March 18, 2024
The award ceremony in France, when Egyptian president Al-Sisi was given the Legion d’honneur caused a great stir in the international community and in particular in the Italian academic environment. The ceremony represents the hypocritical positions taken by Italy and France in their relationships with Egypt in the light of the recent events.
The nomination of the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for the 2020 corrupt person of the year award is questionable. Other prominent but controversial political leaders such as Recep Erdogan, Xi Jinping, and Alexander Lukashenko certainly were better candidates and could very well be given the infamous award.
On January 4, the Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki held a Q&A session to answer questions on the government’s plans for 2021. Some received this speech as a reassurance, yet a vast majority approached the statement with scepticism and mistrust, caused mainly by the fact that throughout 2020, the government has often released numerous statements, which later turned out to be untrue, reversed, forgotten. The Poles find themselves in a difficult situation. Who can truly help them recover in 2021?
For long enough, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and so many other social media platforms have allowed the creation of echo chambers promoting wild conspiracy theories and false news. If not all the incidents before, at least what happened at the US Capitol should show us that violence, incited through various online disinformation campaigns, has moved from the online to the offline world already a long time ago.
All tough Conspiracy theories are not new, as they exist since as early as the Middle Ages, there is something special about the QAnon movement. It is a global phenomenon, attracting large numbers across the globe and there are many different factors contributing to its success. How can a far-right conspiracy theory about a global child sex-trafficking ring, run by a cabal of paedophiles who are worshipping Satan become that successful?
Despite differences between Saudi Arabia and Israel in political, cultural and economic terms, both countries are characterised by an extensive and highly discriminatory welfare system, which enables the state to exert considerable power over society. Although the allocative state system is waning, the usage of welfare is still a powerful political tool, as it significantly aids the state in its capacity to both gain consensus and prevent waves of insurgency.
This year amidst the Corona Crisis, the Polish party PiS (Law and Order) has managed to push through a bill, which gives the polish public media TVP and Polskie Radio two billion zloty as a compensation for the losses they have faced during the pandemic. This among others, gives room for debate about who gives the direction of the public discourse and what are thus the conditions of existence for other players such as independent media.
Targeted killing operations only make sense if they are used as a deterrent or if a certain target is important enough that his/her death would deal a significant blow to the adversary nation state. To be a target of interest, you have to be irreplaceable. If someone can take your place half an hour after your death and continue your work, assassination is meaningless.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the resistance of Poland and Hungary, the European Commission allocated 750 billion euros to help European countries to cope with the deep undergoing economic crisis. This article provides an overview of the Recovery Fund, with a closer look at Italy and at Italian strategies by exploring possibilities and threats.
Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has been long known for its tough stance on LGBTQI issues, its discrimination against same-sex couples and its ridiculous position on “traditional family values”. The recent Szájer affair further exposes the ruling party’s hypocrisy, as it continues waging a war against the LGBTQI community. If there is one thing for sure, it is that Fidesz never learns.
