Stories Archive | Page 23 of 86

Analyses

The history of the Islamic Republic of Iran—established in 1979 following the revolution that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi—is marked by a dense sequence of developments that have progressively altered its political and institutional configuration. These changes, however, have only sporadically been recognized by Western analyses, which have instead tended to perpetuate a more functional and instrumental stereotype based on the image of a monolithic, highly verticalized religious autocracy. While such a characterization was broadly accurate during the first decade of the Islamic Republic, it has undergone a profound transformation since 1989.

International Affairs
Looking Ahead: 2024 Prospects for the Visegrad Group
Fabio Turco 22 December 2023

2023 saw a major shakeup in Central and Eastern Europe. Two elections reshuffled the board in the Viségrad group, where Viktor Orban’s Hungary now remains the only constant for the last ten years. Let’s take a look at what happened and what the prospects are for the coming year. The biggest turnaround comes from the region’s most important country, Poland. Elections on 15 October saw the end of the conservative, nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government, which was replaced by a center-liberal-progressive coalition led by Donald Tusk. His return to government – he previously served as prime minister from 2007 to 2014 – marks a 360-degree turn in Warsaw’s politics, which is re-aligning with Brussels after eight years of troubled relations.
Arts
When the Music is Stopped: the Disappearance of Festivals
and the Strangulation of Public Space in Turkey
T. Deniz Erkmen 21 December 2023

In the summer of 2023, an ominous phenomenon spread like wildfire from province to province in Turkey: the cancellation of music festivals and concerts. Just days before they were supposed to take place and generally at the request of public authorities such as mayors or governors, concerts and entire festivals were cancelled one by one. These repeated and continuous acts of cancellation, which started in the summer of 2022 and continued in 2023, generally do not make it to the international news.
International Affairs
Mainstreaming and Normalization of the Far-Right:
Wind of Change Before the 2024 European Elections?
Selcen Öner 19 December 2023

Although the far-right parties mostly hold Eurosceptic positions, especially before the 2019 European elections, most of them changed their rhetoric and began to emphasize that they would seek more influence within the EU institutions, aiming to transform the EU into a “Europe of nations.” These parties use the European level to increase their visibility and legitimacy by being part of a political group in the European Parliament (EP). In addition to these, we have seen the normalization of far-right-center-right coalitions. Meanwhile, there has been a radicalization of the mainstream, particularly center-right parties. These political trends at the national level may also have implications at the European level, which could be reflected in the upcoming European elections in 2024.
Human Rights, International Affairs
Erdogan’s “New Normal” Against Turkish Political Opponents
Mariano Giustino 11 December 2023

Turkey’s major human rights organizations, such as İnsan Hakları Derneği (İHD), claim that courts observe the rule of obedience to the President of the Republic. This appears to be the norm in the Turkish judiciary system, in the context of a regime where a single man rules.
Migrations
Ireland and the Dilemma of Right-Wing Violence in a Liberal Democracy
Seán Golden 6 December 2023

In the 1920s, the incipient democratic government of the newly independent Irish state managed to disarm the guerrilla forces that had fought the War of Independence by offering them the chance to become members of the new Irish police force in return for surrendering their weapons, thereby guaranteeing the state’s monopoly on violence. This means that Ireland is now faced with the dilemma of how to respond to right-wing violence while respecting the values of liberty.
International Affairs
The Domino Effect: How Niger’s Coup Echoes Regional Instability
Kamal Tasiu Abdullahi 27 November 2023

The recent coup in Niger, which took place on July 26, 2023, is just the latest episode in a series of events that have sent shockwaves through the region and left governments and international actors scrambling to respond. Niger, a country that experienced a relatively fair democratic transition in 2021 with the election of Mohamed Bazoum as president, has once again descended into chaos.
Migrations
The Implications of the UK’s Asylum Policy Defeat
Thomas Phillips 24 November 2023

Last week, the UK Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the legality of the government’s plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda. The ill-conceived scheme, which is based in large part on a Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Rwanda, was unanimously held to be unlawful.
International Affairs
Karl Schwarzenberg passes away
“An extraordinary European, an extraordinary man”
Hans Rauscher 16 November 2023

Former Czech Foreign Minister, Karel Schwarzenberg passed away last week. In this obituary, translated into English for Reset DOC, highlights the European statesman’s many achievements and important contributions to the Continent’s political thought and evolution from the end of the Cold War.
International Affairs
Seyla Benhabib: “Why I Endorse the Call for an End to this Cruel Cycle of Violence”
Seyla Benhabib 15 November 2023

October 7, 2023 is not just a turning point for Israel and the Jewish diaspora; it must be a turning point for the Palestinian struggle. The Palestinian people must free themselves of the scourge of Hamas. The acts of violence by Hamas do not only constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity; they also reveal that Islamic Jihadi ideology, which revels in the imagery of violence, which has overtaken the movement.
Human Rights, Society
Habermas on Israel: a Principle of Solidarity
Research Center Normative Orders 15 November 2023

Israel’s actions in no way justify anti-Semitic reactions, especially not in Germany. It is intolerable that Jews in Germany are once again exposed to threats to life and limb and have to fear physical violence on the streets. The democratic ethos of the Federal Republic of Germany, which is orientated towards the obligation to respect human dignity, is linked to a political culture for which Jewish life and Israel’s right to exist are central elements worthy of special protection in light of the mass crimes of the Nazi era.