Europe

This article was originally written on 30 March 2014 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org — twelve years before the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and eight years before Finland’s accession to NATO. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. An article in the Times of India gives pause for thought. According to a former Russian Minister of Economic Affairs, Putin does not only want Crimea back. Belarus, more parts of Ukraine, and even EU member state Finland he reportedly wants to ‘reclaim’ — to restore the old Russian Empire. ...

This article was originally written on 1 December 2012 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. Nu.nl headlines: First flight of new European combat aircraft. The French Dassault has invested around 400 million euros in the aircraft — a remarkably low amount for a more advanced aircraft than the JSF. Far better value for money than what the Americans have delivered in developing comparable aircraft. ...

This article was originally written around 2008 and published on Google Knol. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. This is part of the Project Policrateia series. Introduction The Celtic Confederation is a proposal for a cultural confederation for the Celtic Nations in Europe. Besides the cultural aspects, economic cooperation and international lobbying — mostly at the European Union — can also become part of the confederation’s tasks. Another aspect worth considering is the development of education and science policy. ...

This article was originally written on 8 October 2009 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. OpenDemocracy, an open-source knowledge network and think tank on international politics, publishes a compelling essay on borders by Parag Khanna. He gives a tour d’horizon of geopolitics, seen through the lens of infrastructural connections. A fascinating picture, with many maps. It raises a question for me: what do we make of this, and what does it mean for us? Can we create a world in which we are united by lines on maps — infrastructure, trade, connection — rather than divided by other lines: borders? ...

This article was originally written on 22 April 2008 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. The Dutch like to think of the Netherlands as an enlightened nation — a beacon of civilisation in a sea of outdated, backward ideas. We were, after all, the first to give same-sex couples the right to marry, the first to legalise euthanasia. So we must be progressive! But is this really the case? Are we truly as emancipated as we think? ...

This article was originally written on 14 June 2007 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. A debate is currently raging about the secular republic of Turkey. A new president is being chosen by parliament, in which the religious AK Party holds an absolute majority. In the first round, Gül, the AK Party’s candidate, won. But the constitutional court has declared the elections invalid. The military has already stated it will defend the secular republic by all available means — and last weekend hundreds of thousands of Turks protested against the election of a ‘religious’ president. His wife even wears a headscarf. ...

This article was originally written on 15 May 2005 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. The French non has exposed several problems within the European Union. First, the democratic deficit. Politicians emphasise that citizens can vote for their national and European representatives, but for most people the Union has remained an invisible entity, even as its powers have risen to unprecedented heights. ...

This article was originally written on 15 April 2005 and published on blog.luxzenburg.org. It is republished here as a historical document and reflects the author’s ideas at the time of writing. The BBC reports that the treatment of minorities and foreigners attempting to enter Greece has been sharply condemned by human rights organisation Amnesty International. According to Amnesty researcher Olga Demetriou: “People at the margins of society — asylum seekers, migrants, Roma and members of other minorities — are most likely to be victims of discrimination in all its forms. Usually their attackers are representatives of the state.” ...