Dossiers Archive | Page 6 of 20

Dossiers

Across Europe, far-right parties are gaining ground like never before since World War II, reshaping political landscapes and cultural narratives. From coalition governments to influential parliamentary blocs, their rise reflects deep-seated shifts in societal dynamics. What factors have fueled this surge? How have traditional parties and evolving cultural identities contributed to the far right’s growing appeal? What does it mean for Europe’s future? This dossier delves into the complex dynamics behind the far right’s ascent and the challenges it presents to European democracy.

Realigning Liberalism in the Context of Globalization and Cultural Pluralism

Today more than ever, cultural, religious, ethnic and linguistic pluralism is a fact of life in European societies. Resetdoc believes that a great deal more work is still required in order to enable our liberal and democratic institutions to acknowledge this fact when implementing integration policies, not only to avoid the existing risks of exclusion and conflict, but also to counter cultural, biological and ideological generalizations that afflict the daily political debate and nourish the rhetoric of populist and xenophobic politicians. For our Essays series, Alain Touraine and Zygmunt Bauman explain why this necessary reconfiguration of politics could start with a new understanding and an broader concept of identity and citizenship.
Islam and Modernity: Religious Reformism starts with Women and Citizenship

The wave of liberalisation brought on by the Arab Spring is accompanied by the political victory of Islamist groups who have proven their capacity of mobilisation. This religious-political irruption into public space is not failing to worry certain social strata, women in particular. In this context Iqbal al Gharbi’s article focuses on the relationship between women’s rights and Islam and on the latter’s capacity to integrate female citizenship into the heart of religious reformism.
Philosophical presuppositions of intercultural dialogue and multiculturalism

For our Essays series, Maeve Cooke and Sebastiano Maffettone discuss the philosophical-political tools required by liberalism in order to address the challenge posed by pluralism: openness to inclusive citizenship, a dialogue between cultures and governing fear in post-secular society. Cooke critically reanalyzes the Habermasian perspective presenting us with a more precise consideration of the burden posed by “translation” within the framework of an intercultural dialogue, while Maffettone addresses the nihilist consequences of post-modernism that make “impossible the construction of a post-colonial discourse through which discontent is transformed into a basis for a reasonable political action.” Earlier versions of both articles were presented at Istanbul Seminars 2010.
How Ethics Change. Words and Ideas for a Plural World
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“Cultural pluralism” is a recent concept in Europe to the extent that many do not know what it means. While political pluralism and freedom of thought are deeply-rooted in our continent, and everyone is capable of distinguishing a democratic regime from one that is not, there are some extremely extravagant and vague opinions concerning pluralism of cultures and the relationship between the various religious, linguistic and ethnic cultures. Intellectuals and scholars from all over the world are helping Reset-DoC and its Intercultural Lexicon project to foster cultural pluralism with their contributions to our publications, debates and public conferences. Today, Anthony Appiah from Princeton explains what the evolution of honor codes can mean to cross-cultural understanding.
Homeland Palestine. The Relentless Eclipse of the Right of Return

The hard daily lives of Palestinian refugees remain stuck between the impossibility to return to their homeland and the difficulties presented by naturalization: all Arab countries oppose it for political reasons and the West is criticized for understanding any new citizenship as a renouncement to the right of return. And today, in the face of a new exodus from Syria, the assistance of Palestinian refugees is in the hands of a neglected UN agency, sidelined by the marginalization of the only UN-sanctioned route to improve their conditions: the right to return to Palestine. Andrea Glioti for Reset-DoC.
Tunisia Can Still Believe in a Brighter Future

Despite the political crisis that reigns in Tunisia since February 6, the day of opposition leader Chokri Belaid’s murder, according to Slaheddine Jourchi “the country still has real possibilities of constructing an emancipated and civil State”. Jourchi is a journalist, researcher, one of the best Tunisian political experts, human rights activist and since February 13, one of sixteen chosen for the Council of Elders, nominated to find solutions to the political chaos instilled after Belaid’s death. Reset-Dialogues has interviewed him.
Iran moves closer to elections, but detente is still remote

Iran is preparing for the June presidential elections and its situation seems to be increasingly complex. While the international community still has many doubts about the country’s nuclear programme and many believe a compromise is out of reach, inside a country harshly affected by sanctions, civil society suffers ad would like to see change that is not coming. Centre stage is taken up by disagreements Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Guide, which are becoming increasingly conflicting, while reformists are excluded from the main political debate.
From Doha to New York: Present and Future Challenges of Qatar’s Media Empire

“We will demonstrate to Americans that this is the kind of journalism they can appreciate”, Al Jazeera America spokesman Stan Collender told ResetDOC, praising the new adventure the Qatari network has embarked upon in the United States, buying Al Gore’s Current TV. However, while Qatar and its media are opening out to the world and to the West, there are still many challenges posed to freedom of the media and of expression in the small Gulf emirate. Is anyone trying to resolve the matter? And how? We asked Jan Keulen, director of the Doha Centre for Media Freedom.
Elections in Israel: Not Only a Success for the Center

On Tuesday 22 January 2013 Israelis have gone to the polls to elect a new parliament and government. Despite the tight race between the center-left and the right wing, the vote is expected to usher in a government which will shift Israel further to the right and Benjamin Netanyahu is widely believed to retain his post, forming a coalition with a grouping of nationalist, religious and orthodox parties. This probable outcome rises the prospect of a greater diplomatic isolation for Israel and the chances of a peace deal with the Palestinians are likely to fade. For many, it seems that the only hope for improvements lay outside the domestic Israeli/Palestinian setting: maybe within Europe?
Civil Society, Constitution and Revolution. New key Entries for ResetDOC’s Lexicon

Reset-Dialogues’ Intercultural Lexicon is back to bridge the cultural gaps, controversies and misunderstandings surrounding a large number of concepts pertaining to the political, cultural, moral, and religious discourse. A new video and Andrew Arato‘s new definitions of Civil society, Revolution and Constitution, will help us understand key events of our time: from civil society coming back to politics in Tahrir and Occupy, to the Arab Spring’s first constitutional outcomes, from Europe witnessing an unprecedented crisis in its political legitimacy to America’s divisions over the First and Second Amendments.