The reaction of artists and celebrities to the result of the re-run Istanbul municipal elections, in which Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party lost to the opposition CHP, leads Varlık to explore the complex relationship between art and politics. At the centre of the issue is the question: ‘Which is more political: the artist or their work?’
Democracy is about more than ‘one person, one vote’, says novelist Robert Harris in Index on Censorship. In this issue, authors from Brazil, Hungary, Venezuela, and elsewhere, look at how new populist regimes hamstring democratic life by taking control of judicial systems.
‘The neoliberal era of financial capitalism, the ideology of consumerism and the mentality of nihilism’ have transformed the traditional role of philosophy, argues Dialogi editor Boris Vezjak. In a themed issue, Slovenian authors inquire what happened to philosophers as public intellectuals.
Czech magazine A2 profiles Slovak investigative journalist and novelist Árpád Soltész, whose new book ‘Swine’, inspired by the Kuciak affair, has caused a publishing sensation. Also, a sober assessment of the Million Moments for Democracy movement, and a discussion of the politicization of folklore in Hungary.
Esprit’s summer issue, edited by Camille Riquier, considers the idea that capitalism has replaced God with money. Because the thirst for wealth ignores the blood of the poor, the community of money is based on a breach of trust. Do new currencies make a difference? Can we make money visible again, and hence master it?
In the latest issue of Czas Kultury, Anna Paprzycka makes the case for programming languages to be credited as a means of artistic production. In a second focus, the terms ‘people’, ‘nation’ and ‘race’ are scrutinized.
‘Whoever cultivates the vocation of politics must have a sensibility for human idiosyncrasy,’ writes il Mulino; ‘for the flashes of light and the layers of dirt, for the unexpected failures and sudden scrambles that make it unpredictable.’ And this is even more true of one of the most unpredictable of cities, Rome.
In its June issue on ‘The Algerian uprising’, Esprit pays tribute to the democratic and non-violent movement that started on 22 February 2019. The whole nation, carried by its youth, demanded the end of a corrupt and authoritarian regime. The concern for democratic dignity allows Algeria to recover its historical consciousness.
In the June issue of ‘Merkur’, Jan-Werner Müller responds to advocates of ‘talking to the right’. Liberals need to enter the political fray and try to win over their illiberal opponents. However, liberalism must also define its red lines when engaging with populists.
The Catalan journal reflects on the position of the refugee in society, and also delves into kitsch.
Drawing on Erdoğan’s war on the prices of certain agricultural produce, the June issue of the Turkish journal Varlik explores the politics of the potato.
‘Ord&Bild’ thinks long-term about Europe; ‘New Humanist’ laments New Atheism’s irrationalist legacy; ‘Mittelweg 36’ explores new directions in the sociology of violence; ‘L’Homme’ reads historical case studies of ecstatics and intersexuals; and ‘Revista Crítica’ looks back at Afro-Yugoslav film and post-colonial solidarities.
‘Blätter’ says don’t blame the Eurocrats; ‘Letras Libres’ considers the crisis of authority; ‘Springerin’ conceptualizes the backlash; ‘New Eastern Europe’ sees work ahead for the European Partnership; and ‘Cogito’ reads the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ to understand planetary catastrophe.
‘O’r Pedwar Gwynt’ finds its place; ‘Wespennest’ claims climate for culture; ‘Krytyka’ appeals for constitutional democracy; ‘Osteuropa’ debates elitism and protest; and ‘Soundings’ critiques #MeToo.
In Osteuropa, Ilya Kalinin describes a political conflict in Russia familiar in the West: one between liberal ‘elites’ and anti-liberal ‘left-behinds’. Like many western critics of neoliberalism, his approach begins with the elites rather than their opponents.
‘Il Mulino’ calls on all Europeans; ‘Dublin Review of Books’ advocates a clean break; ‘Esprit’ hears first hand from whistle-blowers; ‘Index on Censorship’ reports on local news worldwide; and ‘Revolver Revue’ talks about the things that cannot be forgiven.