Dossiers Archive | Page 14 of 20

Dossiers

Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s choice of the name Francis immediately signaled the doctrinal orientation of his pontificate. Following in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi, the new Bishop of Rome embraced three guiding principles: love for the poor, care for our common home, and a commitment to a culture of encounter and peace. Although critics sometimes labeled this approach as populist, Pope Francis explicitly rejected that characterization. In truth, his outlook was open, transnational, and pluralistic—the very opposite of European populist movements. From his earliest symbolic gestures—refusing the papal apartments and embracing migrants in Lampedusa—Bergoglio embodied a “Church that goes forth,” one that engages the world not with doctrinal arrogance, but with a spirit of service. His language, stripped of curial formalism, brought the papacy closer to the people, while his identity as the pope “from the ends of the earth” shifted the Church’s center of gravity away from Europe toward the world’s peripheries, fostering a new alliance among faiths, cultures, and peoples. In this dossier, we offer a series of reflections on the legacy of his pontificate and the future prospects of the Church.

Ramin Jahanbegloo: «An outcome with no hope for Iran»

«The Iranian elections have been an astonishingly surprising experience, first of all because there has been immense participation. The outcome is a negative one for many of us and for many young Iranians, a result with no hope. There is an open clash within the nomenclature, and the government has started to solve it using violence.» In an exclusive video-interview with Resetdoc, the Iranian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo comments the results of the recent Iranian elections and addresses some future issues to be faced by the Iranian government and society.
The day that changed China
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Twenty years after the massacre in Tiananmen Square, the regime has still not made known the number of victims and does all it can to ensure those events are forgotten in spite of the profound consequences on China’s social and political evolution. «In the West memories of Tiananmen are fading,» says Andrew J. Nathan, a professor of Political Science at Columbia University and co-author of The Tiananmen Papers, talking to Reset Doc. «The USA as well as Europe will be more secure when other political systems are open and stable. And the Chinese regime also in various direct and indirect ways encourages the persistence of authoritarian regimes elsewhere.»
Abu Zayd: “Why Muhammad wouldn’t have signed the Afghan Family Law”
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When the Afghan parliament approved the "Family Law for Shiites" effectively legitimising rape against women, our website published Emma Bonino’s appeal and petition to the Afghan government. Former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato signed the petition and on the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore asked why moderate Muslims such as Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd and Tariq Ramadan, two reference points for European Islam, remained silent. Abu Zayd has chosen Resetdoc to clarify his positions. Ramadan has not yet responded, but will certainly do so at the next Resetdoc Istanbul Seminars, where he will discuss the East-West relations together with other influential Arab, Israeli, American and European intellectuals.
Iran, the Reformist Challenge
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These are the most important elections for the world held this year, or at least for a dialogue between the West and the Islamic world. On June 12th Iranian citizens will elect their new President. Two competing factions are divided and the result is uncertain. Will we have the controversial outgoing President Ahmadinejad for another four years, or will one of the two reformist candidates, Mousavi or Karoubi, win the day?
What (Arab) Women Want
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The veil makes them more visible than their men and hence exposes them to racism. Traditions and prejudices do not help them and are often the first obstacles they must overcome. How is the condition of Muslim women evolving in Europe and in the Arab-Islamic world? How is Family Law changing in Arab countries? A journey at the centre of a debate that goes well beyond the female body and closely affects relations between Islam, democracy and the West.
India’s Future
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This year’s general election in India is numerically the largest ever held in history, with 714 million citizens (41 million more than in 2004) being called upon to vote and choose their representatives from over one thousand political parties. This is a phenomenal event that will last four weeks, until May 13th. A sign of democratic vivacity that seems, however, destined to result yet again in an unstable government, marked by opportunistic post-electoral alliances. Historian Ramachandra Guha explains why regional parties are so successful.
Religion and identity
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“The veil appears as a regression only if we assume progress to be teleological and linearly moving towards secularization”. Yale political philosopher Seyla Benhabib has discussed in Genoa the struggles over cultural identity in the scenario of contemporary Europe. In occasion of her lecture, we propose here a conversation with the Editor in chief of Reset Giancarlo Bosetti.
Lord of Algeria
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The winner of the Algerian presidential elections to be held on April 9th is already known. He is the outgoing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who had the constitution changed so he could run for a third consecutive term. In the last ten years this country has at last seen the end of the civil war, but has not yet been capable of finding the path to modernity. The political system remains tragically closed, with “pluralist” elections that, however, do not indicate any opportunities for change. As a protest against the president’s coup de main, the main opposition groups have in fact boycotted this election.
The Virtues of Dissent
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“Dissent is a constitutive virtue of democracy” writes Nadia Urbinati, Professor of Political Theory at New York’s Columbia University. “Rather than corroding social ideals, as authoritarians and conservatives believe, it strengthens partiality and cooperation between citizens. Dissent reveals a fundamental loyalty to a country, a society or a community.” But how is dissent developing nowadays in the Arab world? And what should the West do to support it?
The Swiss Exception
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In a recent referendum, 60% of Swiss citizens voted in favour of the free movement of labour between the Confederation and the E.U. (Bulgaria and Romania included). This was a surprising vote that reversed the country’s isolationist stereotype, and that also goes against the trend (see controversies on Italian workers in Great Britain and Lieberman’s success in Israel). The Right, waving the spectre of an invasion of cheap foreign labour, lost the election. The election was instead won by those choosing not to be afraid of foreigners and the economic crisis.