nationalism
An Albanian in Istanbul on children’s day
Whilst hundreds of Turkish students protest against internet censorship, fight for more resources for public universities and sign petitions for history books telling the truth about the Ottoman empire that the country was once part of, an annual children’s festival takes place. Created by the modern secular nation’s founder Ataturk in 1920 to celebrate the first national assembly of Ankara, games and dance celebarte the ‘father of the country’
nationalism, politics, mustafa kemal atatürk, turkey, children, orient express, istanbul
Identikit of a pure, indigenous European
The True Finns are the third largest political party in Finland. Are these nationalists and eurosceptics an exception to the rule in their Nordic region? Alongside the new leader of the National Front party in France, Marine Le Pen, the collection of ‘Indigenous Britons’ in the UK and Italy's Northern League, Europe has never been more inhabited by so-called ‘pure’ Europeans. There are fewer than they would have us believe; at the risk of scaring those who wish it to stay that way
nationalism, identity, tower of babel, united kingdom, poland, bloc identitaire, immigration
Ethnic slurs: Polacks and roast beef versus frogs and krauts
Europeans call each other the most unfriendly pet names in the trend of the phenomenon of ‘etnopaulism’, which refers to those disparaging vocabularies used when talking about other people. Word dilemmas of the week
nationalism, italy, tower of babel, germany, spain, racism, france
Belgium crisis: world record if government not formed by 30 March
Belgium is set to steal this title from the current record holder, Iraq, on 30 March - and what a record to beat! It’s an achievement that the country could very well do without, all the more so since politicians from the southern region of Wallonia and their northern counterparts from Flanders do not fall short when it comes to achieving bizarre records
nationalism, politics, belgium, brussels, crisis, bart de wever, political parties
Belgrade's youth explain homophobia and violence
In a city where more than two-thirds of students harbour dreams of going abroad after graduating, the empty discourses of corrupt politicians can be an efficient detonator for discontent. It’s a capital whose people’s hearts are irremediable divided between Russia and the EU, where violence raids its stadiums and streets
nationalism, football, corruption, belgrade, politics, kosovo, serbia
Catalonia vs bulls: prohibition of Spanishness?
When the Catalan parliament voted against bullfighting in the community on 28 July, the bullfighting world grouped together to defend their interests. The political opposition has announced that it will promote a law in congress to avoid further rulings of this type. The ‘Plataforma Prou!’, promoter of the popular legislative initiative that gave a place to the vote, announced that they would not give up in their fight to free bulls from martyrdom
nationalism, politics, animals, barcelona, culture, spain, society
'Bart de Wever's willingness to nominate Elio Di Rupo for Belgian PM seems a trap'
Vincent Laborderie, a researcher at the Catholic University of Leuven (UCL), bakes some humble pie for the alarmists with his portrait of post-crisis Belgium
nationalism, identity, politics, belgium, alexander de croo, yves leterme, brussels
Porn, drugs and Domenech: a Eurovision of World Cup songs
As the World Cup moves into the next phase – sixteen of the best battle it out for the second round from 26 June – we follow the 2010-featuring European teams in song. Spain, Holland and Germany are EU favourites as runners-up on 11 July, with Brazil or Argentina to win, according to betting agencies
nationalism, football, world cup, italy, raymond domenech, sport, netherlands
Belgium elections: rise of radical Flemish nationalist party, N-VA
13 June 2010 marks just under twenty years since Belgians went to the polls for an early election. Belgians have voted six times in the last seven years: surrealism? Maybe. The last years resemble one long-winded election campaign, during which not one party made the smallest concession
nationalism, politics, belgium, yves leterme, brussels, europe, herman van rompuy
Hungarian minorities in Slovakia: small arrangements between enemies
One week after a law proposing Hungarian nationality to ethnic Hungarians abroad, prime minister Viktor Orbán announced a new era of 'national unity' during his prime ministerial inauguration on 29 May. Hungary is choosing the route of hostile nationalism, much to the delight of Slovak populists
nationalism, fidesz, identity, robert fico, economical crisis, politics, viktor orbán
Alexander De Who? The man who brought down the Belgian government
The leader of the Flemish liberal Open VLD party's sudden exit from the coalition government on 22 April 2010 led to the current Belgian crisis; the country still has no government. Portrait of Alexander De Croo on the Brussels babelblog
nationalism, economical crisis, politics, belgium, alexander de croo, brussels, guy verhofstadt
Polish people: 'united in diversity' in Vilnius
It wasn't the economic weakness of the crisis but the ideological one that harmed Europe most. Who wanted to be be part of the dominoes in the name of solidarity? Unfortunately, the dominoes of each member state provoked nationalist reactions. The region comprising the Lithuanian capital is one of the fewest cities where two nations claim to be at home
nationalism, eucrisis on the ground, eucrisis on the ground, identity, economical crisis, poland, youth
Enough with the 'hard-working Germans paying for lazy Greeks'
In a spirit against nationalist agitation and economic ignorance, the presidents of the European movements in Berlin and Athens signed a common German-Greek manifesto for Europe on 5 May 2010. Here's what they have to say on a day that the 750 billion euro rescue package is agreed
nationalism, economical crisis, politics, germany, greece, euro, berlin
Germany's far-right: style and tea party shakeup
Boots, bomber jacket, baseball bat - does it sound like your average neo-nazi? As an anti-immigration march took place on the route of a mosque in Duisburg last weekend, remember that for a long time now the far-right extremists in Germany have tried to tone down their appearance in order to gain new followers
nationalism, right-wing, politics, neo-fascism, germany, neo-nazis, xenophobia
Cypriot national identity – Turkish, Greek or both?
On either side of the Green Line that has divided the island since 1974, young Cypriots talk about community identities and a general aspiration for unity through European integration
nationalism, european identity, identity, politics, civil society, turkey, cyprus
Understanding nationalist ideology in Hungary: 'enormous potential for violence'
Victory in April’s elections is assured for the populist opposition party (Fidesz) and right-wing extremists (Jobbik). Magdalena Marsovszky, a Germano-Hungarian cultural scientist researching anti-semitism and right-wing extremism in Hungary, explains
nationalism, fidesz, politics, jews, neo-fascism, viktor orbán, discrimination
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