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Articles published in Eurozine
Land of confusion
Ukraine, the EU and the Tymoshenko case
The Ukraine-European Union summit, planned for 19 December, was to have brought talks on an Association Agreement to a conclusion. But conflict with the EU over the prosecution of Yuliya Tymoshenko means Ukraine's future hangs in the balance, writes Tatiana Zhurzhenko. [more]
Russia: Society, politics and the search for community
What are the factors that could end Russia's democratic inertia? While pressure from below is likely to provoke consolidation of the elites, writes Samuel A. Greene, long-term economic decline might encourage greater European integration and reform of the country's institutions. [more]
The story behind the story
The newspaper crisis shows that another kind of journalism is needed: one that goes into detail, tells great stories, provides background, poses questions and turns answers into more questions. Thomas Schmid, publisher of "Die Welt", calls for a revival of journalistic virtues. [more]
Bad news for the news
The good news is: the digital revolution has revitalized journalism. The bad news: nobody wants to pay for it. With the Internet undermining the economic basis of professional reporting, the freedom of the press in western democracies is at stake, warns sociologist Paul Starr. [more]
The politics of no alternatives or How power works in Russia
An interview with Gleb Pavlovsky
In interview with "Transit", former dissident turned "political technologist" Gleb Pavlovsky talks about the workings of political power in the former Soviet Union and in post-Soviet Russia. [Polish version added] [more]
Democratic, can travel
The Russian regime's abandonment of the ideology of public interest prevents it being measured against its own standards, while its policy of open borders diffuses protest from a dissatisfied middle class. Ivan Krastev on reasons for authoritarianism's tenacity.[Romanian version added] [more]
Notes on Hungary's media law package
(Updated following the agreement with the European Commission)
Hungary's media law could lead to a depoliticization of the media the likes of which exists in Russia and other post-Soviet democracies, writes the former OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. The alterations to the law will do little to this halt this tendency. [more]
Tricolour – three colours of justice
The modern notion of justice linked to ideas of human rights and democracy is highly complex, pulling in different directions. Cornelia Klinger explains how "justice" as we understand it today can be inferred from the conceptual trinity of the French Revolution. [Estonian version added] [more]
Market mysticism
Faith in the "efficient markets hypothesis" is largely to blame for the massive deregulation of the late 1990s and early 2000s that made the crisis more likely, if not inevitable. Two economists excoriate the ideology of self-regulating markets and its pseudo-scientific foundations. [more]
Brute force
The climate justice position is necessary but not sufficient for comprehending the current crisis, writes Dipesh Chakrabarty. As a geophysical force, the human species wields a new kind of agency unaccounted for in familiar narratives of the history of capitalist growth. [more]
Loving the enemy: Al-Qaeda's vision of the West
9/11 organizer Khalid Sheikh Mohammed exploited his trial to remind the court of its human rights obligations, while Osama bin Laden's statements include appeals to religious pluralism. Al-Qaeda's use of liberal categories is central to its rhetoric, writes Faisal Devji. [German version added] [more]
Holocaust: The ignored reality
Auschwitz and the Gulag are generally taken to be adequate or even final symbols of the evil of mass slaughter. But they are only the beginning of knowledge, a hint of the true reckoning with the past still to come, writes Timothy Snyder. [more]
Lessons learned and open questions
The dissatisfaction expressed by the many not to have benefited from transition suggests post-communist welfare states have a long way to go before they attain western levels of credibility. Their democracies depend on that gap being bridged, argues Claus Offe. [Spanish version added] [more]
The crisis and the end of liberalism in central Europe
Even as the state took over large portions of the private banking sector in the US and UK, politicians in central Europe were singing the praises of Anglo-Saxon market liberalism. They are the last orphans of Bush and Cheney, writes Jacques Rupnik. [Estonian version added] [more]
European identity: Historical fact and political problem
An historian can define European identity descriptively, as Krzysztof Pomian demonstrates in a tour of European culture since the first millennium BC. But the real controversy lies elsewhere, in the political question: what of the European past is worth preserving? [more]
The frailty of the whole
The thought of Leszek Kolakowski, who died on 17 July, is inscribed into the post-war memory of Poland, writes Krzysztof Michalski. Throughout the philosopher's varied intellectual trajectory, one theme persisted: that of human frailty. [more]
Strategic consumption or sustainable policy?
The power of the "environmentally aware consumer" is overrated. A fundamental change in "material flow management" can only be achieved via blanket regulation, writes Oliver Geden. The new EU law on energy-saving bulbs lights the way. [more]
Can democracies deal with climate change?
Trust in the ability of political elites to deal with the eco-social consequences of climate change is evaporating. Reaching eco-political targets calls for more participation of citizens as active architects of their society, write Claus Leggewie and Harald Welzer. [more]
The crisis of the post-Cold War European order
Ivan Krastev argues that a policy of engagement focused on national interest and a radical turn from value-based foreign policy to nineteenth century Realpolitik is not a workable option for relations between Russia and the West. [more]
Years of '68
The Western revolutionaries of '68 were often hostile towards supporters of the Warsaw March revolt and indifferent towards the subsequent "anti-Zionist" purges. Yet the events were disastrous for Polish Jews at the time and are still relevant forty years later. [more]
1968: The year of two springs
Parallels between May '68 and the Prague Spring are largely the result of the simultaneity of the events; in important respects, the political goals of the two movements were antithetical. Nevertheless, central European dissent had a significant impact on the French Left after 1968, argues Jacques Rupnik. [more]
The misunderstanding of 1968
One of the last interviews with Rudi Dutschke
Speaking a year before his death, Rudi Dutschke explained the reasons for the German Left's failure to understand what was at stake in Czechoslovakia in 1968. "In retrospect, the great event of '68 in Europe was not Paris, but Prague. But we were unable to see this at the time." [more]
How I became a Czech and a Slovak
Mykola Riabchuk recalls how the politics of the Prague Spring filtered through to Ukraine until the crackdown on "bourgeois nationalism" five years later; and how, during perestroika, the roles were reversed and he brought banned literature to friends in Czechoslovakia. [more]
From "big character posters" to blogs
Facets of independent self-expression in China
Blogging in China has often been compared to samizdat publishing during the Cultural Revolution. Yet despite predictions to the contrary, the Internet has not brought abrupt political change in China. Its significance and implications for Chinese society lie elsewhere, writes Martin Hala. [more]
Not an island
Europe and the Middle East
Europe can play a major role in averting conflict in the Middle East, says Joschka Fischer. But does it have the instruments and institutions to do so? Given the urgency of the situation, can Europeans afford the luxury of being against Europe? [more]
European memory politics revisited
European commemorative culture is an integral component of the post-national process. But how can a "European memory" be justified if we aren't to refer to a continental, quasi-national entity? [more]
The populist moment
Unlike the extremist parties of the 1930s, the new populist movements do not aim to abolish democracy: quite the opposite, writes Ivan Krastev. What we are witnessing is a conflict between elites suspicious of democracy and increasingly illiberal publics. [more]
Eight remarks on populism
A fissure has opened up between citizens and power, information gaps that invite conspiracy theories and patent recipes. The parliamentary process is empirically the best antidote to populism; its gradual erosion presents one of the greatest challenges to contemporary liberal politics. [more]
Right turn
Polish politics at the beginning of the twenty-first century
Alternatives to the anti-communism and national conservatism of Poland's two main rightwing parties are barely offered by a Centre-Left tarnished by corruption scandals. With new elections set for 21 October, it seems unlikely that Poland will alter its course rightwards. [more]
Populism in Eastern Central Europe
Directly after the fall of communism, hopes burgeoned for democracy in the "new" Eastern Central Europe. What does the current climate of populism mean for these hopes and how does it affect these countries' relations with the EU? [more]
Martyrdom, patria, and the cult of dead warriors
Maleness and soteriology in war
The battle of Langemarck in 1914, in the course of which up to 20 000 German soldiers died, became a powerful myth of youth, honour, maleness, and martyrdom for National Socialism. The fascist slogan "Death lives!" expressed the transformation of biopower into "death power" in the racist model of the nation. [more]
Perfecting the human being
Death and immortality in post- and trans-humanism
Post- and trans-humanism's relentlessly utopian responses to the "problem of mortality" are the flipside to Günther Anders' diagnosis of "Promethian shame". [more]
Religion, European secular identities and European integration
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. Hungarian version added [more]
Old Europe
A look ahead to the twenty-first century
With rising life expectancy, stagnating working-age populations, and low birth rates, Europe faces a demographic challenge over the next fifty years the likes of which it has never known. [more]
The impact of immigration on American society
Looking backward to the future
In a survey of the history of American immigration, Charles Hirschman points out that almost all popular fears about immigration and even the negative judgements of "experts" have been proven false by history. [more]
Islamic evangelism
Islam in Europe
Religious and political radicalism among European Muslims is less an import from the cultures and conflicts of the Middle East than a consequence of the globalization and westernization of Islam, writes Olivier Roy. [Bosnian version added] [more]
The Islamist identity
Islam, European public space, and civility
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]
Utopia of freedom or reality of submission?
Large sections of the populations of countries at the peripheries of the EU are in permanent migratory motion. The trend towards overcoming arbitrary socio-political territories has its apotheosis in the Internet's utopian horizon of absolute mobility. [more]
Anatomy of a crisis
The Referendum and the dilemmas of the enlarged European Union
The derailing of the EU constitution in 2005 raised fears that Europe would become divided and increasingly unstable. On the underlying causes and possible consequences of the crisis of the European project. [more]
A "pause for thought" without the thought?
Possible ways to talk about the future of the EU today
The one-year "pause for thought" launched by Europe's elites after the rejection of the EU constitution in 2005 was extended in June 2006. This time could be used to discuss the pros and cons of competing Euro-visions, writes Jan-Werner Müller. [more]
Equally criminal?
Totalitarian experience and European memory
Political differences between European member states can be worked out only if a "European memory" is developed. The difficulty lies in paying due respect to the memory of the crimes both of Nazism and of Soviet totalitarianism while avoiding a hierarchy of competing victim groups. [more]
The return of the radicals
The radical government stems from that section of the Solidarity movement opposed to the route transformation took after 1989. Their cultural conservatism has landed on fertile ground in a contemporary Poland suffering from social alienation and distrust in democratic institutions [more]
The legislation of 1905
Should France's laws from 1905 regulating laïcité be reformed after a century of changes in the religious composition of French society? [more]
The burden of history and the trap of memory
The displacement of Germans at the end of WWII has re-entered the public debate with the TV drama "Die Flucht" [The escape]. Philipp Ther discusses the reasons for the shift in the way the German wartime past is being remembered. [more]
The question of tolerance in Islamic societies
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]
The role of religion in establishing social cohesion
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]
The western dimension of the making of modern Ukraine
The history of Ukrainian independence begins with the revolution in 1848, and thereafter is shaped by European and Russian interests. [more]
Balancing the books
Sixty years and more since the end of WWII, eastern European experiences of subjugation are often glossed over. This creates misunderstandings that could be avoided by an awareness of a common European history. Then, solidarity rather than national prejudice would motivate public opinion on matters of European politics. [more]
Reasons for the current upsurge in memory
Over the past quarter century, social structures have undergone a sea change in their traditional relationship to the past. Pierre Nora examines the roots and causes of "memorialism". [more]
Is Ukraine heading for breakup?
Parts of Ukraine threaten to seek autonomy from the capital Kiev. Tatiana Zhurzhenko looks at what is behind these threats. How big is the risk of Ukraine falling apart? [more]
Ukraine: an opportunity for Europe
There are moments in history when one must think broadly and ambitiously. To secure democracy in Ukraine is certainly in the interest of the European Union, writes Timothy Snyder. It is also a test for a Europe that wishes to play a role in the world. [more]
Ukraine's Solidarity
Ukrainian author Oksana Zabuzhko walks the streets of Kiev and witnesses an unprecedented upsurge of national solidarity. "To put it simply," she writes, "'they' are the power - the most widely hated power in Ukraine since Soviet times. And 'we' - we are the people." [more]
The second turning point
The Ukrainians fight for their right to a democratic state
What we see in the Ukraine today is a second turning point. Without a democratic and European Ukraine, Europe risks being brought back to the times of the Cold War. [more]
Triumph of evil
Portrait of a war criminal
Slavenka Draculic on Radislav Krstic, the first war criminal to be indicted in The Hague for his role in the Srebrenica massacre. [more]
Eurolocal perspectives towards the EU
Imagining the European Union as a nation-state
In Bulgaria, the EU has replaced the nation-state as a symbol of authority. Nevertheless, regional identity won't get lost, since regions "are a configuration of liminalities that overlap and accrue, providing different options". [more]
An invisible wall
The hidden factor of Belarusian reality
Who is to blame for the political stagnation in Belarus? [more]
Why Ukrainians are Ukrainians
A Commentary on Mykola Riabchuk's "Ukraine: One State, two Countries"?
What does it take to build a civil society in the Ukraine? [more]
Ukraine: One State, Two Countries?
Does the Ukrainian political elite use the country's deep sense of political ambivalence to stay in power? [more]
The myth of two Ukraines
A Commentary on Mykola Riabchuk's "Ukraine: One State, two Countries"?
Can the Ukraine overcome the rift between the 'europeanized' West and the 'russified' East of the country? [more]
Poland as the sick man of Europe?
Jedwabne, "post-memory" and historians
Joanna Tokarska-Bakir investigates the defence mechanisms triggered by the European past: on the one hand the Holocaust guilt-complex and on the other the language historians use to talk about it. [more]
Right wing populism as class struggle
France after April 21st
Where did it all go wrong for the French political elite? [more]
Transnational movements and the question of democracy
Social movements can provide an early warning system to mainstream politics. But once institutionalized, their lack of democratic mandate raises problems of legitimacy. This paradox must be negotiated if democracy is to respond to the global situation. [more]
Between democratic fatigue and the politics of fear
The French presidential elections 2002
This was no regular presidential election, it was a referendum on basic commitment to democratic values and an open society. Jacques Rupnik takes a look at French politics and discovers a radical shift. [more]
Where Does Solidarity End?
What changes do trade unions need to implement in order to construct a meaningful and just framework for today's workforce? [more]
The Communist Past in Post-Communist Russia
Alexei Miller on the flaws, achievements, problems and development of Russia's process of dealing with its Communist past. [more]
Contemporary Russian Nationalism between East and West
In the current Russian conditions of social and political fragmentation, nationalism has - inevitably - become a very important factor in the country's development, writes A. Khazanov. [more]
Poland: In or Out?
Where is the West of Europe and where is its East? At hand of the Polish example, Jacek Kochanowicz looks at an elusive border that remains difficult to draw on either side of a country. [more]
Returning to Reality
Culture, Modernisation and Various Eastern Europes
Daniel Chirot warns that the differentiation between "East" and "Central" Europe draws a new border between "East" and "West" which will result in excluding the poorer parts of Europe and will keep them poorer in delaying their modernisation. [more]
EU Enlargement to the East
The Anatomy of a Reticence
A decade after the collapse of communism, the EU has still not been extended towards the East. Can Europe meet the challenge of integration for integration's sake? [more]
(Hi)Story, Truth and Nation
Building a "new" South Africa
Story-telling as a major component of building a national identity, the definitions of nations and nation states as well as the significance of history and memory are the building blocks that need to be considered in understanding how South Africa will develop a "new" identity. [more]
Tainted Humanity
The Dilemma of Military Interventions
As a response to the NATO intervention in Kosovo, a debate erupted as to the moral basis of humanitarian interventions: How can one reconcile the fact that the defence of one group's rights endangers those of another? [more]
Religion and the profane
"The difference between the success of Islam and the failure of Marxism is that [...] Islam never claimed that work is sacred." Ernest Gellner, speaking in 1995, draws surprising comparisons between Marxism and Islam. [more]
Democratic exclusion - and its consequences
Democracy as a political model demands, more than anything else, inclusion. However it also contains a dynamic of exclusion. Charles Taylor asks how this tendency can be counteracted. [more]
In the Prism of the Local
As globalisation takes root, local traditions and forms of life vanish faster than they did before. Simultaneously, we find better ways of reserving those lost traditions. Forms of life are not erased in creolised culture, they take on new and integrating shapes. [more]
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