By Linus Höller The foreign ministers of traditionally neutral Austria and Switzerland officially declared their intent to join the German-led “Sky Shield” air defense alliance Friday. The move has reignited debates about what it means to maintain neutrality and is likely to draw criticism from France and Italy for its reliance on American — rather…
Category: Austria
This fall promises to be crucial for the future of Bosnia, a country torn by ethnic tensions, a breakaway republic and rampant corruption. Ahead of general elections and an important United Nations vote, I visited this country at the heart of the Balkans to learn more about the struggles it faces – and how the…
By Linus Hoeller, Northwestern University Reports Without Borders consistently ranks Austria among the best countries when it comes to press freedom in their annual investigations. In RSF’s 2021 report, Austria ranked 17th – putting into the second-highest bracket of countries altogether and near the top even of the European countries[1]. Curiously, there are some discrepancies…
It’s always election season in Europe – dozens of competitive multi-party democracies packed onto a single continent will do that. Among those heading to the polls later this year are the Germans, choosing the future path for Europe’s most populous country and main economic powerhouse with great sway in the EU’s politics. Recently, the German…
Written by Linus Hoeller Lesen Sie diesen Artikel auf Deutsch Lea este artículo en Español 2020 has already been a year marked by incredible societal change, induced by the Covid-19 pandemic, the accompanying economic downturn and other factors, such as the renewed global reckoning with racism and colonial histories. Europe was by no means spared…
Diesen Artikel auf Deutsch lesen The emergence and subsequent global spread of a novel type of coronavirus in the first half of 2020 abruptly put the brakes on our globalized society. Borders went up, planes stayed down, and people all over the world stayed home. As a result of lockdowns, our usually mobile world suddenly…
¡Lea este artículo en Español aquí! Europe has become the epicenter for COVID-19, the respiratory disease sweeping the world and completely uprooting established ways of life in early 2020. In full panic mode and racing to contain the outbreak, most countries have imposed harsh restrictions on movement both within their borders and across them. The…
Several European countries are heading to the polls in the weeks and months to come. With populism on an unprecedented level throughout the continent, these elections are well worth watching. Has Europe reached “peak populism” yet, or will voters cast their ballots in favor of extreme political views in even higher numbers than before? We…
Europe’s diplomats and heads of state are playing with an idea that, until a few years ago, seemed almost unthinkable: creating Europe’s very own nuclear force, a “Eurodeterrent” of sorts, with the main aim of becoming less dependent on the US while still being safe from Russia. Europe is in a difficult situation. On the…
The European Union can now cut ‘hate-inducing’ live broadcasts and delete sections from their online archive. The Guardian, the 9-million reader newspaper that published Snowden’s revelations on global surveillance, published an article titled ‘is it ethical to punch a Nazi?’ Anti-Trump protesters in Berkeley turned a peaceful demonstration into a riot, burning things and smashing…