Society, Media and Culture

An interview with Nancy Fraser on the role of marginalised groups in protests, the problems of Zuccotti Park and neoliberalism’s impact on environmentalism.

Guerrilla gardening and local consumer-producer networks are redefining life in today’s Greek cities. While the crisis has shifted politicians’ attention away from the climate, “transition and recovery movements” work hard to keep the environment on the agenda.

On a sunny terrace on the borders of the river Oder, which flows between Germany and Poland, a small group of activists, journalists and politicians from different European countries decided in the late summer of 2011 to start a new magazine that would contribute to building a European public space and at the same time empower the Green movement.

Alexander Langer was a political Green pioneer, both in Italy, where he founded the national list of the Greens, as well as at the European level, where he became president of the Greens-EFA group in the European Parliament. In his thinking he radically challenged not only the myth of unlimited economic growth – but also to the notions of ​​progress and thinking in terms of left and right politics.

After the social and economic transformation in 1989 Polish cities fell into chaos and decline. Many of them suffered from closures of industrial facilities, and crime was on the rise. After the EU accession in 2004, authorities decided to take use of the stream of money coming from the Union. The problem was that it came with a cost…

This spring, Barcelona has become, once again, the battleground for the radical soul of Europe. Mayor-Elect of Barcelona, Ada Colau lays out her vision; with comments from Susanne Rieger, President of the Green European Foundation.

Voter abstention and the success of anti-Europe parties were two key trends of the 2014 European elections. Since the first direct elections for the European Parliament, a reciprocal relationship has emerged that affects the commitments of politicians, the media, and the voters. This prompts the question of to what extent the media have influenced the events of 2014.

Stories about the Great War are usually confined to a national perspective. The war of 1914-918, which decimated a whole generation of Europe’s population and marked those who survived for life, is hardly ever commemorated jointly. This ought to change.

Polish history is shaped today by remembering the failed attempts in regaining independence. This leaves less and less space to tell different, more nuanced stories. This explains why Poland has an ambivalent memory of the First World War. In 1914, it was part of different empires. The end of the war was also the return of its independence. Strengthening alternative narratives may be crucial in opening Poland to stories linking its inhabitants to wider, European history.

Our understanding of our great history is compiled not only through our reading but also through the recounting of family stories. The commemoration of 1914 offers us the opportunity to reflect on the war, on the possibility for forgiveness, and on our responsibilities in the present.