Posts About Europe
Style over Substance, Unfinished Plans
Tony Blair has managed to present himself as a flexible politician while choosing politics over policy. He promised to be a grand modernizer and many of his achievements are noteworthy. But the past 10 years have seen more media spin than effective reform; Britain has moved away from Europe and lost economic competitiveness.
Cold War Enemies Do Business Today
This question has unfortunate undertones left over from the Cold War era. The so-called West as a political unit is a relic of that era. But the U.S. does not speak for Europe as it once did, and Europe and Russia often do business in mutually beneficial ways.
Triumph of Community Over Bloody War
The political progress of European nations after World War II has been simply remarkable. Within a few decades, centuries of hostilities were set side. Let us hope that it can export the lessons it so effectively learned to the rest of the world.
Some Delicate Diplomacy, Please
America plays diplomacy like it plays sports. It's too bad American sports don't end in a tie. Instead, they end in "sudden death". Always having an absolute winner is dangerous.
You Benefited From Fossil Fuels, Why Can’t We?
Fossil fuels allowed the industrial world to develop. Now that the Third World is benefiting from them, the West suddenly says, “No more!” It's a conspiracy.
Potentially Devastating
London, England - I disagree with Moises Naim's claim that the collapse of Doha is not devastating. True, it isn't devastating on its own, but what this collapse could lead to could well be dangerous -- especially, as he eloquently says, for the world's poor....
Mideast Needs Consensus Islamists
There is nowhere in the world where the victory of a moderate Islamic party is more important for us than in the Middle East. Numerous Arab columnists have already written calls for Islamists to learn from the lessons of Erdogan and his party. The first lesson is that Islamists must accept and play by the democratic rules of the 21st century.
Fund Jobs in Migrants' Homelands
The discussion on immigration (including this question) focuses too much on issues like amnesty and high walls. We need to change the debate to include the need for rich countries to invest in poorer countries, so that people will find jobs at home and not have to risk life and limb to reach the first world.
The World Wants a Balance of Power
In comparison to the cards that the United States holds and that this administration is not shy about using, I think the Russians are way behind in wielding power.
A Model for Integration
Ramallah, Palestine - An EU with Turkey could become a role model for the world, bringing nations with different ethnic groups and religions together.
Waiting for Biggest Kid on the Block to Grow Up
Why is Russia in the G8? It is far from a consolidated democracy, or a fully developed economy. But Russia is already in the club, so the best approach would be to try to make it one of us. Putin takes advantage of Europe and the U.S.'s fears of Russia. He should instead be held to higher standards of conduct.
Charlemagne to Duty-Free Champagne
After four years in Iraq, the U.S. seems ready to leave in a hurry, while Britain managed to stay there for decades. Europe remembers war and imperial domination, and has managed to break free. They may have lessons the world could stand to learn.
Prove Civilizations Don't Clash
Morocco, Casablanca - The prospect of EU accession has helped Turkey evolve politically. It could pave the way for other Muslim democracies.
Fight Human Trafficking In All Forms
We are still far from raising this question in the Arab World. Not only due to prevalent religious values, but also because most intellectuals and activists prefer to focus on more urgent issues in a region torn by political turmoil. The question usually raised is "how to combat prostitution?"...
A Vital Bridge Between West and East
Mexico City, Mexico - The triumph of the secular and modern version of Turkey would radically transform Europe and the Islamic world for the better.
Putin Asks Europe to Join Him (*Author Responds*)
Russia is courting Europe rather than threatening it.
Europe Fears The Unintended Consequences
Europe has a long history in empire building, and is well aware of the shortcomings of policies that rely on dominance rather than balance.
A Medieval Analogy for Today
Cairo, Egypt - [Pick: A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman] If I had to choose one book with which to spend my vacation, I would want something escapist, but not fictional - a sort of analogy for today....
Open Communication is Crucial
There is a desperate lack of communication between the U.S. and Russia. Unless this is overcome, relations will be locked in a vicious circle of ad hoc moves and responses and Russia will tip further in the anti-Western and authoritarian direction.
America's as Good as Gold
Over the past century America’s image followed the curve of a sine wave. At the beginning of the period feelings toward the U.S. were moderately positive, and the most common adjectives used were synonyms of “rich” and “good.” Before World War I the general image was the United Steaks of America, a country of unlimited food and fortune....
AIDS & Terrorism Didn't Bring Us Together
There are so many common problems in the world that have not been solved. Famine, AIDS and terrorism are planetary emergencies, yet rich and poor nations remain far apart. And governments elected every four years care little about long-term global warming.
Eastern European View: Tough, But Worth It
The EU is made up of two groups: traditionally developed Western European states, and the rest of us. Even after joining in 2004, Hungary needs a great deal of aid to catch up. Only then can the EU agree on common policies enough to be an effective superpower in the rest of the world.
The Ease of Misunderstanding
People hate and kill each other because they simply do not understand each other, and remaining afraid and distant is much easier than making the effort necessary to empathize.
Stop Horrid Abuse First; Legislate Second
Dear Gentlemen, is prostitution illegal anywhere? If it is, I am sorry, I did not notice. Quite the contrary. I have seen beautiful girls (er… children) of very young age standing on the shoulder of highways everywhere in Eastern Europe. In the so-called Western Hemisphere, most cities I visit have the “lust quarter” that my local acquaintances usually point out to me....
The Economy Conquers All
Budapest, Hungary - Which one comes first: politics or economics? the chicken or the egg? I trust the businessmen more than the congressmen.
New Superpower Pair: U.S. & EU
Budapest, Hungary - The American era is slowly ending, and not just in the Middle East. The question is: What kind of an era will replace it.
Don't Meddle From Afar
Budapest, Hungary - Let me share with you an old joke frequently told in Hungary to begin my comparison of old, fractured Europe and modern Iraq....
From Budapest: Between Warring and Waiting
Budapest, Hungary -- While I write this, President Bush is having breakfast in the best hotel in Budapest. I am invited for the lunch he is going to be having in the gigantic Hungarian Parliament building, full of Hungarian politicians and celebrities. I have to pass on the lunch, I am afraid, because, due to safety measures, our city is practically paralyzed by police forces. Otherwise, I would absolutely be there -- a writer never knows when he may need the description of such an event for a novel....
New Energy at the Ballot Box
France is showing strong commitment to the democratic process, and that process is bearing fruit. This first round of voting has been characterized by many novelties, including high voter turnout and two winners from a new generation of politicians.
Europe Ambitious on Climate Change
Europe's economic strength is a far more interesting conversation right now than America's potential fall. While Europe faces many looming challenges for its growing community, it seems better prepared than most for the primary global challenge ahead: global warming.
Micropowers vs. Megaplayers
Washington, DC - Rising instability is good news for the little guy -- and bad for everyone else. New, small players can get unprecedented power, fast.
Dialogue of the Deaf: Europe's Muslim "Problem"
The debate over a Dutch politican's film that attacks the Koran is a dialogue of the deaf, where fear of the future has kept each side from understanding what the other thinks and feels.
What Would Ataturk Do?
The battle between reformers and the state has been taking place in Turkey for over a century. Ataturk's rebellion, begun in 1908, established the secular republic we know today. It is ironic that the ideological descendants of Ataturk's rebels are now the reactionary establishment against which the "reformist Islamists" are rebelling.
Greece Changed EU, Can Small States Still?
Greece, a small country on the tip of the Balkan Peninsula, was the poorest member by far when it joined the EU's predecessor in 1981. But Greece was able to fight for attention and development aid, benefiting members to come. Today the EU has 27 members, many poorer than Greece. The union needs to continue to listen to them.
Polls Distort the Issue
Europeans probably fear an isolationist U.S. more than an overly aggressive one.
No Sense of Panic With Iran
The Iran issue is serious, but European diplomats have been working intensively on it for years and there is no sense of panic.
Democracy Takes Time
Paris, France -- The war in Iraq shows us, in retrospect, that the USA was right not to intervene in the Hungarian upheaval of 1956. It would have unleashed a bloody and protracted war in Europe, even if it ended in victory. Thirty-five years after the failed revolt in Hungary, the whole Soviet block collapsed from inside without any bloodshed....
PostGlobal Bloggers
M. J. Akbar, New Delhi, India Mubashar Jawed Akbar is a leading Indian journalist and author. He's the founder and editor-in-chief of The Asian Age, a daily multi-edition Indian newspaper with a global perspective and editor-in-chief of The Deccan Chronicle, a news daily based in Hyderabad. He has written books including Blood Brothers, Nehru: The Making of India, Kashmir: Behind the Vale, Riot After Riot, The Shade of Swords, and India: The Siege Within. Kyoko Altman, Hong Kong, China Kyoko Altman is a writer based in Hong Kong. She has worked as a correspondent and anchor for CNN and...
People Kill Since Biblical Times
Cain killed Abel before there was ethnicity or religion; they were literally brothers, and yet one killed the other. HUmans don't need ethnic or religious differences to hate, but neither are they inherently evil. The good must struggle to prevail.
Drop the Defeatism, A United West Can Triumph
Some Europeans evidently are content being the last one eaten by the Iranian crocodile. But why the defeatism when America and Europe have the power to face Iran down without firing a shot?
Without Justice and Order, An Empire Cannot Rule
America's imperial temptations and its democratic ideals have long pulled the nation in opposite directions. The U.S. invaded Iraq in the name of liberty and justice, but not only did it violate its own declared values, it failed to bring about the most important outcome that legitimizes the rule of an empire: order.
Europe’s Immigrants Need Turkey
Whether Europe is the way of the future will depend on what Europe does with its own people. One of the main challenges Europe faces today is how to integrate its immigrant communities. The continent may need its own civil rights movement, and it cannot succeed without Turkey.
Yes, And It's No Favor
Istanbul, Turkey - Since the Pope is infallible, we can't question his judgment, can we? Joking aside, he's right, Turkey should join the EU.
Authoritarian Bully & Imperial Wannabe
Vladimir Putin and his Kremlin elite claim that the West has ignored, neglected, underestimated or bullied Russia for more than a decade. Perception can mirror reality. But we also need Russia -- the Russia unafraid to use its gas exports and UN Security Council veto for its own interests. Russia will need close attention again.
Accepting Difference in Our Workforce
Globalization and immigration are twins. Germany exported more goods than anybody else last year, with globalization at the heart of its economic recovery. As Germany begins to import labor again, it will show that it has learned. In the 1960s the country invited many Eastern Europeans and Turks in as "guest workers" -- but over time realized it had received human beings.
Mixed Up in the Wrong Crowd
The West is about to lose the only formidable leader in the cohort of the past age. Tony Blair’s tragedy is that he has been surrounded by Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schröder and George Bush -- the most disappointing team of Western leaders since World War II.
Authoritarian Bully Wants Respect
The most comforting interpretation of the disturbing new tone from Moscow circles around elections: Vladimir Putin is in his last year as Russian President and wants to be remembered as the man who stood up to goliath.
My Boundless, Borderless Generation Europe
My Europe today is the continent of the Eurorail Pass, bi-national marriages, the student exchange program generation, and Germans buying houses across the river -- welcomed by the French. But as recently as the 1980s I remember things very differently. Europe changed everything for me.
Europe is Not a "Christian Club"
Germany/USA - By focusing the debate away from cultural differences and toward institutional capacities, the Pope is helping to rationalize the continental debate.
Fight Global Warming
Germany/USA - Congress must address global warming. No international treaties are needed. The U.S. can do it on its own and lead others.
Get Energy Right
Germany -- If the G8 wants to get serious about energy security they need a commitment to start burning fewer fossile fuels. Conservation is not the only solution to the energy puzzle, but there will be no solution without conservation....
