For all those who are afraid or suspicious, I invite them to go to the streets of Syria. One main defect with academic writing is that it avoids bombast. Hence, it doesn’t say that those young men and women who have been protesting in the streets of Syria for more than five months are heroes.
Italy has just passed yet another austerity measure, enduring another batch of strikes and protests. Given the failure of the preceding cuts, Italians are asking whether these measures are actually preventing growth, rather than encouraging it.
As Silvio Berlusconi wins another confidence vote to implement austerity measures within a faltering government, his winning slogan, – ‘don't let Government dip its hands in Italian pockets’ – has caved in. There is no plausible replacement strategy.
The myths of monetary policy, the dangers of austerity, the need for a reconstruction of the real economy - these have to be understood. Also, the failure of Europe’s political vision.
A picture poem on Gaddafi's fall
Europe’s crisis is a crisis of democracy. The ‘democracy of the experts’ cannot deliver: representative democracy is incapable of channelling demands in the political system. More participatory and deliberative democracy is needed, as argued in Europe’s public spaces by the movements of ‘ indignad
What do the mountains of debt of a west that used to be rich have in common? Were errors made in the construction and constitution of the European Union? If so, how do we mend them?
Yes, European leaders could all agree when it came to imposing austerity on Athens, Dublin, Lisbon and Rome, ‘reassuring’ financial markets, saving creditor banks, increasing countries’ financial burdens and putting public enterprises on the market at sale prices. But such policies make exiting th
Silvio Berlusconi's position in Italy seems weaker then ever. The Vatican however has renewed its dogmatic stance towards Italian politics and will step into the vacuum, increasing its influence and demanding a price for its blessing of the party that will take over from Berlusconi
Mexico City to Barcelona flight forced to return to Mexico because Raquel Gutiérrez Aguilar, en route to Italy, is prohibited from passing through US airspace
The austerity measures will be felt primarily by a lower middle-class, already tested by the ever-growing divide between rich and poor in Italy. But a bleak political prospect goes well beyond the sense of panic caused by the economic and financial problems which beset the country
Europe has much to learn from the people of Lampedusa. They have received thousands of immigrants fleeing North Africa with compassion and courage. But the tourist island now faces a massive slump in revenues and an uncertain future.
