The human rights and political situation of Palestinians in the West Bank, and especially in Gaza, is dire. Since the regional realignments of forces during the Arab uprisings erupted in 2011, traditional supporters of the Palestinian cause have offered the Palestinians ‘lip service’ support at best. Egypt’s hostility to Hamas due to its historical links… Read More Why Israel has no right to self-defence
Between September and December 2017, I have volunteered with Care4Calais, a charity providing assistance to refugees in the Calais region, Brussels, and Paris. I have collected stories and testimonies from refugees and volunteers on the ground, and been a first-hand witness of migrants’ everyday life. In Calais, when the sky is clear, one can see England… Read More Calais after the Jungle: a living nightmare
This article was published on openDemocracy. In “Morbid Symptoms“, Lebanese academic Gilbert Achcar argues that the Arab uprisings that started in 2011 took the form of a “triangular conflict between one revolutionary pole and two rival counter-revolutionary camps”. As the democratic revolutionary components of the uprisings were unable to effectively organize and take the lead… Read More Qatar crisis: a broader consolidation of power
Howard Nicholas teaches at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), in The Hague. His research interests are Economics of Development and Emerging Markets. To find out more about his work and publications, click here. This interview was conducted in March 2017. Could you briefly describe the origins and the nature of the current system… Read More My interview with Howard Nicholas on international trade and global development
The exhaustion of traditional parties. The absence of both mainstream political parties that have dominated French political life for the last decades from the 2nd round of the elections mirror the current period of rapid political reshuffling, of disintegration of old categories and schemes of understanding, and of great uncertainty and volatility, across the West.… Read More Six considerations on the French elections
This article was published on openDemocracy. Marine Le Pen’s Front National (FN) is leading in the polls of the upcoming French presidential elections with more than 20% of the share of the vote; for the first time since WWII, the prospect of the far-right gaining power in France is not far-fetched. The FN’s success in… Read More The truth behind Front National’s change of heart
This article was published on The New Arab In April 2016, European Council President Donald Tusk wrote that the EU needed a harsher plan to counter “uncontrolled migration”. The “unrestricted flow of people” reaching the European continent, Tusk argued, must be stopped through the implementation of “tougher policies” and a stricter control on “who crosses our borders,… Read More Europe’s border regime leaves the Mediterranean a (profitable) graveyard
This article was published on The New Arab In recent years, rhetoric in Europe that stigmatises Muslims and Islam has been steadily moving from the fringes into the mainstream. Right-wing xenophobic forces around Europe are increasingly monopolising the discourse around issues such as immigration, identity and secularism, with other parties often trailing behind, reproducing a… Read More Brothers in arms: Europe’s right-wing and religious extremists
This article was published on The New Arab. On February 3, the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on a number of Iranian companies and individuals. The reason for the sanctions, said National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, is Iran’s allegedly “belligerent and lawless behaviour”, demonstrated – it claims – by the country’s recent missile launch. “Just this week, Iran tested a ballistic… Read More Trump’s aggression of Iran is the continuation of U.S imperialism
This article was published on Jacobin Magazine. The Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB) has seen surprising gains in recent months. Long marginalized electorally as a fringe Marxist organization, the PTB is now the third-largest political force in the French-speaking region of Wallonia, with polls giving the party 18 percent of voter support in the region,… Read More Promise on the Belgian Left (Interview with Peter Mertens)
