In the twentieth anniversary of ‘Letras Libres’, Mario Vargas Llosa vents his spleen at modern society – or maybe he is just having an attack of wind. Also: why Spain is incapable of institutional reform.
‘Vagant’ fears for the forest: with articles on the crowded biome; a Californian season in hell; tree death in the Harz; and terraforming Copenhagen.
Osteuropa focuses on the ‘key country’ of the Czech Republic: with articles on the state of democracy and the transformation of the party system as mirror of wider processes. Also, an overview of a thousand years of religious history, and the new-old national self-image in film.
‘Varlık’ devotes an issue to Ankara, the deprecated capital: including articles on Republican theatre in the 1930s; the political symbolism of Atatürk monuments; and urban history in Anafartalar Street.
In ‘Kultūros barai’: why the pandemic has brought out the worst in Lithuania’s politicians; whether there is such a thing as an individual common good; and how the Jewish history of Žagarė reaches into the present.
In ‘New Humanist’: articles on the economics and ideology of obstetric violence; why the UK has not yet legalized assisted dying; and what the shutting down of sex work platforms means for sex workers.
‘Ord&Bild’ asks what, besides his radical appeal, makes James Baldwin relevant today: featuring a conversation between literary scholars Cora Kaplan, Justin A. Joyce and Douglas Field; a revelatory reading of Baldwin’s FBI file; and explorations of Baldwin’s writings on alienation.
In ‘NLO’: the story of the decidedly liberal First Russian Art Exhibition of 1922; depictions of physical abuse in Soviet children’s literature; girls’ encyclopaedia; and the thawing of authorial emotions.
‘O’r Pedwar Gwynt’ delves into the transformative world of fungi, considers arguments against civic nationalism, and interviews one of the founders of the Wages for Housework movement.
‘Where do we live?’ In ‘Esprit’, texts on the end of France’s post-war social housing model, the diversification of home ownership, and learning from informal settlements. Also: what happened to Macron’s liberal revolution?
‘dérive’ celebrates the Paris Commune as act of neighbourhood solidarity, including legacies of the revolt and colonialist Communards. Also: Hong Kong’s ’97 generation.
‘Vikerkaar’ on the overlooked aspects of war – from the long-term impact on veterans to conflicts that rarely receive widespread coverage but cause no fewer casualties.
Head in the sand, reactive, apolitical: in ‘Blätter’, a damning verdict on Merkel’s reign. Also: Jürgen Habermas on the lockdown debate and Bernd Greiner on the end of the War on Terror.
‘Internazionale’ reviews the Italian Communist Party’s influences, despite a chequered existence, from post-war reconstruction to feminist gains.
In the August issue of ‘Blätter’: contributions on the German Catechism debate, the propaganda of technological ‘manageability’, the return of hard borders, and nostalgic anti-liberal democrats.
‘New Eastern Europe’ dedicates its summer issue to Ukraine, including: Russia’s underhand colonization of the Crimean peninsula; the geopolitics of gas; and Odessa’s urban mismanagement.