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Who Has The Right to Germany's Past? Explaining Modern Anti-Semitism

BERLIN — Walk down the Unter den Linden past the American Embassy. Acknowledge the Brandenburg Gate with a momentary gaze. Look right for a glimpse of the Reichstag, but head left to the square of austere concrete slabs. Spaced out evenly of assorted heights, the blocks lack the adorning touch of the aesthete. They simply exist — row upon row separated by narrow lanes. Edge deeper into the uncertainty until reaching the place where the monoliths consume you. This is The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It stands at the center of Germany’s capital, a constant marker of national remorse.

By  |  February 4, 2012  |  2
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Global Notebook
Saving Spain's Economy

After the Portuguese government requested a bailout from the European Union, many argued that Spain would be next in line. Although recent reforms led by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero provide reason to be optimistic about Spain’s economy, they have come at a high political cost. In fact, Zapatero has announced that he will not run for a third term as Prime Minister to keep his party, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), in power; however, current polls indicate that the PSOE will lose the next election anyway. Despite this weak standing, Zapatero is determined to continue pushing forward controversial economic reforms. 

By Jonatan Lemus  |  January 12, 2012
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Global Notebook
Pressing for Change

On September 24, Russian president Dmitri Medvedev announced that he would step aside for his mentor and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to reclaim the presidency in 2012. Since he first took over the presidency in 2000 from Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin has dominated Russian politics. With exceptional political finesse, Putin has systematically marginalized all opposition and built up the powerful United Russia Party. As it stands now, Russia can hardly be considered democratic. United Russia holds 315 of the 450 seats in the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, making Russia effectively a one-party state. Corruption abounds because government officials are not held accountable for their actions as long as they maintain their standing with United Russia.

By Timothy Hopper  |  January 12, 2012
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World In Review
Russia Rising

When a calamitous earthquake and tsunami struck the east coast of Japan in March 2011, few could have guessed just how far the aftershock would reach. Japan, one of the world’s largest economies and a powerhouse in East Asia, was left utterly devastated and economically crippled, with entire regions flooded and thousands dead or missing. The disaster also set off a chain of events that would eventually lead to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, under pressure from a mobilized German public and a growing green movement, to announce that Germany would close all its nuclear power plants by 2022.

By Alex Palmer  |  January 12, 2012
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The Union Jack Won't Be Missing The Cross of St. Andrew Anytime Soon

On Feburary 4th, the Scotland Rugby Team will stand on the pitch of Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium and listen to “God Save the Queen.” The 60,000 tartan supporters, UK citizens, will remain largely silent throughout. A boo or two may even make its way through the stands.  Then with saltires waving and bagpipes playing, the Scots will proudly sing:

                        O Flower of Scotland,

                        When will we see your like again

By  |  January 11, 2012
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Europe's Not The Future For Turkey Anymore

Maybe Turkey isn’t fit for Europe after all. And maybe, Europe isn’t fit for Turkey either. Many Europeans have long been hostile to Turkey’s bid for accession to the EU, while many Turks have always seen EU membership as central to the country’s future. Now the hostility is mutual.

By  |  January 5, 2012  |  6
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Web Features
Kosovo’s Land for Peace Solution

James Ker-Lindsay is Eurobank EFG Senior Research Fellow on the Politics and International Relations of South East Europe at the European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science. His main works include EU Accession and UN Peacemaking in Cyprus (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), Kosovo: The Path to Contested Statehood in the Balkans (I.B. Tauris, 2009), and New Perspectives on Yugoslavia: Key Issues and Controversies (Routledge, 2010, co-edited with Dejan Djokic). He is currently working on a book examining how states attempt to prevent the recognition of secessionist territories, which is due to be published by Oxford University Press.

By James Ker-Lindsay  |  August 18, 2011  |  5
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Web Features
Four Political Dimensions of Ukraine’s Future Europeanization

[This article is based on an interview taken by Olena Tregub, a foreign correspondent for the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, during the Canadian-Ukrainian Parliamentary Program’s 3rd Model Ukraine Conference “Ukraine’s Domestic and Foreign Affairs: Quo Vadis?” at the University of Oxford, UK, on 7 April 2011.]

Dr. Andreas Umland is a DAAD Associate Professor of Political Science at the National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy,” Ukraine, and General Editor of the trilingual book series “Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society” (www.ibidem-verlag.de/spps.html).


By Andreas Umland  |  June 28, 2011  |  1
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World In Review
The Roma in Europe

The Roma population constitutes the largest ethnic minority in the European Union, totalling 10 to 12 million citizens. Signifying “man” or “husband” in the Romani language, “Roma” was adopted as the official international appellation for the numerous Romani groups at the first meeting of the World Romani Congress in 1971. These groups include the Roma (concentrated in Central and Eastern Europe), the Kalé (based in the Iberian Peninsula, especially Spain), the Sinti (German-speaking areas), the Manouches (French-speaking areas), and the Romanisæl (Sweden and Norway), among others.

By Pamina Smith  |  June 25, 2011
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Global Notebook
Il Cavaliere's Last Ride

Writing in the first and second centuries AD, the Roman senator and historian Tacitus warned that in the corruption and decadence of the everexpanding Roman Empire already lay the foundation for its eventual demise. It would not be powerful enemy armies, Tacitus predicted, so much as extravagant banquets, eroding moral standards, and unadulterated lust for power that would lead to the downfall of one of the greatest historical empires. It is no coincidence that the story of the most extravagant banquet, overflowing with every kind of perversion and gluttony, is followed immediately in Tacitus’ Annals by the story of the Great Fire that devours Rome.

By Alex Palmer  |  April 21, 2011
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