Eurozine Editorial
Unsigned articles (News Items, Editorials, Introductions etc) are written by the Eurozine editors. See the about us section for more information.
Articles
![Cover for: Information: A public good](https://www.eurozine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/64bbfc57856780bb9e9e49eba9255fc3.png)
Thinking about ‘what to do’ about disinformation means understanding information’s positive quality as a public good. Abandoning a purely reactive strategy will stand democracies in better stead. Contributions to the new Eurozine focal point ‘Information: A public good’ reflect this way of thinking.
![Cover for: For a relevant literature](https://www.eurozine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/540fe3da65b5f66699084422541ef5d9.png)
The illiberal backlash cannot be sanitized through conventional political morality: liberal democracy must redefine itself in order to win back credibility. Literature and literary debate are not necessarily where that process will start. But if they succumb to dogmatism, it is hard to see where else free thought will flourish.
![Cover for: Revolutions and repercussions](https://www.eurozine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/0c74f3756fc8bafc386a6a82af478155.jpg)
Revolutions and repercussions
The 2010s in 10 articles
This decade brought us revolutions, crises and strong backlashes too. But although it’s easy for authoritarians to prey on societies in turmoil, the popular demand for equality and a liveable future do not dissolve, even under tyranny.
![Cover for: The current crop of clowns](https://www.eurozine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/1e9a3dc4446572dc7d77e89ddfb6d5c9.jpg)
The current crop of clowns
The joker, the trickster and the prankster
A vaudeville figure has been reinstated to lead Britain through Brexit, while in the US a reality-tv star is being impeached for trying to blackmail a comedian in Ukraine. Comedy seems to have taken over the wheel in political leadership. But the quality of this entertainment varies greatly.
![Cover for: Culture wars](https://www.eurozine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/9fce61cb007494016695a8aeddae4177.jpg)
A ‘kulturkampf’ is visible in new authoritarians’ power struggles, from rewriting history curricula in Russia, through the politics of Islamization in Turkey, to the total offensive on museums and theatres in Hungary. The consistent misrepresentation of cultures is a less spectacular but equally important means of silencing certain voices. A selection of reads on how political powers hijack culture through its institutions.
![Cover for: Try like a girl](https://www.eurozine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/d50315aff81e74ce5c6d3fae5232ed61.jpg)
Five years ago, Malala Yousafzai was listed among the most influential teenagers in the world. Her position is now contested by climate activist Greta Thunberg. Thankfully, they don’t compete with each other for fame. They do, however, challenge assumptions about what can and cannot be done in politics. Especially by girls.
![Cover for: Post-truth panic: the news that never was](https://www.eurozine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/20ee0fcc979cfd49580c608171b4e6be.png)
Media professionals often engage in a collective hysteria. They complain about their loss of authority, signalling a deep unwillingness to take responsibility for our trade’s failures and, often, complicity. And yet, the ‘post-truth era’ is not a death toll of journalism, but the signal of a necessary change.
![Cover for: No average country](https://www.eurozine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/bea61aa29d7e9acd0ad325a6b00006cc.jpg)
Although on the rise, popular engagement with EU politics is still a poor reflection on European democracy. International coverage maintains a narrow focus, despite important and uneven developments in national politics throughout the Union. Eurozine’s series on the EP elections addresses this deficit.
![Cover for: Russian questions](https://www.eurozine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/b9b2f8db4d349141291a5a75c9c64be1.jpg)
Police violence, mass detentions, internet shutdown, arrest of opposition candidates: the reaction to the latest protests in Moscow has been an overreaction even by the standards of the Russian authorities. It seems that the government has good reason to be afraid of putting its popularity to the test. But is it advised to ask what next, given the sheer weight of resistance to democratization in Russia?