Many Ukrainian musicians and institutions are boycotting the work of Russian composers, from the classical canon to contemporary pieces. While controversial, extracting scores, often long embedded in honed repertoires, is a deliberate post-colonial act, creating new openings and fresh interpretations on the Ukrainian music scene, at home and abroad.
Until almost the very end, Milan Kundera refused to let his work be translated into Czech or Slovak. Now that is changing, he is being rediscovered by a new generation. Although his wish to return was unfulfilled, his work is experiencing a homecoming.
Contrary to popular belief, post-Yugoslavs possess no special insight into the world’s conflicts. But unlike most, they never held any illusions about the end of history. This, if nothing else, distinguishes the post-Yugoslav perspective on the present situation.
Art criticism today has become reliant on the system its job is to criticize. With little alternative to institutional advertising, art magazines are unwilling to upset clients, while the boundary between criticism and commercial marketing is increasingly blurred.
Paris in the 1930s was a cauldron of political radicalism. The victory of the Popular Front seemed to some to signal the onset of revolution. But it was more a defensive alliance against the far right, whose enduring threat became a reality sooner than anyone could have imagined.
The case for de-escalation is obvious. But the obvious is the first casualty of the distorted politics of war. We are once again proving ourselves to be the dupes of violence
Any humane, responsible reaction to the 7 October Hamas terror attacks on Israel and Israelis must be directed towards de-escalation. That means avoiding inflammatory rhetoric as much as respecting civilian lives.
World peace depends on consensus among the states that do not directly side with either of the two warring parties in Ukraine. Since this consensus is unlikely to materialise around the superiority of liberal democracy, another basis must be found.
Higher education is a prime target of illiberal state capture. The assault on scientific freedom is sometimes couched in the jargon of neoliberalism, at other times it uses the language of nationalism and religion. And increasingly, there are threats of actual violence against academics.
Just like climate activists today, conscientious objectors in the two World Wars broke the law to do the ‘right thing’. Though often ostracised by society at large, communities of dissent provided support in fighting battles of conscience, as the history of British pacifism shows.
Ukraine’s EU candidacy has brought new momentum to an EU enlargement process suffering from a major crisis of credibility. But reservations towards enlargement run deep. The EU should admit this and propose an interim goal that still offers candidate countries genuine incentive for reform.
The lithium reserves in northern Argentina are some of the largest in the world. Here lies the coveted ‘white gold’ that powers the batteries required for the EU energy transition. But the intensive extraction leaves behind domestic conflict and resource competition.
EU enlargement is increasingly connected to the question of Russian influence in the Western Balkans. But while strong cultural ties translate into popular support for Russia, particularly in Serbia, actual Russian involvement is limited. Instead, local elites mobilise pro-Russian sentiments for political gain.
There is now wide consensus across the EU that after twenty years of deadlock a new approach is needed to the accession of the western Balkan countries. But political momentum for a 30+ Union will not translate into real progress unless the public administrations of would-be members undergo far-reaching reforms.
State funding for cultural journals in the Scandinavian countries is based on the belief that plurality of opinion is essential. The ‘Nordic model’ can be transferred to settings where reservations about state interference in the media leave journals without a lifeline.
For millions of children in Ukraine, many of whom have been displaced, war has brought trauma that will shape the rest of their lives. Yet children also surprise and encourage adults with imaginative ways of coping. For this father, they are the central heroes of a story of life in wartime.