Analyses
Europe
“I’m drinking chai and eating köfte, while we still don’t feel at home here,” rapper Apsilon sings on the stage at one of Berlin’s largest demonstrations against the rise of right-wing parties. The right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AFD) in particular has been gaining votes, especially since the influx of migrants and refugees in 2015. The demonstration drew more than 150,000 people, as diverse as Berlin itself. Rainbow flags, socialist parties, grassroots groups, social workers, and activists all stand together in front of the Bundestag to take a stand against right-wing extremism.
  • Some may remember that when Vladimir Putin initiated his “special military operation” against Ukraine, one of his earliest supporters was Patriarch Kirill I of the Russian Orthodox Church. What was his perspective? In his first public address following the commencement of what Moscow terms the “special military operation,” he provided a clear answer: he saw it as a “metaphysical war.” In other words, for the Patriarch, it was evident that this conflict represented a battle between Russia defending the fundamental values of its Christian essence, and Western de-Christianization, which sought to spread, through Ukraine, even to this part of Europe, concepts like gay pride, seen as the epitome of evil.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
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