Articles

When political points can be scored by tearing up children’s books that are deemed too tolerant, what is a writer to do? Should they become an activist?

A Russian, a Turk and a Hungarian, all journalists, walk into a bar … well, an online talk, actually. Irina Borogan, Ece Temelkuran and György Kerényi spoke about censorship and repression, the impossibility of exile and the performance of care.

In a controversial yet peaceable move, the Spanish government has pardoned nine jailed Catalan leaders. José Miguel Arenas Beltrán, more widely known as the Spanish rapper Valtònyc, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for insulting the monarchy and ‘glorifying terrorism’ in his lyrics. He is still on the run from the Spanish authorities.

Scapegoated early on in the pandemic, Roma communities do not get the full support they need to participate in vaccination campaigns. Distrust of inaccessible health care systems, built to exclude minorities living outside the mainstream, is a major obstacle.

Faced with government inaction on climate change, young people are increasingly engaging in civil disobedience. For those as yet unable to vote, the act of collectively removing the French president’s portraits from town halls is strikingly symbolic. Are such interventions a youthful rejection of politics or a new form of civic engagement?

For many, place of birth is an identity keystone. That first point of arrival seems assured, an irrefutable fact. But there are those made to feel foreign in their home country. Race, often seen as evidence of difference, forces many Black people to undertake personal journeys into identity politics.

Jihadist attacks have sent sporadic tremors through European societies for over 25 years. The ferocity of terrorist acts has also stunned Muslim communities. Now social networking provides a platform for dissenting Islamic voices critical of cultural and religious norms that fail to counter violent radicalisation or serve to indulge it.

World sporting events intrinsically emphasize national allegiance. When real-life rivalries mix with on-pitch competition, football, the ‘beautiful game’, can quickly turn ugly. With various leaders investing heavily to rank up populist points for political gain, who might be the ultimate winners behind any fanaticism once the postponed championships kick off?

Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine could be one of the most effective jabs available. Yet, its media coverage in the West has revived Cold War stereotypes. Vladimir Putin has also triggered suspicions. Nevertheless, the medical legacy from the Soviet era has prepared researchers precisely for such emergencies.

Last-minute negotiations in Israel have secured the agreement of rival ideological parties on a coalition that could finally oust Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister will now face a vote of confidence with a far-right replacement ready. Behind the recent escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians lies a history desperately in need of careful resolution.

Traditionally, young women used to be presented with goods as a send off into adult life. Today’s bottom drawers aren’t necessarily tied to marriage, nor are they strictly material. Yet, the bundle one leaves the house with is as important now as ever. In this focal point, we take stock of the notions our foremothers presented us with: women’s ideas and achievements that define our understanding of power, gender and violence, bodies, identity and agency.

Lesbian identities have an established place as herstory within feminism and queer history. But what must the young 1970s scholar’s archival and personal experiences, following an article on love and ritual, discovering women’s accounts of their own lives for the first time, have been like?

With the abduction of a passenger flight, the Belarusian regime gave up the last remains of its connections to democratic partners. Sanctions may break Lukašenka’s reign economically, but they also take a huge toll on civilians. International attention is fickle, but certain types of support may help in the long run.

How is whiteness constructed and why is it so fragile? What’s at stake in discussing colonial memory for eastern Europeans? Do they actually eat a lot of cabbage?

Interactive education has become essential in the classroom. But didactic teaching methods seem to have resurfaced through interactive media delivery. The consequent loss of engagement affects attendance: data suggests that almost a third of Italian pupils have disappeared from lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Invocations of ‘never again’ often overlook the recent history of genocide, particularly in Europe, with Srebrenica serving as a case in point. Such histories are increasingly being forgotten, marginalized or politically instrumentalized, but Jasmila Žbanić’s film ‘Quo Vadis, Aida?’ sifts through the contested memories and competing narratives to remind us of war’s devastating human effects.