‘Occupation is like a flood. The water doesn’t reach every house at the same time: first it covers the roads until it meets an obstacle – a wall or fence. Then it starts to rise, finding cracks, seeping further, conquering one house after…
In today’s episode, we discuss how climate change affects food systems. Because, although we often talk of transit and other industries polluting, we don’t seem to consider industrial farming as great a culprit as it really is. And it…
With Modi having won his third presidential term, India’s democracy remains at risk. The opposition, which made gains with underprivileged and marginalized voters, is calling his need to govern in coalition a victory. But will infighting…
On the space to the left of European social democracy: Eurocommunism’s continuing legacy; reflections on the rise and fall of Eurocommunism in the UK; and everyday communism in the Austrian city of Graz.
On the 5 May, a Viennese public assembled on Judenplatz in the city’s First District to listen to the Israeli philosopher Omri Boehm deliver his ‘Speech to Europe’, the third in the series following Oleksandra Matviichuk (2023) and Timothy…
Historicizing Doomsday: how West German ’80s pop marketed angst; why the next generation doesn’t want to live fast and die young; whether we’ve really reached tipping point; an what ‘no future’ meant for early Christians.
From the persecution of transgender persons under Franco to the landmark 2023 ‘trans law’ enabling individuals to change their legal sex, trans rights in Spain have come a long way. But at the social level, transness continues to be…
Overturning an adherence to cultural classics has historical precedents. For the Soviet avant-garde, revolution meant dispensing with symbols of reverence: everything from Renaissance paintings to Tolstoy. And, in the process, the likes of…
The EU likes to promote its devotion to human rights, but this agenda falls short when it comes to border regimes, migration and non-European refugees. The new episode of Standard Time reflects on the EP elections, discussing security and…
Europe has learnt the need to protect human dignity as inviolable, refuting the myth of national sovereignty and ethnically-based citizenship. But it also embraces these principles as forms of emancipation for Jews and previously colonized…
Voicing opinions to explain political tensions from afar is contentious for those treated as mute subjects. Focusing solely on distant, global decision-making disguises local complexity. Acknowledging the perspectives of East Europeans on…
Despite far-right rumblings, no populist wave is expected in the Nordic countries. Instead, the EP elections are a battle between centre right and centre left. Alongside migration and defence, environmental agendas have been dominant, with…
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU’s rhetoric on enlargement in the Western Balkans has taken an optimistic turn. Whether that continues depends on the European vote. But whatever the result, it is the political…
Although the EU’s engagement with Central Asia has increased significantly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the region is not about to abandon ties with Russia. With the US and above all China also competing for influence in this…
The climate of hostility in which the assassination attempt on Robert Fico took place has been a feature of Slovak politics for the past two decades. And Fico has played a decisive role in creating it. How the situation in Slovakia came…
In Merkur 900: how the myth of Islamic antisemitism serves the apologists of violence; what the concept of dictatorship conceals about democracies; and why Rainald Goetz is refusing to grow cynical with age.
Political instability, recession and environmental crises have contributed to the rising swell of social discontent in Europe’s south. But there is one issue more than any other being capitalised on by the Mediterranean’s resurgent far…
In Bulgaria and Romania, the EP elections coincide with national elections. Interminable political instability, corruption and socioeconomic tensions all contribute to voter fatigue. With the far right in the ascendant, 9 June could be a…
Death plays a key role in most religions, moral systems, and legal constructs. Although a heavy topic, talking about it is all the more important to process the grief that it causes. We cover burials, community, and ecology on this grave…
For a comprehensive and informed overview of the political situation across the EU just before the European Parliament election, check out new articles in Eurozine’s ‘Mood of the Union 2024’ series. Covering both the EU itself as well as…
Shame as political, historical and linguistic category: how shame came to be used to control women; why school is a place both of social mobility and social shame; and whether MeToo marked the end of shame as we knew it.
Discontent with ruling parties pervades the Baltic States, bolstering the chances of rightwing populists across the region in the European Parliament elections. Yet the security concerns caused by the ongoing threat from Russia holds…
Artificial intelligence beyond good and evil: connectionist vs. symbolist logic and how to programme creativity; why the algorithmic gaze reproduces neocolonialism in the Middle East; technophobia and what sci fi gets wrong about robots.
Since the war in Ukraine, the Visegrád Four no longer articulate a common voice in the EU. Even the illiberal marriage of inconvenience between Hungary and Poland has broken up. Yet in various ways, the region still demonstrates the…
From migration to trade and energy, the EU’s partnerships with Mediterranean non-EU countries are influenced by a neocolonial mindset. The bloc must shift from its current tactics of exclusion and resource extraction towards genuine…
In the run up to the European Parliament election, popular discontent pervades the bloc’s core. Despite robust opposition, the far right is the only force gaining strength. More than ever, the EU’s global ambitions are conditional upon…
Political exiles living in fear: how the Kremlin’s repressive machinery operates far beyond Russia’s borders; why Turkey is no longer a safe haven for foreign dissidents; and the ways new technologies are facilitating transnational…
Contrary to popular belief, not all bees make honey. In fact, less than 4% of the total population of 20,000 species around the world do. As we rush to #SaveTheBees, many don’t know how, or which ones face the real threat of extinction.