Springtime for Democracy : Turkey’s Election Promises a New Chapter
On May 14, Turkey will elect its 13th president. The question on everyone’s mind is whether the united opposition’s efforts will be enough to oust the incumbent, Erdoğan. The upcoming presidential and parliamentary election, with its more than 60 million registered voters, is considered to be the turning point in Turkey’s seventy-year-old history as an electoral democracy.
Unresolved Historical Issues: North Macedonia’s Two Decades on the European Porch
It has been 18 years since the Republic of North Macedonia received the status of a candidate country for EU accession. The children born on the historical day when North Macedonia became an official EU candidate are coming of age this year and are on the doorstep of the student campuses. Yet, even though new constitutional changes have been set in place in favor of the neighbors, it is unclear when North Macedonia will join the EU.
Is it time to finally rethink Austria’s “permanent neutrality”?
Austria’s longstanding tradition of permanent neutrality is an integral part of the country’s identity and its approach to international politics. However, the flimsy and incoherent interpretation of it not only demonstrates that there is little consensus on how its neutrality policy should be exercised but also makes it a useful smokescreen to justify politicians’ behaviour and connections to certain states, such as Russia. As Sweden and Finland are giving up their neutrality to join NATO, some argue, it is time to rethink Austria’s neutrality too and finally develop a coherent neutrality policy.
