Instagram, a photo-sharing platform owned by Facebook, recently caved in to a demand by the Russian government that it remove posts by opposition leader Alexey Navalny alleging misconduct on the part of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko. In a YouTube video that has garnered almost six million views (and which is still available), Navalny […]
Europe’s Chance To Lead On Robotics And AI
At least since Mary Shelley created Victor Frankenstein and his iconic monster in 1818, humans have had a morbid fascination with man-made beings that could threaten our existence. From the American television adaptation of “Westworld,” which depicts an amusement park populated by androids, to the “Terminator” films, in which super-intelligent machines aim to destroy mankind, […]
A Federal Spain In A Federal Europe
I have always been a profound admirer of Spanish democracy, but especially since February 23, 1981. On that dramatic day, Colonel Antonio Tejero attempted a coup d’état against the young democratic regime. In his acclaimed book Anatomía de un instante (The Anatomy of a Moment), Javier Cercas describes how, under the threat of Tejero’s pistol, […]
Combating Hatred With History
After a white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which anti-fascist campaigner Heather Heyer was killed, and many others injured, US President Donald Trump notoriously blamed “both sides” for the violence. By equating neo-Nazis with those who stood against them, Trump (further) sullied his presidency. And by describing some of the participants in the Charlottesville rally as “very fine […]
Confronting Europe’s Illiberals
European politicians have mastered the art of wagging their finger, most recently at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and US President Donald Trump. Sadly, the same cannot be said for our ability to formulate political solutions and implement common policies. The refugee crisis has shaken Europe to its core, because, rather […]
The West’s Other Trump
In the second American presidential debate, Donald Trump promised that, if elected, he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton. “You’d be in jail,” Trump told her. Trump’s threat to politicize the justice system has received the backlash that it deserves; but, sadly, his cynicism is not unique to the United States. The current Polish […]
The Turkey Refugee Deal: Europe Sells Out
Europe’s refugee crisis is far from solved, but there are signs that the agreement finalized by the European Union and Turkey on March 18 is reducing the flow of refugees and migrants from Turkey to Greece. According to Frontex, the European border-management agency, the 26,460 migrants detected crossing the EU’s external borders in the eastern […]
Europe’s Rule-of-Law Crisis
From the rubble of two world wars, European countries came together to launch what would become the world’s largest experiment in unification and cooperative, shared sovereignty. But, despite its impressive achievements over the decades, the European project now risks disintegration. An unresolved financial crisis, a refugee crisis, a deteriorating security environment, and a stalled integration […]
A Better EU Budget
Stopping Europe’s economic decline and overcoming its competitiveness crisis will require radical solutions. But European Union leaders remain fixated on old priorities – a lack of vision evident in negotiations over the EU’s 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Once again, short-term national interests are taking precedence over the need for a forward-looking, flexible, and efficient EU budget. The […]
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