics of border making and (cross-)border identities
Have borders become irrelevant with the project of a united Europe? No, just the opposite. On the dilemmas of border building and cross-border cooperation in the EU and its neighbourhood. [ more ]
Documenta 12 magazines
Eurozine is participating in the Documenta 12 magazines project, which links over 90 print and on-line periodicals worldwide. Read Eurozine's contributions to the documenta leitmotifs "Modernity" and "Bare Life" here.[ more ]
Freedom of speech and the Danish cartoon controversy
Free speech is a fundamental human right and a central tenet of democracy. Or is it? Reactions to the Danish cartoon controversy show that liberals are re-evaluating what the right to free speech entails. [ more ]
Politics of translation
Translation today is as much about the translation of cultural, political, and historical contexts and concepts as it is about language. [ more ]
Conferences
Changing places (What's normal anyway?)
The 20th European Meeting of Cultural Journals
Sibiu, 21-24 October 2007
Under the heading "Changing places (What's normal anyway?)", the Eurozine network conference 2007 in Sibiu, Romania, addressed the challenges facing societies, literature, and the media as the need for change meets the urge for normality. Read the conference texts here. [ more ]
Friend and foe. Shared space, divided society
The 19th European Meeting of Cultural Journals
London, 27-30 October 2006
Speakers at the 19th European Meeting of Cultural Journals opened up the discussion on cultural diversity in two directions: first, as it is experienced in the physical urban space, and second, as it is reflected in the mirror of the media. [ more ]
Neighbourhoods
The 18th European Meeting of Cultural Journals
Istanbul, 4-7 November 2005
Contributions on the notion of neighbourhood and the Turkey-Europe question from a range of intellectual and geographic perspectives. [ more ]
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