The various proposals in this article are representative of the deliberations of participating US students in the Democracy Workshop at the European Student Conference hosted at Yale University in February, 2015. With trust in European Union (EU) institutions at all-time lows, alleviating the democratic deficit*–both in terms of citizen representation and accountability among members —…
I worked for Congress for six years, and during that time I learned the power of citizen activism. I met with hundreds of people. Some of them were professional lobbyists with polished pitches, but many were groups of concerned citizens who wanted to have their voices heard by their representative. After November 8, 2016, and…
Commemoration of the Saharawi Republic’s 30th anniversary in liberated territories of Western Sahara. Picture by Jaysen Naidoo. Flickr. Some rights reserved (CC BY-SA 2.0). In order to better understand the negotiations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Frente Polisario (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and the Rio de Oro),…
Erol Önderoglu. Probably the prosecutor will present his view on March 21, and ask for our conviction. This is for taking part in a solidarity movement defending the existence of a pro-Kurdish newspaper. And this will be followed by sentencing. I have little doubt about that because the same thing has been happening since January:…
Protest in front of journalists' syndicate in Cairo on 2 January 2017. NurPhoto/SIPA USA/PA Images. All rights reserved. “Listen only to me” – Even if he had tried, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi could not have described his authoritarian military reign better. Exactly one year since he demanded the people not believe the “enemies…
Ramchandra Guha, historian. Wikicommons/Pushkarv. Some rights reserved.When the 'fascist' Modi was verging on becoming India's Prime Minister, intellectuals told us that he would be a threat to the very idea of an inclusive and democratic India. Amartya Sen declared that he could not be part of an India which had Modi as its PM. Modi…
This year a young female soccer coach from Hong Kong made history when she became the first woman ever to lead a men’s team to a national title. The story of Chan Yuen-ting’s success is widely framed as a major step for women who take on managerial roles in male-dominated sports. While she has been…
Negotiating a political solution The Geneva negotiations of January 2014 lasted two weeks and failed to address the two key items on the agenda: fighting jihadism and establishing a transitional governing body. The Syrian regime’s delegation refused to discuss any political change and gave exclusive priority to the anti-terror fight, while the opposition delegation remained…
Those were the days: celebrating the liberation of Benghazi from the Qaddafi dictatorship in October 2011. Flickr / Magherabia. Some rights reserved. Since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi’s regime in 2011, Libya has been plunged into civil war. No one really knows where it will lead but it is indefinitely postponing a political transition essential…
The video opens up to two performers staring into the camera. The stage shimmers with ice awash in ambient light. You lean in, though, if only to notice that these two dancers are wearing striped holocaust costumes adorned with a golden Star of David. This bizarre scene is courtesy of “Ice Age,” a Russian ice dancing show…