Jens-Martin Eriksen

States such as Norway or Switzerland have tended to relinquish sovereignty to the European Union without any prospect of co-determining the course that the Union takes, write Erik O. Eriksen and John Erik Fossum. Moreover, such states experience new EU treaties or reforms as “shocks” for which they are poorly prepared in comparison to member states. But these are not the only lessons that voters in the UK’s upcoming referendum on EU membership may wish to consider.

The right to criticize religious tenets held by a minority has again been aggressively challenged in public debate, following the attack on “Charlie Hebdo” in Paris. Jens-Martin Eriksen and Frederik Stjernfelt take issue with the argument that free speech is meant to be used against “those in power”, not against minorities.

The controversy on multiculturalism has changed the political fronts. The Left defends respect for minority cultures while the Right stands guard over the national culture. But these two fronts merely constitute two variants of a culturalist ideology, argue Jens-Martin Eriksen and Frederik Stjernfelt.

In 1986 the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences published a “Memorandum” that compiled the central theses of Serbian nationalism. Several authors have seen in this document evidence of early and systematic preparation for the establishment of a state of Greater Serbia, and with it the war in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.