The recent publication of the private diary of Witold Gombrowicz provides unparalleled insight into the life of one of Poland’s great twentieth-century novelists and dramatists. But this is not literature. Instead: here he is, completely naked.
If Gombrowicz would have written these notes just for himself, to refresh his memory, he would have asked his wife to destroy the manuscript. On the contrary: he always wanted her to save “Kronos” from the fire. It was meant to survive, writes Pawel Majewski.
Power rotation, listening to the people, tolerance of dissent, recruitment of elites and experimentation: the truth is that, in all of these respects, China is more democratic than Russia. And China’s decision making is undoubtedly superior too, argues Ivan Krastev.
Comparing China and Russia in terms of their conformity to western liberal-democratic standards shows the inadequacy of such a general yardstick, writes Rein Müllerson in his response to Ivan Krastev. What really matters is rule of law and good governance.
In the midst of the Gezi Park protests, Ömer Faruk witnesses an unforeseen uprising without precedent under either Ottoman rule or the Turkish Republic. This, he argues, is the decentralized multitude rising up against multi-centred capital; and more comprehensive and effective revolts will likely follow.
The thinkers of the Radical Enlightenment pursued ideas of equality and democracy to their logical conclusions, envisioning a systematic egalitarianism extending across all frontiers, class barriers and horizons. Jonathan Israel in conversation with Kenan Malik.
Leave identity-based politics behind and identity-based life aside and, instead, evolve towards pluralistic policies focused on the issues: this is the lesson that Nil Mutluer draws from an in-depth analysis of the role of laicité in Turkish society up to and around the Gezi Park protests.
When politics and the arts collide, “coded speech” invariably becomes the norm on stage and in books, newspapers and public discourse. Géza Kovács tries to unravel why it is that the arts in central and eastern Europe keep getting thrown into the whirlwind of historic change.
As democratic imaginaries linked to new protest movements circulate globally, Nilüfer Göle reassesses relations between the public sphere and democracy; and shows how the Gezi Park movement, among others, has used public space as a site for the rehearsal of new forms of citizenship.
The protests of a new generation in Turkey constitute a turning point in contemporary Turkish history and a great ray of hope, writes historian and journalist Dilek Zaptcioglu. At long last, a third way has opened between Islamic and Kemalist groupings, and it leads to liberal democratic values.
If the concept of global human rights is to endure, a new and more political, transnational and adaptable movement must emerge, argues Stephen Hopgood. Only then might bottom-up democratic norms replace top-down authoritative rules.
The deep historical roots of European culture may not lie in the geographical and political entity of today’s Europe. But it is precisely here that the feeling of belonging inspired by the best that has been thought and said (and sung and painted and danced) needs cultivating, argues Enda O’Doherty.
Exiting the EU and eurozone will not of itself solve Greece’s long-term problems. For these the country’s corrupt and unworthy political class is to blame, argues David Oderberg. He calls for a new Greek awakening to remove this cancer on the body politic.
Jan-Werner Müller deals with critical issues raised by his proposals for a Copenhagen Commission: an independent institution specifically tasked with alerting Europe to threats to democracy, the liberal rule of law and individual rights such as those currently seen in Hungary.
Only when one considers the history of Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws, can one really honour the supreme effort of jazz musicians to maintain their propellant positivity. Howard Slater reflects on free jazz as a disalienating force that shaped a new collective culture.
Europe should prepare itself for long-term cooperation with the energy-rich kleptocracy that has developed on its eastern borders. Because, given that the personal enrichment of politicians is part of the very foundation of the regime, Russia’s ruling political elite is not about to change any time soon.