Social Europe BlogSocial Europe BlogThis is the blog of Social Europe. the journal of the European left. It is a place for debating politics in Europe and beyond. Articles
Ethics and Human Rights in the United States
2008-03-26 13:30:00 By Christopher McGuinness Human rights are fundamentally an issue of ethics. As the American government has found, when a country displays hypocrisy in their own human rights policies, it undermines the legitimacy of any moral authority they may try to claim. In the past few weeks, the U.S. State Department released its annual International Human Rights Report, ... More About: United States , Ethics , Human Rights
Pink Wave outshines Bling-Bling
2008-03-25 16:59:00 By Chris Dalby If the US Presidential Race has so far been the political story of 2008, that of 2007, the rise of Nicolas Sarkozy, has just been brought back to the limelight. 10 months after his investiture, the second round of France’s municipal elections was to confirm or deny Sarkozy’s claim that he understood the French ... More About: Pink , Bling , Wave , Bling Bling
Globalisation and Social Europe
2008-03-19 00:10:00 I recently spoke about the issue of Globalisation and Social Europe at an event in Camden Town Hall in North London. Click below to watch some of my remarks in an abbreviated and edited form.
The Role of Businesses in tackling Environmental Change
2008-03-17 14:00:00 By Sabrina Workman Every now and then a government advert appears on the telly, asking us to change the way we live to reduce our impact upon the environment. I completely agree with us all doing a bit - recycling, being more energy efficient, switching lights off. A recent government advert has been asking us ... More About: Environmental , Change , Role , Businesses
Where now for Kosova?
2008-03-15 14:00:00 By Hannah Lucinda Smith So this was the plan ? the Arthisaari Plan. The Kosovan government would declare the country’s independence, guided by the outcome of Serbia’s parliamentary elections and timed according to the advice of the EU. The world (with a few inevitable exceptions) would agree. And then the UN, who have administered the region ...
?Never Again.?
2008-03-13 14:03:00 By Christopher McGuinness We heard these words after Serbia, Rwanda, and Somalia. In fact, we’ve heard them repeated after nearly every war, genocide, or other type of humanitarian crisis in recent memory. And in the aftermath of such conflicts, fingers are inevitably pointed. Who was to blame? How could the international community have prevented more blood from ...
There?s more than one Way to let the People decide
2008-03-11 14:00:00 By Tim Gore Last week global citizens were presented a range of options by which democratic legitimacy might be conveyed in the 21st century world. Caught between the practices of the old East and West, Europe though is still struggling to find its own means of testing and transmitting the consent of its citizens. It better ... More About: People , The People
Why Brown must lead Europe?s new Skills Agenda
2008-03-10 16:28:00 By Kris Krasnowski Once again politicians, policy makers and political fixers from across Europe descend upon Brussels for the Spring European Summit. This will be Brown ’s first, and an opportunity to reassert his authority over the European economic reform agenda, something he was very used to in office at No. 11. As part of this new ... More About: Agenda , Skills , Lead
An Abscess on Humanity: The Israeli ? Palestinian Conflict
2008-03-08 02:17:00 By Crispin Williams A feeling of desperation is the only way to sum up the latest episode of clashes between Israel and the Palestinian s. Following the latest Israeli incursion into Gaza to suppress rocket fire that had killed 1 Israeli citizen and 2 Israeli soldiers, 120 Palestinians lay dead. Approximately half of these were civilians, with one ... More About: Conflict , Humanity
The Building Blocks of Europe?
2008-03-07 01:07:00 By Sylvia Niles This week, MPs rejected proposals to hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty. The only casualty thus far appears to be Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg. His decision to hold a three-line whip forcing his colleagues to abstain has cost him three shadow ministerial colleagues. The Tories yet hope to claim a Pyrrhic ... More About: Europe , Building , Blocks
Franco - German Unease
2008-03-03 02:03:00 By Dexter Thillien Tension Paris-Berlin. This was the title of the editorial in Le Monde about the postponement of the forthcoming summit (usually occurring every 6 to 8 weeks) scheduled for March 3rd between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The next meeting should take place on June 9th. This was on ... More About: Franco
The Myth of Free Trade
2008-02-29 15:20:00 Electric Politics have an interesting and provocative post today: “Protectionism can be a good thing. Protectionism, in fact, is the only way that a developing country can become developed. And, I daresay, it’s the only way an industrial country like the U.S. can retain its industrial base and high standard of living in the face of ... More About: Free , Trade , Myth , Free Trade
Serbian Violence is not just about Kosova
2008-02-26 17:45:00 By Hannah Lucinda Smith America has been a focus of both adulation and loathing in the Balkans this week. In the Kosovan capital Pristina, the stars and stripes flew alongside the Albanian two headed eagle as the citizens of the new state partied in the streets. Virgin Kosova is that rarest of beasts; a Muslim state ... More About: Violence , Serbian
Support the Re-election of Ken Livingstone
2008-02-26 00:32:00 London’s progressive forces are rallying behind Labour mayor Ken Livingstone who is the subject of vile attacks from the left and the right. The following statement was published in the Guardian today: “On May 1 London will elect a mayor. It will either be Ken Livingstone or Boris Johnson. Ken Livingstone is not perfect. Show us ... More About: Support , Election
Is the Daily Mail anti-Polish?
2008-02-24 13:21:00 By Wiktor Moszczynski In the last 2 years Poles and other Central European workers in the UK and their families have experienced a relentless campaign from the “Daily Mail ” that has contrasted with the thoughtful and responsible coverage received from most of the media as well as from British politicians, employers and trade unions. Of course we ... More About: London , Poland , Daily Mail
Middle East Crisis? Security in an Unstable World
2008-02-23 00:29:00 Watch Professor Paul Rogers of Bradford University talk about security issues in the Middle East . Rogers is the author of the influential book “Why we are losing the War on Terror“. The event took place at the Global Policy Institute at London Metropolitan University More About: Security , Terrorism , Iraq , World
In the ?Interest of Society? ? Justifications for Taxation
2008-02-20 15:00:00 By Sabrina Workman The UK government is proposing another increase for tax on fuel in April 2008. Fuel duty currently stands at 50.35p per litre since the last increase of 2p per litre in October 2007, with the average litre of unleaded now costing over £1. The average tax on fuel in the rest of Europe ... More About: Society , Taxation , Interest
Post-Bush World: Constraints on US Foreign Policy Changes
2008-02-15 19:13:00 By Crispin Williams A defining feature of these Presidential primaries has been change. The most obvious is that if, as expected the Democrat candidate goes on to win the presidential race, the US President will for the first time be a women or a man of black origin (as Mr. Obama is mixed-race and not purely ... More About: Bush , China , World , Post , Presidential Election 2008
Democracy and Culture in the United States of America
2008-02-13 15:00:00 By Sabrina Workman It forms part of the news most days ‘The race in the Primaries is hotting up’. But what does this really mean to the average America n? Who are these people waving flags and why do they care so much about the initial stages of an election that won’t take place until November? When you ... More About: United States , Culture , Presidential Election 2008 , United
The Kosovo Bar Association?s Moral Disobedience
2008-02-12 12:08:00 By Hannah Lucinda Smith Lawyers are not usually renowned for their social principles; but last week Kosovo ’s Bar Association took an unprecedented stand of moral disobedience against a controversial trial which threatens to tarnish the UN’s legacy in the region. Albin Kurti ? charismatic leader of the Albanian nationalist Vetėvendosje movement ? had faced three criminal ... More About: Moral
What Gordon Brown really thinks of Europe
2008-02-11 15:00:00 By Tim Gore “Brown on Europe !” the Prime Minister’s interlocutor David Marquand exclaimed excitedly, as though he and we the audience had just been granted a rare treat. Speaking on Friday at a Policy Network and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung conference on the future of European social democracy, Gordon Brown outlined his vision of what the EU is ... More About: Globalisation
Gordon Brown on Globalisation
2008-02-09 20:38:00 Watch the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown discuss Globalisation with David Marquand, an eminent British social democratic thinker. This discussion took place at a conference in London on 8th February 2008 organised by Policy Network and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. More About: Gordon Brown
What is the European Social Model (ESM)?
2008-02-08 15:00:00 Find below the ESM definition of the Network Social Europe (NSE), a network of academics and think tankers from all over Europe. The definition also includes elements of Anthony Giddens' ESM definition: The European Social Model (ESM) in its most basic sense is best understood as a Europe-wide shared political value and aspiration based on the ...
Europe?s Military Vision. Why Brown must help a New European Security Strat
2008-02-07 13:48:00 By Tim Gore A favourite theme of Washington hawks and British Eurosceptics alike is that the Europe an Union can never rise above institutional squabbling and be a serious military actor on the global stage. This ignores the largely untold story of EU security and defence cooperation over the last 15 years - with significant EU ... More About: Security , Military , European , Brown
Where now for NATO?s Afghanistan Mission?
2008-02-06 15:00:00 By Christopher McGuinness Hear that noise? That’s Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper rocking the boat by threatening to end Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan without increased troop support from other NATO countries. And by “other NATO countries”, he means “the EU”. At first glance, it seems that EU nations haven’t been as negligent as Harper’s camp would have ... More About: International Relations , Nato , Mission , Missi
Super Tuesday Live Blogging
2008-02-05 17:24:00 Update 04.35am GMT (Chris) Hopes for an Obama revival are fading slowly as Clinton begins to open up a significant lead in California and is hanging on doggedly to her lead in Missouri. Winning these two states would give her a huge boost meaning that Obama was able to win none of the big states he ... More About: Blogging , Cain , Super , Live
Update on the Spanish General Election
2008-02-05 09:32:00 By Dexter Thillien The Spanish general elections will be held on Sunday 9 March and the campaign is now well underway. After the win of Zapatero and the PSOE four years ago three days after the terrorist attacks at Atocha train station, it will be the same battle once again, as Rajoy’s PP will attempt to ... More About: General , Spain , Election , General Election
Pakistan and the Global War on Terrorism
2008-02-04 13:00:00 Watch Professor Anatol Lieven (Global Policy Institute London / Kings College) and Sir Hilary Synnott (IISS) talk about Pakistan and the Global War on Terrorism . The event took place in the City of London on 30th January 2008. More About: War on Terrorism
Tory MEP Daniel Hannan faces Expulsion from conservative Parliamentary Grou
2008-02-02 09:10:00 The right-wing Tory MEP and leader writer for the Daily Telegraph Daniel Hannan faces expulsion from the conservative group in the European Parliament (EPP-ED). He unbelievable compared the introduction of new powers for the EP President (the German Hans-Gert Pöttering - himself a conservative) to prevent the misuse of procedural devices with the 1933 Enabling Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz) that gave Hitler ... More About: Faces , Conservative
Peter Sutherland warns against British semi-detachment in Europe
More articles from this author:2008-02-01 18:07:00 The former Europe an Commissioner and Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Peter Sutherland , warns in a pamphlet today that the United Kingdom is now “nearer to systematic ’semi-detachment’ from the European Union than it has ever been since 1973.” In a review of British policy towards the European Union over the past fifteen years, ... More About: Semi 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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