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Erfaring viser at sykeleiet er kort for skrantende sosiale medier. Når brukerne drar, gjør de det i en flom. To ungfisk svømmer sammen og møter tilfeldigvis en eldre fisk som svømmer den andre veien, som nikker til dem og sier: ‘Morn, gutter. Hvordan er vannet?’ De to unge fiskene svømmer så litt videre, før en…
Michel Houellebecq: Trenger vi i det hele tatt religion? «Det er flere protestanter i Kina enn hva det er i Europa». Forfatteren Michel Houellebecq lot bemerkningen falle under et intervju jeg gjorde med ham for min nye bok «Jernburet». Med synkende hjerte må jeg erkjenne at han trolig har rett. Kirkeframmøtet faller. Alle tradisjonelle religioner,…
Jean-Yves Haine and Asle Toje After 18 months of procrastination, Europe has finally agreed on May 26 to open negotiations with Russia on a partnership agreement. On the same day, Poland and Sweden unveiled proposals for an “eastern partnership” with Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Belarus. The delay of the first largely explains the…
Are the EU members uploading the idealistic elements of their foreign policies in order to free up national resources for the national interest? 2008 was supposed to be the year that the EU finally emerged as a global power. Ten years after the Saint Malo declaration had signalled the militarization of the EU, the stars…
An inability to distinguish ideals from reality has left Europe in a precarious situation. Living beyond one’s means is a hazardous thing, as the financial crisis has illustrated that vividly. While this point again accepted in financial matters, the danger of Europe’s living beyond its means in terms of security remains an unwelcome truth. The…
THE problem with the EU Common Security and Defence Policy is that it isn’t common, it is not about defence and that it’s short on actual policy. A critical commentator would compare the power and reach of the Union to that of the Vatican or the UN rather than great powers such as China and…
When the EU adopted it’s first-ever security strategy in December 2003 most commentators applauded. The document is probably the most understandable core document the Union has ever produced. The strategy identifies threats: failed states, weapons of mass destruction and clandestine organisations — the mode to face them: multilateral engagement — and a stick if carrots were to fail: rapid and…
One of the first songs taken off U.S. radio playlists in the run up to the Iraq war was The Cure’s “Killing an Arab.” Far from an incitement to hatred, the 1980s hit is a tribute to Albert Camus’ book L’ Etranger, The Outsider. In the book, the main character, alienated in society and in…
Europe’s migration crisis is not over. It is spreading. An estimated 1.3 million asylum seekers arrived Europe in 2015. The migrants have caused discord in destination countries and divisions within the EU. The European Commission guessed that 1.3 million migrants will arrive in 2016. The flat-line scenario is a low-ball estimate since the number of…