Opinion

Opinion

Goma Falls To The M23: A Tale Of War, Rebellion And Dreadful Peace Agreements

22 November 2012 -

On Thursday November 15th 'M23' – the rebellion movement which was created earlier this year – launched a major attack on the city of Goma which, after a quieter day on Friday, culminated in a very stressful weekend. The question on Sunday evening was: will or will they not take Goma. On Monday they did. These are thoughts compiled throughout the l ...

Opinion

Is the European Investment Bank worth its money?

16 April 2012 -

Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) saw their role in development finance increase significantly in recent years. However, their contribution to sustainable development is far from clear. A thorough assessment of their past operations is vital before governments decide to increase their role any further. This is especially the case ...

Opinion

Rising Asia and Old Europe need to work together

11 April 2012 -

Tempting as it may be, it would be wrong to write off Europe as yesterday’s power. Europe still matters even though this is not the message some EU policymakers have been sending out to a watching world.

Opinion

Syria: to intervene or not to intervene?

12 March 2012 -

To intervene or not to intervene. Among Syria’s neighbors, the question looms ever larger. Turkish talk of humanitarian corridors and the Red Cross’s pleas for access to Homs and other flashpoint cities is reminiscent of timid Western attempts at stemming the Bosnian civil war. In addition, the example of military intervention in Libya, as well ...

Opinion

Tahrir is here

25 October 2011 -

Worldwide tens of thousands of people marched protesting governments’ austerity measures, unemployment, financial institutions run like casinos, public bailouts of those same financial institutions, ecological decay, war, and a host of other things no longer shrugged off cynically.

Opinion

The Problem with Multiculturalism

30 June 2011 -

Multiculturalism is under pressure. That’s an understatement. A very vague one to boot.

Opinion

Mladic versus Bin Laden method

1 June 2011 -

The US operation in May 2011 that killed 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden couldn't have contrasted more with the low-key arrest a few weeks later of Ratko Mladic, a man held responsible by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for the siege of Sarajevo, and the Srebrenica massacre, the largest mass-murder in Europe since Worl ...

Opinion

Self-criticism is the mother of dialogue

21 April 2011 -

These days, Judaism and Christianity are often presented as kindred souls who stand for democracy and human rights, while Islam is cut from a wholly different cloth. This essay by Tom Kenis argues that the books and practice of the three religions barely support this contention.

Opinion

The Days of Anger’: Humiliation, Fear and Dignity in the Middle East

6 April 2011 -

Some will claim that the true, structural causes for these Arab revolts reside in the rising food prizes or other objective economic factors. Others will claim it is the new social media. Others again will hail the rise multitude foretold in the West, happening in the Middle East. Who can prove them wrong? But that is not what the street interviewe ...

Opinion

Time to Make the Promise of Equality a Reality

7 March 2011 -

A hundred years ago today, women across the world took an historic step on the long road to equality. The first ever International Women’s Day was called to draw attention to the unacceptable and often dangerous working conditions that so many women faced worldwide. Although the occasion was celebrated in only a handful of countries, it brought ove ...

Opinion

Swarm Intelligence: How to begin to understand the squared circle of Tahrir Square?

22 February 2011 -

The ongoing Revolutions in the Middle East change everything. Or at least: a lot. We have to reconsider the entire picture. It is a geopolitical paradigm shift. But I cannot even start to tackle all this.

Opinion

The Power of the Multitude!

8 February 2011 -

A spectre is roaming the Middle East: the spectre of the multitude. The beauty and in a sense the world historical importance of this Jasmine Revolution (or whatever it will be called in the annals of humanity) is that it had no leadership. It might also prove its fatal weakness, but that does not contradict its beauty and importance. It was th ...