Is the European Union doomed to fail? So far it looks like the member states of the European Union (EU) have chosen to widen their borders instead of further deepening their economic and political integration. Though the Euro, the region’s monetary system, did well for a while, its future has been threatened since the world economic crisis of 2008. The region’s largest economies, like Germany, have been throwing money at Greece in order to stave [...]
Is the world destined for a war between the West and Iran? We certainly seem to be heading down that path, but to say war is not in the world’s best interest would be a gross understatement. America and the European Union (EU) have implemented tough economic sanctions on Iran because of the continued refusal of Tehran to answer questions about their nuclear program. Many believe Israel or America will use preemptive air strikes to [...]
When the last king of Rome was deposed in 753 BC and the Roman Republic was established such was the fear of a single unitary executive that two consuls were put at the apex of the political system. However, in times of great crisis the Republic would effectively return to absolute monarchy in the form of the dictator. In 501 BC the first dictator took office. Many men would go on to hold the office [...]
Once again in world history the UN, like the League of Nations before it, has been left paralysed and impotent when faced with blatant aggression and brutality. Earlier this weekend China and Russia, the two least democratic permanent members of the UN Security Council, exercised their veto to defeat a resolution calling for the murderous Assad regime to be politically isolated in an effort to bring an end to the horrific violence being carried out [...]
Barring the unforecastable, March 4th 2012 will witness the former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin regain the Russian Presidency for an extended period of six years. Whilst his influence over incumbent Dmitri Medvedev has never truly abated, the double veto cast by Russia and China at the United Nations Security Council concerning the Syrian uprising, further reinforces a re-Putinization of Russian foreign policy. The double veto has rightly caused global outrage on a [...]
One of the curious features of our modern, urban age is that the epicentre of global power lies not in any large city but, perhaps, in an otherwise obscure Swiss town. Davos, with a population around that of Berwick-upon-Tweed, suffers annually from the infestation of politicians, lobbyists and other lice, who meet there to pontificate, gorge themselves and plot. This year, minds have been focused on the Euro and the economic woes it continues to [...]
Finland is voting for its new president on Sunday 5th of February. The first round of elections was two weeks ago, and since none of the candidates gained over 50% of the votes, the two most voted go into second round. We already know that these elections have changed the political status quo in Finland. For the past 30 years, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has won the elections and held the highest possible office [...]
Should We Stop Teaching the Holocaust in Schools? According to former Education Secretary, (Lord) Kenneth Baker, the answer is yes. As we approach Holocaust Memorial Day – Friday 27th January – it’s important to ask if Lord Baker has a point. He argues, according to an interview in the Daily Telegraph last month, that concentrating on the Holocaust causes British children to have an unwarrantedly negative view of Germany and that they should be learning much more about [...]