Articles

Modern-day authoritarians will boil you like a frog, whilst slowly turning up the heat. As a citizen of a democratic state, governed by the rule of law, you won’t suddenly wake up one day to find yourself in an authoritarian regime. It will creep up on you. Hiding behind empty slogans such as “regaining national sovereignty” and “national pride”.

Eva van de Rakt, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union office in Brussels, was in conversation with MEP Viola von Cramon-Taubadel (Greens/EFA Group) about the Ryanair plane forced by the Lukashenko regime to land in Belarus and the lessons the EU must learn from this.

On 22 May 2021, the Czech sociologist, feminist, former dissident and co-founder of the NGO Gender Studies Jiřina Šiklová passed away at the age of 85. We pay our respects to an impressive woman whose life and work was and remains an inspiration far beyond the Czech Republic.

Diversity is the buzzword of the 21st century. But when it comes down to the brass tacks of how the rights of persons with disabilities are actually implemented, the enthusiasm very quickly runs out.

A century on from the creation of Northern Ireland, its society is once again deeply divided about the need for, and implications of, a border being drawn around it. Local tensions reflect suspicion regarding the actions of London, as well as long-existing sensitivities and a profound sense of uncertainty about the future.

As the negotiations start to come to a close, this article focuses on the remaining fair and green considerations. We shed light on the state of play in the CAP post 2022 inter-institutional negotiations, particularly in relation to those articles of the CAP Strategic Plan Regulation which are still open to political and technical discussions. So what’s the deal?

The Covid-19 vaccine rollout played a big part in the Conservatives’ success at the 2021 local elections, but the shrivelling of political debate in the UK and an appetite for big government also played a role.

On the EU’s periphery, Serbia has deployed enough biometric surveillance technology from China’s Huawei for law enforcement and “Safe City” solutions to cover practically all of Belgrade’s public spaces. Public pressure has raised the bar for turning on the technology, but the alarming project illustrates the need for transparent regulation of such systems everywhere, to ensure the protection of fundamental human rights.

Expanding on the United Nations Women’s Rights Convention, Tunisia became the first Arab country to incorporate into its laws the notion of gender-based political violence. Can this concept now be incorporated into international instruments to benefit more women across the globe, starting with UN Women’s 2021 Generation Equality Forum?

The undeniable connections among the multiple crises that humanity faces today -- climate change, biodiversity loss, inequality, poverty, and the Covid-19 pandemic -- demand interconnected, rather than segmented, macro solutions. Responses must be systemic and address the structural dynamics and shortcomings of governance, economics and finance. A feminist and decolonial framing provides a lens for proposed reforms.