English
As the Romans do
Rome is not just that place around the Vatican City. It's also the eye of the storm in the midst of the eurocrisis. Emerging from some obscure twenty years of Berlusconi, hit by the longest period of stagnation in Europe - like it or not, Italy is where the destiny of the common currency is being decided. "St. Peter's Version" explains what is moving in and around the Eternal City - and how what happens in Rome will affect Europe as a whole.
The battle in Italy over the revaluation of pensions has made the country’s tricky financial situation worse. Could the resulting climate drive Italy to follow Greece away from the euro?
Italy’s government is celebrating the country’s recent economic growth, but not all indicators point to success. What happens in the future will depend on how solidly Renzi can prevent the “Berlusconization” of today’s political culture in Italy.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is bringing stability to Italy with his grand coalition and electoral reforms. But how long will it last?
Lamentations about the state of the Italian economy have become so commonplace, Italians barely react to them. But Italy’s public debt problem has proven big enough to make a splash.
Thinking Europe
There is no place like Europe: a single market, a common citizenship and a whole lot of muddling through. This column is dedicated to the world´s laboratory for accumulating sovereignty – and to the continent where politicians’ ability to create problems often outstrips their ability to solve them.
From lobbyists to toasters: Why the EU is not as evil, opaque, or important as we think.
Tales of Arabian Nights and Days
A column on politics and societies in the Middle-East. Featuring stories from the region and comments on current political developments in the post-Arab-Spring context. The upcoming contributions in this column will look closer at specific developments and countries in the region.
Four years after the uprisings that swept across the Arab world, we are left with consolidated dictatorship, outright civil war or failed states.
This is Water
Two young fish swim along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way. The older fish nods at them and says "Morning, boys. How's the water?" The two young fish swim on for a bit, eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes "What the hell is water?" - A column on the slightly intangible textures of our lifes and societies: culture, history, identity, politics and philosophy.
Austria’s new Islam Law is controversial, especially when it comes to cutting Muslim communities off from foreign payments. Now Muslims in Austria have to make a choice.
70 years after the liberation of Auschwitz we experience a change of perspective in Germany – towards the future. It is an offer to the current generation that includes so many with immigrant backgrounds.
The tendency to classify people according to their origins turns a seemingly innocent question into an offensive remark.
Social freezing does not empower women, it postpones the question of family and gender equality.
MOST COMMENTED
What decisions would we make if we deliberated carefully about public policy? Alexander Görlach sat down with Stanford's James Fishkin to discuss deliberative democracy, parliamentary discontent, and the future of the two-party system.
For many Europeans the massacre in Arizona is another evidence that political violence is spreading in the United States but this unfortunate event was the deed of a mentally ill person, not a political activist. There is no evidence of an increasing political extremism tearing America apart. Using
The US and Russia don't agree on much - but they are both keen to develop a good relationship with India. How do we know? Look at the arms trade.
More than 50 percent of the world's population now live in cities – and there is no end of urbanization in sight. Harvard economist Edward Glaeser believes urbanization to be a solution to many unanswered problems: pollution, depression and a lack of creativity. He spoke with Lars Mensel about the
Contrary to the mantras repeated by the press, HIV infections are not increasing. We need to move away from activist scare tactics and towards complex risk management strategies.
Nick Bostrom directs the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University. He talked with Martin Eiermann about existential risks, genetic enhancements and the importance of ethical discourses about technological progress.