Neoliberalism

There is a certain amount of naivety surrounding the question of democracy. We have arrived at a situation in which a large proportion of the public has turned against democratic institutions, or at least withdrawn from any engagement in them. And therefore it might look as though the public has become apathetic towards the big political issues of our time. But is this really the case?

Before investing excessive hope in radical participatory solutions we need to re-examine established beliefs about democracy and sustainability and their mutual relationship.

Beginning in the fall of 2013, three manifestos published by German and French intellectuals revived the idea of establishing a “Political Community for the Euro” to give the single currency a true system of democratic governance.

Europe is dead. Or is it long live Europe? There are those who believe the threat of paralysis and dissolution remains, and those who optimistically seize any small positive sign as a reason to announce (yet again) that Europe’s crises can serve as a springboard.

There are parallels between the Europe of 1914 and that of 2014. Today’s divisions are the result of economic inequality and a crisis of democracy. The answer lies in social policy and in an anti-nationalist repolitisation of Europe.

The idea that the peripheral countries were the authors of their own destruction continues to exist at European level. However a closer examination of the facts shows this is not the case, and an urgent reprioritisation of EU policies is needed.

An interview with David Graeber, who was in Brussels last October at the invitation of the Committee for the Cancellation of Third World Debt to present the translation of his latest book: Debt, The First 5,000 Years.

The ambivalence within Croatia and the EU regarding Croatia’s recent accession is the result of often contradictory discourses.

The neo-liberal Taliban have brought Europe to its knees. For the first time in its history, the European idea has been weakened to the point that its survival is now at risk.

The failed austerity strategy imposed by the Troika is coming under increasing criticism, sometimes from unexpected corners. The time has come for a renegotiation of the debt incurred by the Portuguese State.