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The question of immorality does not pertain to the act of thrifting itself, but how the thrift environment has been redesigned to serve corporate interests at the expense of those it was initially designed to support. < Back Thrifting and the Price of Exclusion: Gentrifying Secondhand Stores in Toronto Téa Breedon April 30, 2025 In Toronto, thrift stores have recently introduced a collection of higher-end, thrift “boutiques.” These boutiques sell name-brand clothing at marked-up prices to attract a wealthier crowd and drive in profits. Value Village —a for-profit thrift enterprise popular among thrifters in Canada—has replaced its former thrift stores with thrift “boutiques,” limiting its clientele to upper-class individuals and neglecting those who formerly relied on secondhand stores for everyday essentials. The shift to luxury retail symbolizes not only the gentrification of thrift stores but also a broader trend of sidelining the economically disadvantaged in favour of company interests. With real estate prices skyrocketing in Toronto due to high mortgage rates and low property supply, coupled with the homeless population quickly growing by 25 percent between 2023 and 2025, it becomes clear that thrifting corporations are exacerbating a trend of urban inequality. Toronto is aptly fit for examining broader patterns of urban inequality, as it is exemplary of spatially visible class differences. The city has experienced a trend of growing affluence among the wealthy that juxtaposes deepening poverty and growing unaffordability felt by the lower- and working-classes, culminating in an economic landscape that disproportionately disadvantages economically marginalized groups. The gentrification of thrift stores—now evident in the shift from affordable inventory to high-end and luxury brands—is thus symbolic of this landscape, reflecting how sanctuaries of sustenance once rooted in accessibility are being reoriented toward the spending capacity of wealthier consumers. Aside from this trend of gentrification, thrift stores have also increasingly become concentrated in various regions of the city, attracting consumers with large spending capacities. This process is characterized by the strategic situation of thrift stores in middle- and upper-class neighborhoods, making them inaccessible to those who need them the most. Moreover, a majority of these stores are located in downtown Toronto, just minutes away from the city’s major tourist attractions. The top recommended Google search when inputting “Toronto thrift stores” is “Toronto thrift stores downtown,” illustrating how thrift enterprises increasingly cater to a clientele of tourists looking for vintage and secondhand stores in downtown Toronto. As such, by clustering in Toronto’s primary tourist district, these thrift stores function more as curated attractions rather than a resource for the economically disadvantaged. But what is it, besides the profit motive, that is so appealing to thrift corporations about strategically leasing buildings in upper-end and tourist-dense neighborhoods or converting former thrift stores into thrift “boutiques?” Shouldn’t they worry about losing a significant portion of their clientele by catering to a social class that is less reliant on secondhand shopping? Unfortunately, thrift enterprises are no longer alone in recognizing the value in reselling used items at an elevated price. Online resellers have capitalized on this same logic, carefully picking out name and designer brands from thrift stores to mark up for a profit. Thrift enterprises find—or, at least, found —their clientele in lower-income populations, tailoring to individuals who relied on affordable clothing as a necessity rather than a fad. Today, online resellers—found on Depop, Etsy, Vinted, and Poshmark—use reselling platforms to allure a clientele of trend-driven consumers seeking secondhand luxury items that they may not be able to find at their local thrift stores. Online resellers are therefore following the path paved by thrift enterprises, recognizing the potential in the business of reselling items at marked-up prices. By tailoring to those who can afford elevated prices, resellers generate demand for high-end pieces from thrift boutiques, contributing to a cycle that favors a curated inventory over affordability. As a result, traditional thrift stores are being converted into thrift boutiques, distancing themselves from lower-income communities not just spatially, but also through rising price points that compromise affordability. It is in this sense, then, that the shift from affordable thrift corporations to high-end boutiques is driven both by the motive of profit and that of a guaranteed clientele. The recent trend of reselling has provided thrift corporations with a reliable flow of buyers, sustaining their operations while fueling demand for boutique-style stores. Similarly, independent online resellers find their consistent clientele of buyers in trend-chasing consumers who are able to afford their elevated prices. This domino effect, triggered by thrift enterprises, thus entrenches a market dynamic that prioritizes profit and resale value over accessibility. Is all this to say that thrifting is immoral, betraying the initial ethical purpose of thrift stores? Of course not, as it remains more environmentally and financially sustainable than buying first-hand. What is immoral is how thrift stores—operating within a for-profit framework—capitalize on an increasing demand for high-end clothing by jacking up the price s of donated items and orienting their inventory toward wealthy consumers. The question of immorality does not pertain to the act of thrifting itself, but how the thrift environment has been redesigned to serve corporate interests at the expense of those it was initially designed to support. Thus, in rebranding necessity and affordability as a fad, the modern thrift landscape has s hown how the thrift industry can be morphed into a mechanism that reproduces the very inequalities it sought to confront. Photo source: Rob Durdle on Flickr

We wandered aimlessly about this tragic city. We found an altar for aborted babies, a flower market under fluorescent lights, and a clothing store selling t-shirts plastered with the pope’s face. < Back Bratislava: Devoid of Pastries and Joy By Lara-Nour Walton January 30, 2022 After a day of peeling buildings, ornery weather, bald men, and stale pastries, Sami Omaish, English track 1A with distant Slovak roots, finally ceded: “I can see why my ancestors left.” On our November break, our travel group decided to take a day trip from Vienna and explore its cipher of a neighbor: Bratislava. When Omaish enthusiastically pitched this Slovak pitstop, I was indifferent. Perhaps I would sample some pierogis, ogle at a blue church, strut down another cobbled European alley. But I grew skeptical after sharing my vacation plans with seasoned travelers. “I’m going to Bratislava for break!” I proudly announced to 1A Emilio Egger Prieto, to which he responded with a simple but damning “Why?” When I briefed my grandfather about my Bratislavan prospects, he chuckled and informed me that he had gone there on business. “My colleagues and I called it Boring-slava,” he quipped. When I shared my newfound misgivings, Omaish emerged as an unusually staunch defender of the Slovak capital — he insisted that we must go. When travel companion, 1A Gayle Krest, remarked from the train that the city’s outskirts looked industrial, Omaish angrily accused her of “judging Bratislava before seeing the old town.” And after observing Omaish’s suspiciously eager behavior in a subpar souvenir shop, I began to wonder whether he might secretly be employed by the Slovak government to propagandize to Sciences Po students and drum up local tourism. I suspected him of such collusion because I simply failed to see what he saw in this contradictory metropolis. I have been to cities that do not make sense — Gainesville, Florida for instance — but never have I been as baffled as I was in Bratislava. The capital boasts an unnerving blend of East and West. Soviet-era highrises, panelaks , clumsily mix with buildings that look to be the architectural manifestations of wedding cakes. The language resides in a liminal space between Czech and Polish. The men wear full Adidas tracksuits. And yet, the women expertly don the dark and cutting-edge Berliner fashion. First on our agenda was a hot lunch. We settled on an empty restaurant that promised traditional Slovak meals. A picture of a sneering moose inexplicably graced the eatery’s façade and menus. The food was filling — latkes and Slovak cheese dumplings, pierogies — but our travel group of five was forced to split due to a puzzling Bratislavan Covid-19 guideline. Two of us were made to sit at one table, while the remainder were seated elsewhere. We were separated by an awkward distance that impeded conversation but facilitated an expressive exchange of confused glances. When we got to our second destination, the Primate’s Palace, there was no one there. The museum employees, fearful that the day’s only visitors would leave on account of the meager ticket fee, offered us free admission. The tapestries inside were spectacular but discolored by the copious amounts of sun streaming through the windows. I pitied the city. Bratislava is faded, abandoned, frequented by few, forgotten by most. We wandered aimlessly about this tragic city. We found an altar for aborted babies, a flower market under fluorescent lights, and a clothing store selling t-shirts plastered with the pope’s face. But with the lowering sun, Bratislava cooled and our limbs weakened. We moved languidly, in a seemingly impossible quest to find a steaming cup of joe and a quick bite. As de facto French people habituated to croissants in every other establishment, we were dismayed at the difficulty of this task. But, this initial dismay only deepened when we finally did stumble upon a cafe an hour and a half later. 1A Julien Zeman got a coffee — nothing to write home about. Omaish got a crescent-shaped fig newton — bizarre, but not inedible. Krest, however, bought a slice of what she thought was chocolate cake. Much to her confusion, the pastry’s brown color could not be accounted for by the flavors present on her palate. “It was the texture of dried-out cottage cheese and tasted like that as well. I took a bite and there was a (full) lemon seed in it, so I threw that ish away,” said Krest. After the cafe ordeal, 1A Ellie Carter purchased a bagel. It was surprisingly delicious. And that is the part about Bratislava that makes me inexplicably sad. It can be pleasant at times, espousing a rare delight — one that can only be found in places where you would least expect it. Perhaps if I had shared Omaish’s open-mindedness I might have appreciated the city more. But, alas, my skepticism hindered me from enjoying what little charm Bratislava had to offer.

The global energy crisis began in October 2021 with the backdrop of resurgent demand from the re-opening of economies following the Covid-19 pandemic. There is no doubt that recent energy politics has certainly provided a fair wind for both Egypt and Israel. < Back Egypt and Israel: Quiet Beneficiaries of the Energy Crisis By Noor Ahmad October 31, 2022 The global energy crisis began in October 2021 with the backdrop of resurgent demand from the re-opening of economies following the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, China’s post-Covid recovery led to a demand for gas that is said to have risen by 8.4 percent. Gas imports are set to increase by 20 percent to satisfy this demand, resulting in less gas available for import to many European countries from gulf countries, such as Qatar, who could not ramp up natural gas supplies to Europe, as they were committed to their long-term contracts with Asian countries. The other major event that undoubtedly catalyzed the energy crisis was the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia supplied around 40 percent of the European Union’s gas consumption by pipeline, and the 75 percent cut to supply has significantly affected European countries which have relied on Russian gas for years. Russia started to reduce its supply of gas in 2021 on the pretext of maintenance to its major gas pipelines into Europe. This accelerated in the early part of 2022, when gas flow reduced by about 40 percent through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, one of the major conduits of gas from Russia to Europe. By July of this year, the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1 was reduced to 20 percent of its capacity. On Sept. 30, a series of under-water explosions damaged both Nord stream 1 and 2 pipelines, most likely the result of sabotage. The union has not published its findings, but many suspect Russia to be the culprit. Amidst this chaos, two unexpected beneficiaries have been Egypt and Israel. The benefits have not only been economic but also political. Egypt, following the major discovery of offshore gas in 2015 by the Italian company ENI in the Zohr gas field, has been investing in its scope for exportation through the development of its gas liquefaction capacity. Liquefied natural gas has become a major method of transporting gas where piping gas is not possible. According to reports, Egypt now ranks in the top ten countries in the world with gas exporting capacity. Part of this success is due to its links with Israel through the Arab Gas Pipeline, which is used by Israel to export piped gas to Egypt for liquefaction and then is re-exported. Israel has become a significant gas exporter in recent years. It relies on its two major gas fields, Tamar and Leviathan, both offshore fields off its coast. Leviathan, which was discovered in 2010, has the capacity to supply Israel’s domestic needs for the next 40 years. Tamar gained significance around the same time. Most recently, in 2022, 60 billion cubic meters of gas was discovered in the Olympus Area, also in the Mediterranean. By some estimates, Israel, which currently exports 10 million cubic meters a year, has the capacity to more than double this in the coming years by investing further. For both countries, the rising price of gas and their export capacity have provided much needed hard currency to support their economies. Egypt’s economy has been severely impacted by rising commodity prices, particularly wheat, which is a mainstay for its population’s bread consumption. At the same time, sanctions on Russia have affected Egypt’s tourism industry, which relies on Russian tourists. In Israel’s case, a recent report published by the Ministry of Energy showed Israel’s profits from natural gas increased by almost 50 percent. Eleven percent of royalties from revenues from natural gas go directly to the treasury to fund state expenditure. Beyond this, Israel set up its own sovereign wealth fund, The Israeli Citizens’ Fund, to benefit from the increase in gas production; it raises its revenues from taxing excess profits. After a disappointing start, the fund, according to the Israeli Tax Authorities, was expected to collect between 300-$500 million dollars a year over the next decade. This turned out to be very conservative given that it raised 500 million dollars in less than three months in 2022. This fund will be invested for future generations, in line with how other sovereign wealth funds operate around the world. Beyond economics, the two countries’ geopolitical situations have also benefited. The European Union signed a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding between Egypt, Israel and itself in June 2022 to increase the export of Israeli gas. What has surprised many has been the union’s silence on the values it has held so dear for many years. Both Egypt and Israel have been targeted for various humanitarian issues – the Egyptian military regime’s treatment of dissenters is well documented. Moreover, the union has been historically vocal about Israel’s settlements and occupation of Palestinian territories and. It has been widely noted that the memorandum signed was the first in which the union failed to mention the Palestinian territories. A question was raised on the matter in the union’s parliament to the European Commission on the subject. A response on July 28, 2022 to the question, given by the Vice-President of the commission, Borrell Fontelles, stated that as this is a non-binding agreement, no territorial clause was deemed necessary. And while the union recommitted to abiding by United Nations Security Council resolution 2334, which calls for its member states to distinguish between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967, the omission in this instance is unusual. There is no doubt that energy politics has certainly provided a fair wind for both Egypt and Israel.

Although more than a hundred years have passed since its publication, the recycling of this tale, the tale of “The American Dream” but also the tale of a life without love—the tale of a life full of yearning—continues to this day, even after the pages of Fitzgerald’s novel have been turned to their very end. < Back A Hundred Years of Gatsby Viktorie Voriskova April 30, 2025 Disclaimer: Spoilers ahead! It is not just a single thing that makes a novel “timeless.” The majority of novels which have the honour of having been described as such usually resemble each other in one way or another—their themes are often seen as universal, the writing style is provocative, and the main characters are usually relatable and multi-dimensional. However, a few books have been as popular for as long as The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald. This book was initially published on April 10, 1925, when Fitzgerald was just 28 years old. He was already an established author, having published two popular novels just a few years earlier. Despite the popularity of his two previous books, The Great Gatsby was a much smaller success, with only 20,000 copies being sold in the first edition. The novel chronicles the life of Jay Gatsby, written by his neighbour, Nick Carraway, a Yale graduate, with inclinations to romanticize his own life as well as the lives of others. Nick Carraway moves to New York in 1922 to learn about the bond business and rents a house in West Egg, which is right next to the grand villa of the mysterious and wealthy Gatsby, whose real name is James Gatz. Unlike his flashy neighbours, Nick has connections to East Egg, where his cousin Daisy lives with her unfaithful husband, Tom, who is a philanthropist with notable violent tendencies and is the embodiment of “old money gone bad.” Nick discovers Gatsby’s deep love for Daisy, whom he had known before the First World War. Gatsby throws lavish parties in hopes of rekindling their romance. Nick helps reunite them and they begin an affair. Tensions rise and Tom exposes Gatsby’s criminal past. Daisy ultimately chooses Tom. After Daisy accidentally kills Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, Gatsby takes the blame. Myrtle’s husband kills Gatsby, then himself. The novel ends when Nick, disillusioned, returns to the Midwest, where he ponders Gatsby’s dream and the moral decay beneath the glittering surface of the American upper class, and quintessentially, the “American Dream.” Although more than a hundred years have passed since its publication, the recycling of this tale, the tale of “The American Dream” but also the tale of a life without love—the tale of a life full of yearning—continues to this day, even after the pages of Fitzgerald’s novel have been turned to their very end. Playwrights, filmmakers, cartoonists, rappers and numerous novelists have taken their shots at turning Fitzgerald’s text into something new, all while paying tribute to its unparalleled influence. At least four feature films, countless television episodes, an opera, two musicals, and—especially since it entered the public domain four years ago—a whirlwind of fan-fiction sequels, prequels and retellings have emerged. One of the key reasons for the eternal success of The Great Gatsby has been its raw approach to money, love, power and reputation. How we imagine him has much to do with how we see ourselves. Gatsby and his interpretation have gone through numerous transformations. Various generations have interpreted the text according to their perception of Gatsby—his glamour, his melancholy, or his parties being analyzed and celebrated for what they are, as well as for what they are not. Despite its initial lack of success, after Fitzgerald died in 1940 and especially after the end of the Second World War, The Great Gatsby became the most published book in North America, a sign of its major success. We can't be sure why this happened, although many would agree that it was probably due to post-World War II sentiment: nostalgia for the 20th century, because it symbolized a time of optimism. This period saw Gatsby as the “Jazz Age Man,” based on the novel that became a symbol of this optimism. His story was repeated on TV and in the movies and the character became an archetype. Meanwhile, knee-length pants and cowboy hats, art-deco and dissipation paraded across screens, in “Singin' in the Rain” and “Some Like It Hot,” as well as movies like Funny Girl and Chicago, and in the fashion pages. This was the era of The Great Gatsby . In the 1950s, Gatsby started to be seen from a more existentialist perspective, commencing the phase of Gatsby as “The First Existentialist.” After the Second World War, thanks to the growing readership of The Great Gatsby , the readership of the novel widened. Paperback editions proliferated, and the novel was cited by young authors including J.D. Salinger. Hollywood, which first brought the book to the screen in 1926, made further adaptations. It came to be seen less as a satire of the '20s than as a commentary on the predicament of modern man, a precursor to popular contemporary novels such as Albert Camus's The Stranger , Saul Bellow's The Dangling Man and Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye . In the 1950s, people started to recognize that the book was not only about glamour, money and parties; Gatsby's life was marked by alienation and nostalgia. His death, an act of senseless violence, is a textbook case of the absurd. The character of “Snoopy” is another example of the shift in the perception of this novel. Snoopy, who represents Gatsby's quintessential existentialism, is world-weary, constantly tired and quiet. This bow-tie-clad alter ego of Gatsby appeared for the first time in 1998, as part of a series of Gatsby-themed Peanuts strips, embodying Gatsby’s existentialism, which had risen to acclamation at this time. “Hip-Hop Gatsby” is yet another example of the timelessness of The Great Gatsby . How can the epitome of glamour become the embodiment of existentialism and then Hip Hop? This version of Gatsby owes its popularity to the 2013 film “The Great Gatsby” by Baz Luhrmann, as well as the memes created by Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby. Besides memes, music is another quintessential part of the formation of “Hip-Hop Gatsby.”The soundtrack is a collage of contemporary pop and rap, from Lana Del Rey, Florence and the Machine, and Beyoncé, among many others, and was produced by Jay-Z. Like jazz in the 1920s, hip-hop is a black American musical idiom that has become the soundtrack of the age, a complex, fast-evolving art form loaded with aesthetic possibilities, perfectly reflective of The Great Gatsby in its own, innovative, modern way. The Great Gatsby owes much of its success to luck, as many literary pieces do, in the world of publishing and advertising. However, it is inevitably Francis Scott Fitzgerald's genius, which lies in his ability to describe a dynamic world and characters that are unique and specific, but also ordinary enough to be realistic. Generating feelings of grandiosity but also sadness and melancholy, this work is timeless and relevant across centuries, from the Jazz Age to the era of Hip Hop. The Great Gatsby is open for everyone to interpret as they wish. As Fitzgerald, through the personification of Gatsby, says at the end of the book: “ And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." Photo source: Urban Romantics on Flickr

The Harvard Sciences Po Student Summit marks a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the two student organizations — the Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative (HUFPI) and the Sciences Po Policy Project (SP3) Network. < Back First Harvard Sciences Po Student Summit Takes Place in Paris By Anna Hazolyshyn February 28, 2023 Not long ago, “visit Paris” appeared on my 2023 “grand to-do list,” and what better reason for a trip than the Harvard Sciences Po Student Summit? Two days before the conference, I was finally able to dig out the ticket from my spam box, book a hostel and hop on the overnight train that took me to Paris in no time (short 13 hours). The Harvard Sciences Po Student Summit marks a first-of-its-kind collaboration between two student organizations — the Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative (HUFPI) and the Sciences Po Policy Project (SP3) Network. As Cameron Sterling, a conference delegate from the Menton campus puts it: “Every university has those networks for people that are interested in different things, and SP3 is that for Sciences Po students (interested in diplomacy). The point (of the conference) was to connect young people with professionals to understand better different career paths and practical issues one might face in the field.” The summit took place over two days and mainly consisted of panel discussions ranging from energy and climate change to defense and security. Sterling shed light on the organization of the panel discussions: “I was working with a student from Harvard, and we moderated the combined (due to last-minute cancellations) Trade and Security panel. We also came up with a variety of career and general issue-based questions that would be of interest to the audience. It was interesting developing those based on the demographic of the panel, too, since you had younger people, older people, people from civil society, etc...” A brilliant example of the versatility of speakers would be the panel on climate change, which many students singled out as one of the most insightful and entertaining ones. Sterling herself noted: “It was really engaging, particularly because it was amazing to observe older individuals remain so active and so hopeful about the climate effort, and see them speak alongside someone like France’s youth delegate for climate.” Each panel ended with a question and answer session. A Reims student felt that “even though they did open the floor for the questions, sometimes you wanted to participate in the conversation more actively and interject when an interesting point was raised. Often you felt more like a bystander.” His remark makes sense considering that “there weren’t that many people in the audience.” The consensus is that the experience could have been elevated had the format been adjusted to encourage more direct interaction. One of our students confessed that “the conference did not live up to my expectations, [since] the big personalities we were promised did not come,” but was quick to add that “there were nonetheless nice and interesting speakers.” Another participant countered this by claiming that she “expected a high level of speakers, which we got.” She further pointed out that “it was interesting to see the differences in their approaches: while French were highly methodological, Anglo-Saxon speakers were more eloquent and linked one topic to another in surprising ways.” Nevertheless, they were all, as a student from Reims put it, “all in the same sort of liberal orthodoxy range.” Without a doubt, the students’ favorites from the summit were Nizar Yaiche, former Minister of Finance of Tunisia, and Brian Wong, a geopolitical analyst and current Ph.D. at Oxford University. Funnily enough, the two were adored for vastly different reasons. The charismatic Yaiche moved everyone with his transparency, practical advice and personal anecdotes that were precious and encouraging for the aspiring leaders in attendance. In the case of Wong, it was amusing to observe how people were sitting with their jaws agape, impressed with how well organized and delivered the lecture was. Wong’s impeccable debate-like style of framing the presentation, which discussed the link between media, technology and geopolitics, did not go unnoticed. A Menton student asserted that Wong’s speech was “very interesting and surprisingly easy to follow. How refreshing!” When asked, “What do you think attracts people to summits like this?” Sterling supposed that it is “the chance to make career connections, whether you are looking for advice, an internship or a job.” Her hypothesis was supported by responses from a few of the participants I spoke to, who admitted that “the LinkedIn potential was valuable” to them or that they “wanted to find an organization to do the civic engagement this summer with.” Many others, however, came for the content and “critical analysis” and were disappointed to find that, mostly, “it was all very general and surface-level” and that they “didn’t learn anything new.” However, as one of the members of our Menton community suggested, “maybe that wasn’t the point of this conference; you don’t always need to learn more intellectual stuff; we do enough of that already as university students.” This brings me to everyone’s favorite: the Policy Symposium, the crème de la crème of the Harvard Sciences Po Summit. This conclusive part of the conference created a unique setting to synthesize all the ideas heard over the two days to produce a unique and effective policy in response to the posed issues like how the U.S. and France could strengthen their security engagements or whether the U.S. can do more to support France in managing the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine? “It was very cool to come up with a policy recommendation and have a professor respond to us and critique it,” Sterling shared before continuing: “Having had a little bit of work experience, giving a brief or being able to cut things down to issue-solutions proved to be very important.” It was an excellent opportunity to reflect and engage more closely with the material and receive valuable feedback from the professionals, and to work with a group of people who share the same passion for policymaking. “This was concrete and practical,” one student says. “I (liked) the symposium the most, which was the only workshop we had, as we finally had the chance to speak and to express ourselves. Plus, I got to work with people I did not know before, those from Sciences Po and Harvard.” For many, it was the “Harvard” aspect of the conference that they were drawn to, be it because they were “considering going to Harvard later on and so wanted to discover more about it from its students” or simply because they wanted to “meet new people, Harvard [people] specifically.” A few times I have heard people say that “it is a shame that we did not have that many opportunities to interact with the students on the other side [Harvard],” due to it being an intense two-day summit. In the future, however, it would be advisable to incorporate more social or break time into a day to give the students opportunities to interact with their peers more and build closer ties between the two communities. Though we did not get to speak to the brain behind the conference — Sciences Po Menton’s own Louai Allani-Guellouz — during the conference’s closing remarks, we were promised this is not the last time Sciences Po students are collaborating with Harvard peers. We look forward to seeing what more the two student bodies have in store for us. If I were to choose the single most important thing I took away from this conference, it would be a reminder to hold on to your values, which nearly every lecturer mentioned almost religiously (so it must be important, right?). While emphasizing the importance of mentorship, the speakers were the embodiment of that ideal, dedicating their time and sharing what cannot be described as anything other than precious advice and insights into the work in the world of policymaking and international affairs. “To visit Paris” turned out to be a great success!

With the United States experiencing its highest level of inflation since 1981 and Europe following closely, inflation, a phenomenon that many economists claimed was long gone, seems to be back. How worried should we be? < Back Global Inflation: Is the Fairy Tale Beast Back to Haunting us? By Ata Tezel April 29, 2022 If you are a regular at Brioche Dorée, the recent 10% price increase of the student deal might have been catastrophic news. In fact, a double-digit inflation rate is becoming a reality in the developed world, with the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OECD) average annual rate reaching 7.7 percent in March 2022. With the United States experiencing its highest level of inflation since 1981 and Europe following closely, inflation, a phenomenon that many economists claimed was long gone, seems to be back. But how worried should we be? Why is inflation back? The rise in inflation caught many economists and central banks off guard – as a matter of fact, nearly none of the central bank inflation forecasts in the developed world were accurate for 2021. This is surprising, as the recovery from the economic downturn of the pandemic signaled increased pressure on both the demand and supply sides of economies. Simply put, today’s inflation is the result of too much money chasing too few goods: an inevitable outcome of the economic policies of the pandemic era. The demand-side inflation (also known as demand-pull inflation) is, in large part, related to the drastic aggregate demand recovery fueled by the stimulus packages distributed by governments during the pandemic alongside the overall global employment recovery. The US federal government passed stimulus packages that injected more than 4.5 trillion dollars into the economy, with the EU following up with a package of 2 trillion euros. With many investing their stimulus money on mid- to long-term assets - such as government bonds, stocks, gold, and real estate - demand-side pressures increased prices for these highly attractive assets. In fact, all American indices have passed far beyond their pre-pandemic levels, signaling an unprecedented demand recovery from the pandemic. As the economy on the demand side is stronger than ever, theories suggest inflation should be expected. Though one might then ask: “how has the developed world grown at a stable rate for years while keeping inflation at bay and maintaining low unemployment and minimal monetary intervention?” The difference this time is that the pressure is on the supply-side. The impact of the pandemic was more drastic on the supply-side compared to demand-side simply because short to mid-term adjustments in supply tend to be more inelastic than demand-side adjustments. For example, the ongoing electronic chip shortage can be partly attributed to the automakers’ decision to slash orders during the early stages of the pandemic which led chipmakers to switch their products to fit the surging demand for consumer electronics. As the aggregate demand recovered, the supply of cars is now drastically halted due to the chipmakers' unwillingness and inability to switch their supply back to the automotive sector. This caused a spillover demand for substitutes, resulting in a 20 percent price increase in the second-hand car market in the US. Moreover, disruptions to supply chains triggered by the pandemic are now exacerbated by political tensions spurred by the Ukrainian war. The increase in energy prices has reached, on average, 27 percent in OECD due to the political tensions surrounding oil and natural gas supply. This cost-push inflation is only aggravated by the cutting of government subsidies to many sectors – subsidies that were instrumental in the survival of many businesses during the economic fallout of the pandemic. What to expect now? While the dramatic increase in inflation is worrying for many, central banks have been cautious in implementing monetary policy to combat rising inflation. Throughout 2021, the consensus among the developed world was that the increase in global inflation was temporary and would eventually fade out as market forces settle around pre-pandemic levels. The higher-than-usual inflation rates could also be attributed to the unusually low commodity prices in 2020 caused by the demand fallout which would have given rise to unnatural inflation once demand and prices returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, recent political developments in commodity markets are forcing central banks to take action. The US Federal Reserve had already started tapering its quantitative easing policy by the end of 2021, effectively increasing real interest rates without changing their near-zero policy rate. Leading emerging markets have also responded to inflation throughout the year, with many increasing policy interest rates by couple hundred basis points - a move that the developed world resisted to take. Nevertheless, by March 2022, the Federal Reserve was forced to increase its policy rate for the first time since 2018, an action soon replicated by the Bank of England. The Fed also signaled further increases in the policy rates up to 3.5 percent, citing the dangers of high inflation. Central banks around the developed world now hope to raise rates rapidly to avoid a “hard landing.” However, many are skeptical about central banks’ ability to use monetary policy effectively without causing a recession. Considering the track record of the Fed, recession risks are no doubt elevated, creating a low morale in the world of economics. As inflation is affected by expectations as much as by market forces (if not more), pessimism and distrust in the market could be the biggest worry of all. With the European Central Bank also signaling a potential switch from its zero-interest policy, the future is more unclear than ever. The question is, can the West curb its inflation as successfully as Japan or is it leading to a catastrophic fallout like Turkey? The answer, as with everything else, will probably lie somewhere in between.

Russia in the corner, China's embarrassment, the EU financing arms, and heavy sanctions: following the invasion of Ukraine, a new political, economic, social order arose. < Back Putin's War Changed The World (More Than The Pandemic) By Florian Heydecker March 30, 2022 The pandemic transformed the world, but Putin's war is changing it much more, and at lightning speed. In some cases, it is an immediate earthquake; in others, it is a tectonic shift that will have enormous consequences in the future. Vladimir Putin was once considered a genius, an over-the-top strategist. Now, he is a lonely, isolated man who made the mistake of a lifetime — underestimating the Ukrainians and the West. He was a leader to entice; now, he is a violent and dangerous dictator. Hollywood movies usually display the US president handling a nuclear briefcase, but reality has proven that the Russian president appeals more to this strategy. Russia is an international pariah, dragged into a corner politically, economically, and financially by the man who wanted to make it great again. Although the country has undoubtedly potential to figure among the great powers, the ruling armed kleptocratic regime is a severe obstacle to its development. Russian democracy was already debilitated, and now, repression will probably become even harsher. Germany is changing: pacifist until a few days ago, terrorized by its past, secured to Angela Merkel's mercantilism, today it decided to rearm — putting in place 100 billion euros for the army, and sending weapons to the defenders of Ukraine. With Germany, Europe awakens: it buys weapons for the first time, and Ursula von der Leyen announced that Kyiv could join the EU, a prospect that, if materialized in a fast accession procedure, could further galvanize the Ukrainian resistance and disrupt Putin’s project. It is a situation that — if Emmanuel Macron, Mario Draghi, and other Western European leaders rise to the occasion — could lead to the construction of a concrete European Defense. This process would occur under the aegis of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Putin's aggression strengthened the unity of the West to an unexpected level, which until a month ago was considered almost non-existent. Turkey chose to side with the West; Sweden, and Finland could join NATO; and Switzerland abandoned centuries of neutrality, including banking neutrality, by freezing Russian bank accounts. The countries of Eastern Europe, frequently overlooked by the West, have found a new role — starting with Poland and the three Baltic states. The experience and memory of Soviet domination provide both Baltic and Eastern European states with leverage in the European Union decision-making process. Now the EU is no longer just Germany and France. Above all, the EU will undergo a consolidation process to handle foreign policy with coordination. Business and trade can no longer detach from geopolitics. Recent years have witnessed the rise of autocratic regimes that challenged democratic values, and Putin’s bold move has turned the trend: autocrats and dictators are sturdy in appearance, yet their sturdiness can lead to political isolation, economic recession, and perhaps institutional collapse. Xi Jinping's China was taken aback and showed all its embarrassment. At the UN Security Council, China abstained on the resolution condemning aggression against Ukraine, not vetoing it as Moscow did. It has an onerous balancing act to perform now. Beijing has many clients but no friends; Xi Jinping says he has one, Vladimir Putin, who has chosen excessive adventurism. As Putin attacks Kyiv, he disrupts the hegemonic agenda of China, which has different methods and timelines for conquering Europe. Putin positions himself as the leader of the new order in the Eurasian supercontinent, a role Beijing has no intention of leaving to others. Not only that, with its aggression, the Kremlin is strengthening the West and its democracies instead of weakening them. China's leader cannot appreciate that: it risks rolling back its strategy of enfeebling America and Europe by years, and it can undermine its theory of the West's inevitable decline. China needs Russia to confront Washington geopolitically and access vital resources, especially energy. But in the enormity of the step taken by Putin, it sees dangers and serious setbacks. Beijing is monitoring, but the conflict might not provide China with the desired loser. The wave of sanctions bearing down on the Russian economy can potentially accelerate the process of decoupling free and state economies. The dollar and euro currency areas will exclude the Russian banking system. This policy combines with the now strong tendency in China to close down entire sectors of its economy and bring activity back under the stringent guidance of the Communist Party, to the detriment of private individuals who have been the main protagonists of the boom of the past decades. The trend towards decoupling — the dollar-euro area on one side, the yuan on the other — will presumably strengthen the climate of conflict. The latter would entail severe consequences on supply chains and increasing protectionism involving Europe and the world. The invasion of Ukraine accelerated the character of the new Cold War of the 21st century. The emotion, the tears, the demonstrations that crossed European cities in the last weeks communicate that Putin's assault has not only moved governments, politicians, armies, and diplomacy. Citizens are more in shock than they have been in decades. The tragic pictures and videos from Ukraine outscore even the risk of witnessing gas and electricity prices rise. Indeed, emotions will fade as time goes on, and differences of opinion will come back into focus. Yet, we already comprehend that that morning of February 24 saw the dawn of a new world. Before long, we will understand if we enjoy it.

China has long been cracking down on political dissent shared via social media. The nation’s development of its surveillance has reached terrifying levels in recent years: by 2015, the nation’s surveillance camera system, SkyNet, had already reached 100% coverage of Beijing. The United States should brace itself for a long-term battle for internet freedom and democracy in what could be the next Cold War. < Back China’s Surveillance State is Triggering a Digital Cold War By Celeste Abourjeili January 30, 2022 Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai’s disappearance was the social media equivalent of an 8.0 earthquake. For the first time in a long time, American eyes were drawn to China’s dystopian surveillance system. Yet, this story has already become obsolete, without any Chinese concessions. Shuai remains missing. In the past few months, headlines have called attention to China’s quick cover-up of Shuai’s #metoo confession regarding the former vice-premier, Zhang Gaoli. Any mention of Shuai’s story was completely removed from social media and even private messaging groups within 30 minutes of her original confession. The story, however, should not have come as a surprise to the media, nor the American public. China has long been cracking down on political dissent shared via social media. The nation’s development of its surveillance has reached terrifying levels in recent years: by 2015, the nation’s surveillance camera system, SkyNet, had already reached 100% coverage of Beijing. Near-instant facial recognition technology allows Beijing to monitor all of the movements and behaviors of its citizens with an unprecedented level of precision and detail. China’s Great Firewall project further employs millions in the crime of regulating, censoring, and slowing down domestic internet traffic. That plus the nation’s exclusive use of domestic social media platforms means that China has achieved the great dream of many an authoritarian state — an independent, or “sovereign,” internet. Russia could only dream of attaining such a status. While other illiberal democracies might quake in the face of social media scandals, China shamelessly uses its control of the internet to shut down scandals on the domestic playing field. After a while, international media gets desensitized and moves on from the Peng Shuais of the world. However, China’s surveillance state poses a real and tangible threat to the United States. The nation’s dystopia means that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a tight grip on the peoples’ ability to spread ideas or even think freely. A basic review of survey data from the World Values Survey demonstrates that Chinese people have submitted to lower democratic values and no longer understand democracy for what it is today, due to stringent censorship measures. For instance, the data demonstrated that, in China, the people greatly support democracy, however they believe that their government is democratic on the whole, even though China is an illiberal democracy. Meanwhile, the people showed altered perceptions of democracy with the belief that the government has the right to conduct surveillance and limit the privacy of the internet, or that the majority of Chinese journalists and media are uninvolved in corruption. In fact, there are no privately owned TV or radio stations in China according to the CIA World Factbook, and the Central Propaganda Department ensures that all domestic media outlets must gain approval from the government for all programming, so these beliefs are deeply misguided. What is particularly troubling, besides the rights violations, is the fact that China is already in the process of selling and exporting these technologies to other illiberal regimes — 18 countries are already implementing this system. China is considered a “major exporter of broadcasting equipment world-wide” according to the CIA World Factbook’s 2020 data. This approach to the internet and surveillance technologies demonstrates China’s intention to degrade global internet freedom and public unity on social issues. The CCP aims to restrict the flow of information not just in its own country but abroad. The party hopes to spearhead this movement — one can only imagine the control that such surveillance powers will leave to China on an international scale. China’s flashy new tools for social control and surveillance are here to stay and to spread. The United States should brace itself for a long-term battle for internet freedom and democracy in what could be the next Cold War.

What was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel across the globe and encounter a culture and civilization parallel to their own quickly became 38 days in prison, thousands of kilometers away from their home country. < Back The Illegitimate Detention of Two Brazilians in Germany and the Current Approach to Security in Airports By Catarina Vita for Sciences Defense January 31, 2024 What was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel across the globe and encounter a culture and civilization parallel to their own quickly became 38 days in prison, thousands of kilometers away from their home country. Jeanne Paolini and Katyna Baia, both in their forties and married for twelve years, were flying from Goiania, Brazil to Frankfurt, Germany, to celebrate Paolini’s veterinary residency in one of the best universities in Brazil, the University of Brasilia. Upon arriving in Frankfurt, the two women were detained in the airport’s prison, accused of carrying forty kilos of cocaine in their baggage. The cocaine, however, was proven not to be theirs. One day later, they found themselves outside the airport, but in the city’s prison for women. It was found that the name tags in their baggage were displaced to luggage filled with drugs, by the Brazilian airport staff. Their case was a gateway to a massive scheme of drug trafficking from Brazil’s biggest airports to European metropoles. The Case The couple flew from the capital of their Brazilian state, Goiania, to Frankfurt, for a connecting flight to Berlin, but their bags were intercepted in one of Brazil’s biggest airports, the Guarulhos Airport in São Paulo. The couple would only revindicate their luggage in Berlin, their final destination. Upon disembarking from their flight to Frankfurt, they were detained and imprisoned on March 5, 2023. They stayed in custody for 38 days. The couple alleged mistreatment by the German police, and were denied access to the winter garments in their hand luggage despite -3 degree temperatures in Frankfurt. Preceding the interception of Paolini and Baia’s luggage, two employees at the Guarulhos Airport were caught on security footage examining each of the women’s suitcases and removing them from the rest of the luggage reaching Frankfurt. In sequence, two women with cocaine-filled luggage encountered the employees and helped with placing the couple’s name tags in the new drug-filled suitcases. Paolini and Baia’s luggage was still sent to Berlin, but without their name tags. It is important to note that airlines, not airports, are responsible for employees handling baggage. As the Brazilian Federal Police (PF) became aware of the case, allied to the Brazilian Public Ministry (MP), they compiled a total of 200 hours of security footage which enabled these bodies to identify the ones responsible for displacing the name tags. The couple’s lawyer highlighted that the trip was booked months before their departure date, and both women had health insurance, showing that they did not have a profile of a drug mule. These people, who have the role of smuggling drugs often through high security scenarios (especially in between international borders), are often not provided with health insurance or plane tickets bought in advance, since they will only be in the country of destination for a short amount of time and only to deliver drugs. On April 5, 2023, the women were heard in German court in face of the evidence provided by Brazilian authorities. They were found to be innocent, but the German authorities requested evidence incriminating the airport staff for having exchanged Paolini and Baia’s suitcases, as the Brazilian government alleged. When this was presented around eight days later, Paolini and Baia were released. The Operation Collateral Effect Paolini and Baia’s case introduced the Operation Collateral Effect by the Brazilian police. As stated previously, Paolini and Baia’s luggage were apprehended by employees at the Guarulhos Airport. The Brazilian Police Force noticed that similar cases occurred in 2022 and 2023 in the same airport to Portugal and France, respectively. The Operation culminated in “14 mandates of temporary prison, two mandates of preventive detention and 27 mandates for search and apprehension,” according to G1 Brazil . The Brazilian police commenced their operation by questioning the airport employees involved in Paolini and Baia’s case. Out of the six questioned, five of them denied their involvement in the crime and one of them confessed. All six of them were arrested with supporting evidence. The Brazilian Police Force was able to trace the cases of drugs being smuggled to Portugal and France to the same group of employees, but also identified other cases of cocaine smuggling also from the airport of Guarulhos with the same modus operandi as the smuggling to Germany, nonetheless without evidence that the group had responsibility. Upon increased investigation on how the group thought and acted to smuggle drugs from Brazil to Europe, the police authorities discovered that they divided themselves into working at the airport, to observe in whose name they would send drugs to. Another subgroup simulated a check-in, but in the domestic flight part of the airport, with the actual drug-filled suitcase, but the other members of the group that worked at the airport made sure the luggage did not pass the metal detector. Continuing, the drug luggage was smuggled into the international section and then the name tag displacement process initiated. What This Means for International Security Katyna Baia and Jeanne Paolini’s illegitimate detention showed Brazilian and international defense authorities the extent to which the drug trafficking business has adopted in the present, and how this can come at the expense of innocent tourists’ rights. It also showcased how the drug business is everywhere, even hidden inside airport staff. What was perceived to be one of the most secure places in Brazil, the country’s biggest airport in the largest city in Latin America, was responsible for at least three massive 20 kilogram smuggling operations of illicit drugs. Airport authorities are shown to be keen on security checks on passengers and even in migration control, but this case shows that there is corruption from within the system as well. While being interviewed by G1 Brazil , Brazilian PM Officer Felié Faé Lavareda said (contextualized translation from Portuguese): “The link in the Guarulhos Airport to Europe (in drug trafficking) was dismantled today.” In fact, the Guarulhos Airport implemented a few measures to attempt to keep the security in the restricted areas of the airport, in which the criminal group displaced name tags and smuggled drugs, such as prohibiting cell phone usage. Nonetheless, nothing indicates strict background checks on airport employees, or a further investigation on the drug smuggling cases the PF could not trace back to the criminal group. The Guarulhos Airport communicated to CNN Brazil that the airlines, not the airports, are responsible for luggage-dealing employees and are thus supposed to be held accountable for anything relating to luggage. However, especially when it concerns tourists from your own country leaving for Europe, a shared effort between airport authorities, airlines, and even government authorities is fitting — particularly because the criminal group acted under surveillance cameras and nothing was noticed. In light of this illegitimate detention and according to CNN Brazil, Brazilian authorities aim to implement a new regulation: photographing the dispatched bags with the passenger’s respective names. The efforts from the Brazilian authorities and police to investigate Katyna Baia and Jeanne Paolini’s case is a result of disciplined work ethic and intricate scrutiny in the gathered evidence. However, taking pictures of suitcases and the passenger it belongs to barely scratches the surface of the problem. Baia and Paolini’s case surrounds the lack of surveillance in airports and the omnipresence of drug smuggling in Brazil – their experience exemplifies that further scrutiny and security measures in airports must be implemented in conjunction with airlines and national authorities.

Although, some may look at the involved parties in black and white as either heroes or traitors, it seems far more relevant to see politicians such as Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin as compromising realists.  < Back The Oslo Accords: 30 Years Later October 31, 2023 30 years ago, in 1993, the world was full of hope. A future was being drawn in which a resolution was envisionable in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Oslo I Accords were signed in September 1993, a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution to a conflict which has lasted from the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 up to this day. In the current context of the Israel-Hamas war, it seems all the more important to reflect on this event. Although, some may look at the involved parties in black and white as either heroes or traitors, it seems far more relevant to see politicians such as Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin as compromising realists. It is impossible to claim that the built-up resentment on both sides from decades of tensions and murderous wars was suddenly eradicated by envisioning the possibility of peace. Quite on the contrary – each party, the Israeli government and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), arrived with personal backgrounds and differing interests. What is crucial to take away from this, and which is still a reason for hope to this day, is that despite resentment and experiences of war, a compromise was reached. It was not perfect in anyone’s perspective, but it gave hope that the Palestinian state could finally be accepted, and gave Israel hope for further security and acceptance. To this day, the Oslo Accords are the closest that Israel and Palestine ever came to peace. In the context we are living in, both sides tend to demonize each other as terrorists and tend to reject the vision of the context which led up to the suffering that we see now. Israel’s right wing extremist government and Hamas both use this suffering in à ‘PR war’ which can know no winner. The reminder of the vision that was held by Rabin and Arafat is all the more crucial in such a context as their message was that for the region to develop peace had to prevail. The Accords came out of a backdrop of instability in the Middle East and in the wake of the First Intifada of 1987 — a series of riots by Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel against the occupation of Palestinian territory. Most importantly, the Accords came from a notion that the Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts were disastrous for the entire region’s ability to move forward into an era of progress. This conflict was seen by all sides as an ever present fear, hindering the notion of complete unity and stability in the region. Before the Gulf War, king Fahd of Saudi Arabia had referred to the conflict with Israel as a plaguing fear. At the dawn of the twenty first century, peace was no longer simply an option — it was the only way forward. A crucial outcome of this was the mutual recognition of Israel and the PLO, permitting further negotiation and opening up the doors to a future with two recognized states and an open peace process. 30 years later, the Oslo Accords are but a distant memory. In the circumstances we are living through, witnessing the violence and pain that is still a recurring vision in Israel and Palestine, it can be difficult to think that after 75 years of fighting and mutual rejection, there can be a solution. However, it is important to remember that peace processes and accords can still be found. There is more international support for peace now than ever before, and there is a real need on the ground as the current situation is creating unbearable chaos and bloodshed. The governments (from any side) may not be willing to make the steps towards peace now, but it is crucial to remember that this can change, there is nothing predestining this conflict to continue its ravages. On this note, it is important to remember that the most tragic aspect of attacks that target civilians is that those are often the same people who want peace the most and have nothing to do with policies run by Hamas or the Israeli government. As an example we can look at the concert goers and peace activists murdered and kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 whose misfortune is being used as a reason for Israeli bombing when their families express specific rejection of this.

For us, Sciences Pistes, there are endless options, often just a click away on a lazy Monday morning, when the teacher is particularly uninteresting. The flight tickets are cheap, flying is fast and time is limited. We, Sciences Pistes, are respectful, interested in different cultures and exploring the hidden gems—not just the touristy areas. < Back Trends In Tourism: Solo Travelling and Slow Tourism Ema Nevřelová March 31, 2025 Are you trying to get through the crowded streets of Menton during Fête du Citron? Or are you lying on your sofa watching Tanya McQuoid, played by Jennifer Coolidge, enjoy her peppermint tea in The White Lotus ? I’m sorry to inform you that you are one of them–a tourist. For most of us, tourism has become a regular part of our lives, and not traveling during break makes some of us twitch. Unsurprisingly, flying is cheaper, orientation in new places is more accessible, and life is always shinier in undiscovered places. And because summer is swiftly approaching, I shall lead through some of the do’s and don’ts of tourism. I recently came across an article from the BBC with a striking title: Cover up or pay a fine, Portugal's Albufeira warns . However, Albufeira is not the only destination battling mass tourism. Cities like Barcelona or Venice have also employed measures to prevent tourists from overcrowding and, in some cases, even destroying the cultural sights. Coming from Prague, which has almost eight times more tourists visiting each year than its inhabitants, I understand the frustrations. It is not just about the crowds on Charles Bridge , it is about the locals choosing to avoid certain parts of the city and losing touch with its culture, history and with one another. Not to mention, prices have skyrocketed even outside of the city center. After one gets over the initial shock of a €4 cappuccino; there comes a worst nightmare of all—tourists discovering the local hidden gems. From a personal experience, there is no worse feeling than coming back to your favorite local business, realizing an influencer featured it in their reel, and you’re no longer able to sit and enjoy your overpriced beverage. However, there is another side. For us, Sciences Pistes, there are endless options, often just a click away on a lazy Monday morning, when the teacher is particularly uninteresting. The flight tickets are cheap, flying is fast and time is limited. At some point, most people will Google how to get affordable flight tickets, setting price alerts and always look for free Fridays, as it is the most inexpensive day to travel by plane. Of course, we are not like “the other tourists.” We, Sciences Pistes, are respectful, interested in different cultures and exploring the hidden gems—not just the touristy areas. In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a shift in the way people think about tourism. It is no longer about “seeing it all” (preferably in one day and for the price of a cappuccino in Prague). On the contrary, the emerging trend—sustainable or slow tourism—pushes those who participate in it to rethink their relationship to traveling. Sustainable or slow tourism can be defined as “the development of a region’s tourism industry in such a way that it does not damage or deplete the resources that make the region attractive to tourists.” For those who are traveling, it means being more conscious about the transportation they use to get to their destination as well as choosing accommodations that are committed to reducing their emissions or learning about the local culture, respecting it and taking the proper time to explore it and immerse in it. This trend is all the more important in the face of climate change, as global tourism emissions have reached 8.8 % of total greenhouse gas emissions in the pre-pandemic year 2019. While the tourism industry has not fully recovered to its pre-pandemic levels in 2023, the UN Tourism 2024 Edition of International Tourism Highlights has suggested : “a full recovery of international arrivals in 2024, following a 96% recovery in the first seven months of 2024.” The European Union, in its attempt to fight the climate crisis, supports the trend of slow tourism. For example, they offer students a free 7-day train pass to travel Europe under the initiative of DiscoverEU . It is proposed for 18-year-olds who live in one of the EU member states or countries that are part of the Erasmus+ program, such as Turkey, Norway, etc. The next round of applications opens on April 2 and will close on April 16. The program provides young people with a great opportunity to be environmentally mindful while seeing the beauties this continent has to offer. Two years ago, I signed up and embarked on my first solo trip from Prague to Madrid. As I was roaming the quaint streets of Munich, Zurich, Geneva and Barcelona—my three stops—I realized that I had just discovered my new favorite way of traveling, even though I, figuratively speaking, was not alone. Solo traveling has been on the rise, especially for women. What most women face, at least to some extent, regardless of their wealth, is the lack of safety in many public spaces. So, traveling alone is a great step towards reclaiming women’s agency despite the dangers that not all men embody, and is an important booster of self-confidence. Yet it does not mean that women can suddenly go outside at night and not feel unsafe just because they are in another country. One of the mantras of solo female travelers with a small budget is finding information on the safety of the place they will be staying. Sometimes the research takes hours, from finding a good location for the hostel—not too crowded but not too remote—to making a list of all the quarters and places to avoid. Sadly, even that is often not a guarantee that once women arrive, they will not be facing any potential or immediate danger. On all my solo trips, I have also shared the location with my loved ones and did not go out after 10 p.m. unless I met someone trustworthy enough to go with me. That is just a fraction of what women face when they decide to travel alone. While the statistics on deaths of solo female travelers do not exist, and the dangers at times feel omnipresent, there is hope. My recent trip from Rome to Menton on a night train restored my faith in humanity, at least momentarily. As I boarded the train with all the anxious what-ifs, I saw a young man sleeping on my seat. At first, I was consumed by fear and thought of all the ways I could potentially fend him off. But after a couple of minutes of casual conversation, it turned out that despite my limited French and his restricted English, we found a common ground. I learned a lot about the Congo and he willingly listened to old Czech songs. Nonetheless, I realize not all women have good experiences with men during their travels. Solo traveling can be intimidating, and there are a lot of factors women still have to take into consideration, but personally, I still find it worth it. However, solo traveling and sustainable tourism are not the only trends predicted to rise in 2025. Booking.com , an accommodation website, predicted that there will be a rise in “noctourism,” nocturnal tourism, which is traveling to experience the beauty of the night starry sky. According to the data gathered by Booking.com , around 60% of people in the survey conducted for the website answered that they were considering visiting a location with lower light pollution. As more and more people live in the cities, the chance of seeing the sky full of stars is close to none. While some are left suffocating from the air pollution in the cities, others, in their search for “raw” experiences, paradoxically do not shy away from polluting even more. Booking.com also predicts more “self-discovery” trips, emphasizing “men-only wellness retreats.” Surely, many women would like to see more men taking care of their mental health. The question is whether they will choose a path to more vulnerability or a trip supporting misogynistic stereotypes our society cannot stop perpetuating. The first step before setting out on a journey like in Eat Pray Love style is to be mindful of the impact of our actions and dismantle the unrealistic ideas we have about traveling. As in anything in life, perfection is unattainable, but the steps to becoming a slow and/or solo tourist are not unreachable. I found balance in combining airplanes, trains and walking; learning a few sentences in the local language before visiting and reading about the culture and heritage. And when you find yourself queuing in Prague’s city center during the summer, try the part called Holešovice instead. I cannot tell you my hidden gem, but the city has a lot to offer regardless. Photo source: Roberto Trombetta on Flickr

< Back The Turbulent World of French Politics and How It Affects Me Stanimir Stoyanov French politics are notorious for being turbulent and complex, and in 2024 especially, France experienced some important shifts in its political landscape. In this context, many people, foreigners in particular, have had a difficult time grasping the political landscape of France. Be it the language barrier or the tongue-twisting, understanding what's happening in France is certainly a demanding task for newcomers. This has led me personally and many other Sciences Pistes to question what effect the current political situation will have on us. This article will present a brief overview of recent events and explain how these developments impact our lives as students at SciencesPo. I. What happened? In the second round of the 2022 French presidential election, Emanuel Macron won 58,55% of the votes against Marine Le Pen, with 41,45% . While still a victory for the current president, the election showcased a continued rise of support for the right-wing leader Marine Le Pen. The election was also marked by the lowest voter turnout ( 72% ) since 1969, raising questions about voter apathy. While political awareness in France remains high, a large part of the population has trouble identifying with politics and disregards their importance. The tensions kept rising as the status-quo was being more and more challenged by the opposition and in January 2024, France experienced severe political turmoil. The ruling government, led by then Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, didn’t have a majority in parliament, making the legislative process a tougher challenge. In January as an attempt to counter the far-right’s influence, Macron backed a controversial migration law , simplifying the deportation process and making immigration to France much more difficult for non-EU foreigners. This was followed by the resignation of Elizabeth Borne on Jan. 8. Afterwards, on Jan. 9, Macron appointed Gabriel Attal as PM and organized a cabinet reshuffle. This was all in an effort to mitigate the rise of support for the opposition ahead of the 2024 EU Elections. In June 2024, French voters headed to the polls for the European Parliament Election and showcased significant support for Le Pen’s far-right party, the National Rally ( Rassemblement National), which was the front-runner with a remarkable 31,37% . This raised doubts about Macron's authority, leading him to dismiss parliament and schedule snap elections on the 30 June and 7 July. While this move is recognized as an attempt to both consolidate support and bring the attention to the public, it can also be viewed as an unprecedented political gamble. The results of the election showcased the severe social fragmentation with no party gaining a clear majority. The current division of parties in parliament is as follows: *Data compiled from French National Assembly website https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/ , as of Sept. 13 2024. As can be seen, the National Rally party has the most seats, yet no party has a majority. Further, even when looking at possible coalitions within parliament, the main coalitions Nouveau Front Populare (left-wing), and the Ensemble (Macron endorsed) also do not have a majority to form a stable government. The right-wing parties remain divided and are not likely to form a coalition. This means that France currently has a hung parliament, making forming a stable government a formidable task. II. Who is the current French Prime Minister? Following the election in July and Gabriel Attal’s resignation, President Macron had to appoint a new Prime Minister. This was a tough choice, seeing how it needed to be a figure that can gather support from allies and opposition alike. On Sept. 5 2024, Michel Barnier from the Les Republicans party was appointed as Prime Minister. The choice was controversial and followed by backlash from the left coalition NFP, which have the most seats and advocated for their candidate Lucie Castets . In his first interview as PM , Barnier presented his stances on the current situation and promised to form a government that is not just right-wing, but also compromises with the left. He has said he will attempt forming a government in the upcoming week. Should he not gather the support of parliament, the opposition can call a vote of no confidence, where parliament can vote for removing him as PM. Barnier is particularly insistent on his tough stance on migration, following Macron’s attempts to appease the right as a response to Le Pen’s momentum gains. Macron and the Ensemble alliance have always had a more lenient view towards migration, but public opinion has made them toughen their stance. III. How are foreign students studying in France affected? The political turmoil has led to many changes in French society: economic challenges, increase of political protests and violence and a more negative lookout towards migration. The situation has also led to many strikes across France including train strikes in the Côte d'Azur region in August. Such strikes are also planned for the Fall, which raises concerns for Menton students. T he migration law that was passed in January increased requirements for acquiring a visa and made it more difficult for migrants to establish work in France. As part of drafting said law, politicians from Les Republicains, supported by the far-right, succeeded in adding an amendment concerning international students, requiring them to prove every year they are enrolled in a “real and serious programme” and to deposit a sum of money returned after their graduation. These changes were not supported by Macron and were later proven unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council. In the final draft of the law there was no mention of international students. Hitherto, political conversation on the topic has shifted far away from the matter of international students. The ongoing migration legislative efforts mainly concern migrants outside the EU and streamlining of the deportation process. Impact for students is not as severe, beside stricter requirements for visa applications for those outside the EU. Still, uncertainty reigns among students who are not sure how they are affected by the puzzling world of French politics. For now there does not seem to be any imminent danger towards the status of international students seeing how such measures are seen as too controversial and unnecessary for parties on all sides of the spectrum. IV. Final words The changes happening in France now affect our daily lives mainly when it comes to price increases and heightened social tensions. Previously I was hearing many different things, including false news about the dangers that can arise from the political turmoil and it was fairly intimidating. I believe many fellow students also relate to this feeling, but after gathering more insight into the situation, I personally am now more confident as a student in France. While there is no need for us students to fear in this current status, we must remain educated on the matter and follow up with the latest developments to be better informed about the changes happening in France. The domestic political landscape is moving rapidly and is full of unexpected twists. While it might be difficult for foreigners to adjust to it, it is valuable to be well-versed in such topics, in order to know if we are affected by them. Previous Next

< Back The French Visa Process Proves To Be Unequal for Sciences Pistes By Catarina Vita September 25, 2022 The blue of the Mediterranean peeking out of the classroom window, the strong yet nurturing smell of lemonade and kebabs, and the endless stairs unite the diverse students from Sciences Po. In the buzz of “where are you from?” and “where do you live?” since Integration Week , there is only one question left unanswered in every small talk session: “how did you get here?” On the rare occasion that this question gets explicitly asked, the usual responses range from five-hour train rides to two overnight plane trips. However, modes of transport do not adequately characterize how students really got here: bureaucracy, immigration, and, of course, visas. From Morocco to the United States, it is known that being an international student requires not only unique academic recognition and unforgettable letters of recommendation but patience and the means to navigate the bureaucracy of French immigration. Students have distinct experiences due to their origins and nationalities in the visa-clinching process. Three 1As from Australia, South Africa and Indonesia have agreed to talk anonymously about their immigration processes. When I asked the Australian student about their visa process, I heard sighs and saw an expression of distress. “Basically, I’m a Finnish citizen, so I shouldn’t have needed to get a visa in the first place. However, because my European passport has expired, I had to apply to get a visa in France.” They submitted their visa application three months before integration week, and their Australian passport was sent away with it. Yet, two weeks before they left for Menton, the visa was nowhere to be found. During these few days of disorder and stress, 300 euros were dedicated exclusively to the visa office. “I had no choice but to cancel my visa application, so I could at least retrieve back my Australian passport before I leave.” After reacquiring their passport, they crossed the world from Perth, Australia, to Paris, France, to renew their European passport. “I went through all this trouble to apply for a visa, and I couldn’t even get it at the end.” This friend and colleague, who went through the grueling Sciences Po admissions process, had an experience that highlights the notoriously unsatisfactory French immigration and bureaucratic processes. Thankfully, they are here now, but undergoing this stressful process and having 300 euros of expenses causes study-abroad-related trauma. An Indonesian English track 1A had similar horror stories during their visa quest. They forwarded me a four-page document with all the elements required to obtain a French visa. The items ranged from proof of proficiency in the French language to a CV and a motivational letter. On the first page of four, the guiding document warns, “Missing document = incomplete file = high risk of visa refusal and lengthen the visa issuance process.” One WiFi glitch while submitting the visa application or one misinterpretation of the directions in the guide would be practically synonymous with the annulment of your studies at Sciences Po. On the South African side, the immigration process was less demanding. Our interviewee, an English track 1A, described the privilege of being a South African and a Belgian citizen. “I was born in Belgium, but I’ve lived in South Africa my whole life, so my identity is enough to get to Europe at any point.” As our conversation progressed, we reflected upon how the spiraling labyrinth of becoming an international student in France is cut in half by having a European Union-approved document. Amidst my friend’s many notable reflections on this matter, one direct quote struck me the most: “That’s actually a really big problem because if I only had a South African identity, I probably wouldn’t be here right now.” My friend’s comments raised a relevant point about how privilege is not limited solely to economic resources or education. In the French visa process, certain identities are advantaged over others. Sciences Po’s Menton’s diversity imbues the city with rich stories and unprecedented experiences. Besides undergoing the sciencepiste admissions process and graduating high school with excellence — which is hard enough for a teenager — the French immigration process also needed to be confronted. For some of us, losing the battle with the visa office resulted in a denial letter; this one, not from Sciences Po, but the French government. Hopefully, raising awareness about the disparity among nationalities during the visa process will end this unequal treatment. Only then can the responses to the question “how did you get here?” merely refer to means of transportation.

Il semble important de se rendre compte que donner une presence mediatique aux organisations telles que Women Wage Peace est un premier pas crucial pour faire evoluer les termes de la discussion et rapeller qu’aucun conflit n’est purement noir et blanc. Soutenir ces associations est le seul moyen de soutenir un drapeau blanc et un futur ou les deux peuples on l’opportunite de faire le deuil ensemble. < Back Women Wage Peace: Donner une Voix à L’Espoir Anna Halpern October 31, 2024 W omen Wage Peace est le plus grand mouvement populaire pacifiste israélien. Fondée à la suite de la deuxième guerre à Gaza en 2014, l’organisation est maintenant forte de plus 44 000 membres, en majorité des mères de famille qui s’opposent à voir leurs enfants mourir dans une guerre sans fin. En 2022 il s’associe au mouvement palestinien Women of The Sun, crée en 2021. Depuis, bien qu’on ne leur donne pas le quart de l’attention médiatique qu’elles méritent, ces femmes commencent à être reconnues pour leur immense travail. En effet, Dr. Yael Admi and Reem Hajajreh, représentantes de ces deux mouvements, ont été nominées dans la liste des 100 Femmes de l'année 2024 du Times Magazine. De plus, ces deux organisations ont été nominées pour le prix Nobel de la paix de 2024, le prix Sakharov (présentées par les groupes parlementaires européens S&D et Renew Europe ) et ont reçu le Albie Award. Dans le conflit brutal qui secoue la région, avec une prolifération de haine et de violence qui peut sembler omniprésente, ces femmes représentent une lueur d’espoir que l’on se doit de mettre en avant. En effet, ces femmes ne se sont pas perdues dans des discours de vengeance et de haine après la mort de Viviane Silver—activiste israélo-canadienne et co-fondatrice de Women Wage Peace —assassinée durant les attaques du 7 Octobre 2023. Elles n’ont pas non plus cessé leur combat au long cette longue année pendant laquelle les partis extrêmes de tous côtés n’ont eu cesse de promouvoir une idéologie de haine qui semble avoir touché le monde entier. Elles n’ont jamais cessé de se battre pour un meilleur futur pour leurs deux peuples. Elles représentent une opposition bien réelle à la politique du gouvernement d'extrême droite du Premier Ministre Benjamin Netanyahu qui, depuis le 7 Octobre, est souvent tenu pour responsable de cette guerre désastreuse qui a causé tant de morts et n’a toujours pas atteint son objectif affiché de ramener les derniers otages et « détruire le hamas. » Ces femmes offrent une alternative, une vision pacifiste d’un futur où ces guerres n’auraient plus lieu d'être. Women Wage Peace agit concrètement, rencontrant des dirigeants internationaux, mobilisant des foules en Israël et à l'international et sensibilisant à la réalité du conflit. Elles ont soumis une proposition de loi au Knesset qui, si adoptée, obligerait le gouvernement à considérer toutes les options politiques avant l’utilisation de moyens armés. Elles organisent toujours des marches, des rencontres avec des experts, des veillées, et des discussions avec des personnalités politiques israéliennes. Chacun d’entre nous peut activement participer en signant l’« appel des mères » lancé en association avec Women of The Sun , mais il est encore plus important que, chacun à notre échelle, nous gardions en tête que personne ne gagne jamais vraiment dans une guerre: les deux sociétés qui en souffrent se retrouvent chaque fois plus fractures et plus endeuillée. C’est une idée simple et universelle que ces organisations s’efforcent de soutenir malgré la difficulté de se faire entendre à travers le bruit des divisions partisanes qui s’empressent d'ajouter de l’huile sur le feu. Les personnes et gouvernements à qui ce conflit tient à cœur ont donc un devoir de partager et de promulguer cette vision plutôt que de répéter des slogans et discours divisifs proférés par les membres les plus extrêmes de chaque camp. En ce qui concerne l’attention, et l’« instrumentalisation » internationale du conflit, le fils de Viviane Silver le met extrêmement bien en mots, il ne sert a rien d’« importer notre problème au lieu d’exporter des solutions. » En effet, chaque vie compte, chaque personne mérite de vivre une vie longue et heureuse, et ceci ne devrait pas être une question partisane. Chaque dirigeant, chaque activiste et chaque individu devrait pouvoir s’en rendre compte et réussir à comprendre que « la vengeance n’est pas une stratégie , » et peut choisir d’apporter son soutien et son attention aux associations telles que Women Wage Peace . Chacun peut soutenir leur « appel des mères, » demandant aux dirigeants israéliens et internationaux de soutenir une solution pacifique au conflit et de promouvoir un futur viable pour les deux peuples. Malgré tout ceci, cette organisation, et les multiples autres organisations pacifistes, anti-gouvernement et pro-dialogue restent aujourd’hui largement noyés dans un raz de marée de violence et de discours brutalement insensibles proférés par les dirigeants de tous les partis. Il n’y a pas une seule raison à ce manque d’attention médiatique et cet abandon du public international de la cause pacifiste. Néanmoins, nous pouvons souligner quelques choses que nous avons souvent pu voir au niveau personnel en tant qu'étudiants en sciences politiques, mais aussi comme toute personnes subissant les spams des réseaux sociaux et de la politique du clic. Notre besoin de simplifier tout en ‘bien’ et ‘mal’ et de se placer dans une case bien définie pour se rassurer parmi un groupe établi de ‘partisans’ sans nuance nous pousse à des positions extrêmes qui justifient de perdre de vue l'humanité de ceux en face. Il est beaucoup plus difficile et courageux de savoir prendre ses distances et se positionner dans un juste milieu ou l’on accepte d'entendre des opinions divergentes et de sacrifier un peu de sa sacro-sainte doctrine pour une vision de paix. Il semble important de se rendre compte que donner une presence mediatique aux organisations telles que Women Wage Peace est un premier pas crucial pour faire evoluer les termes de la discussion et rapeller qu’aucun conflit n’est purement noir et blanc. Soutenir ces associations est le seul moyen de soutenir un drapeau blanc et un futur ou les deux peuples on l’opportunite de faire le deuil ensemble. En effet, « la mort est impartiale et la guerre est aveugle » comme l’a dit Yonatan Zeigen dans son hommage a sa mère Viviane Silver. Ces deux peuples ont le droit de se reconstruire sans la manipulation politique et internationale dont ce conflit a souffert depuis des décennies. Pour ceux que cela intéresse, je vous redonne le lien vers la pétition en vous encourageant à la signer: L'appel des mères - Women Wage Peace .

< Back Azerbaijan Corridor Dispute Leads to Fears of Invasion By Yasmin Abbasoy November 30, 2023 Although Azerbaijan has achieved everything it could have hoped for in the long-disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, there are concerns that it may consider expanding westward into Armenian territory. With the international community in turmoil, Azerbaijan's rhetoric is becoming increasingly extreme. Key figures have warned of a possible ground invasion that could benefit Azerbaijan and its allies, especially Russia, and isolate Armenia from its only friendly neighbor. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dates back to 1923, when the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region (oblast) was separated from socialist Azerbaijan. Despite the fact that the region has always had a majority Armenian population, attempts at reunification with Soviet Armenia during the long collapse of the USSR were met with indifference by Azerbaijani and the Soviet central institutions led to widespread violence against Armenians, as illustrated by the pogroms that took place in Azerbaijani cities such as Baku and Sumqayit. In 1991, following Azerbaijan's declaration of sovereignty and efforts to strip Nagorno-Karabakh of its autonomy, an independence referendum was held in which 99 percent of the Armenian population voted to become an independent entity, the Republic of Artsakh. The referendum was boycotted by the region's Azerbaijanis, who made up 20 percent of the total population. The declaration of independence of the Republic of Artsakh led to the two-year-long First Nagorno-Karabakh War, which resulted in the Republic of Artsakh gaining de facto independence and control of the seven surrounding "buffer" districts in Azerbaijan. A diplomatic deadlock persisted for a quarter-century until 2020, when Azerbaijan, aided by Turkey and armed with Israeli drones, seized control, upsetting the geopolitical equilibrium and causing human tragedy on a massive scale. This new status-quo upset the delicate geopolitical balance in the Caucasus, providing an opportunity for Russia to further integrate itself with the fate of the region. The general perception among observers was that the war was happening solely on Russian terms. An uncharacteristic reticence to intervene diplomatically or otherwise on behalf of Armenia was seen as a reprimand to a nation which had seen increasing rapprochement with the West under the leadership of democratically elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Azerbaijan was permitted to take advantage of the situation, but only up to a certain point. Indeed, it was Russia that brokered both the ceasefire and preliminary peace deal, sidelining the OSCE Minsk Group's remaining members, the United States and France, initially tasked with finding a negotiated resolution to the conflict. Sources close to the situation reported that Azerbaijan had been presented with an ultimatum by Putin after having captured key strategic positions. Left with a choice between partial victory and Russian intervention, President Ilham Aliyev chose to stand down. Tensions persisted, however: Azerbaijan was not pleased with Artsakh Armenians retaining control over some key areas. The presence of Russian peacekeepers caused further tension, serving as a Russian foothold in the region. The following years saw escalating rhetoric and ceasefire violations, primarily by Azerbaijan. This fueled a two-day war in September which saw Azerbaijani forces gain control of strategic locations deep within Armenia, leading to the displacement of over 7,000 civilians. On the heels of this offensive, Azerbaijan orchestrated a shutdown of the Lachin corridor, the only link connecting mainland Armenia to Artsakh and thus playing the role of a lifeline for the population of Artsakh. The corridor was blocked first by state-backed environmentalist groups under the guise of protesting against potential ecocide. Later, members of state-supported Non-governmental Organizations, disguised servicemen, and civil servants would also join the blockade. The Azerbaijani authorities also tampered with civilian infrastructure in order to restrict the access of civilians in Artsakh to water and electricity. The blockade quickly precipitated a humanitarian disaster, being referred to as a ‘siege’ by media sources. All traffic was restricted, including the normal flow of products, aid convoys and vehicles of international organizations such as the Red Cross. September 2023, the ninth month of the blockade, saw Azerbaijan launch an offensive framed as an anti-terror operation, seizing additional territory. A swift ceasefire mediated by Russian peacekeeping forces was followed by a negotiated peace deal, which saw the capitulation of the vanquished Artsakh armed forces and the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh, to be effective on Jan. 1, 2024. This new status-quo led to the flight of the region’s 120,000 Armenian civilians, thus succeeding in a total ethnic cleansing of the enclave. Although the status of Nagorno-Karabakh appeared to have been resolved on Azerbaijan’s terms, one territorial issue lingered, and it had the potential to be the most crucial of all. Aliyev had, since the 2020 war, proposed a transport corridor that would cut through a strip of Armenian land, known as the province of Syunik, which separated Azerbaijan from its autonomous republic, Nakhchivan, which shares a border with Turkey. The proposal theoretically aimed to provide unimpeded transportation from Azerbaijan to Turkey, with the added benefit of pan-Turkic innuendo, suggesting that a land connection between the two Turkic countries would be established. The corridor would end a mutual blockade imposed by Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1989. While the opening of all Soviet-era transport links, including a railway that took the same path as the proposed corridor, was indeed a part of the peace agreement, Aliyev’s corridor was deemed by Armenia to be something completely different, and not within the scope of the agreement which foresaw no transfer of land whatsoever. However, President Aliyev's continued insistence on implementing the Zangezur Corridor, coupled with an escalating rhetoric of irredentist claims on the Republic of Armenia through the notion of “Western Azerbaijan,” which referred to all of Armenia proper, amplified concerns. Ongoing construction in newly occupied areas linked to the corridor, along with a new cycle of joint exercises with the Turkish military in commemoration of the hundredth year of the Turkish Republic, added another layer of complexity to the already tense geopolitical situation. In the aftermath of the Azerbaijani offensive, Armenia had responded by ratifying the Rome Treaty and joining the International Criminal Court, where Putin is wanted for war crimes. Although Armenia officially stated that these measures were undertaken for additional guarantees in response to the recent bout of aggression, they were popularly interpreted as a reaction to Russia's sluggish response to the offensive. The lack of a robust reaction by Russian peacekeeping forces and a noticeable strain in relations with Russia further pushed Armenia into strategic realignment. Armenia has exhibited signs of drifting further Westwards, marked by a reconfiguration of relations with Russia and Iran and a more significant military alignment with the EU (evidenced by a new weapons deal with France). Russia, seeking to maintain regional influence, would support the Zangezur Corridor it could potentially control. The corridor would hold strategic importance as Russia would most probably play the role of a guarantor, a situation allowing the deployment of Russian troops in a crucial location close to Iran. This move would further solidify Russia's influence in non-NATO territory, permanently cementing its geopolitical footprint in the Caucasus. Meanwhile, Tehran has vehemently opposed the Zangezur Corridor concept, warning against any alterations to regional borders or the establishment of what it perceives as a "pan-Turkic" or "NATO" corridor along its northern frontier. The U.S. position, however, is more ambiguous. Politico reported that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had privately warned policymakers of an impending invasion of Armenia, though these claims were quickly denied in a statement by the Department of State, which also affirmed U.S. support for Armenia’s territorial integrity. Was this delicate maneuver an attempt to conceal a sincere estimation of a potential threat with a denial, aiming for a more subdued policy? Or was it rather a reflection of the ambiguous policy relating to the Caucasus at a time when the international community was preoccupied with other crises? As tensions persist with no established plan forward, the prospects of the Zangezur corridor remain uncertain. While the intricate power struggles that dominate the Caucasus could see Aliyev swing either way as he balances the costs and benefits of an invasion, there is no doubt that this corridor amounts to more than just a physical route. As Azerbaijan persistently pushes its irredentist agenda and constructs a narrative around the corridor, it has become a flashpoint that could radically alter the regional balance of power and cause violent geopolitical alterations in the region. The Zangezur Corridor and the inevitable invasion required to establish it remain as important factors shaping the immediate future of the South Caucasus and the powers that are intertwined within it.

As we conclude our conversation with Director Youssef Halaoua, his journey highlights an important reminder. We should cherish our time in Menton, appreciating its unique charm, and seizing each fleeting moment with zeal. < Back Unveiling Horizons: A Candid Conversation with Our Director By Maria Eirini Liodi October 31, 2023 What better way to bridge the gap between administration and students than getting to know our new Director Youssef Halaoua a little better? Sitting with Mr Halaoua, the conversation opens with a glimpse into his formative years. “Growing up my favourite hobbies were cooking, reading, and sports.” Whilst it was easy to see how the sports honed his confident tone and leadership skills, how does cooking influence one’s path toward a political sciences degree? “I discovered that working in that industry is really difficult work.” In wanting to pursue his passion for cooking Mr Halaoua was faced with the raw realities hidden behind the youthful idealization of professions, something significant in urging him to consider other interests that he could follow professionally to maintain equilibrium with his passions. As a young boy, Mr. Halaoua was also an avid reader, gaining a critical understanding of world politics through the transformative tales of the Mafalda comics by cartoonist Quino, “I loved Spanish when I was younger due to these comics (…) I think my political sense came from Mafalda.” Another notable read that kindled our Director’s interest in politics was Alexander Dumas, ‘Le Comte de Monte Cristo,’ a tale underscoring the enduring struggle for justice and the moral complexities inherent in seeking retribution within a deeply flawed socio-political framework. Finding himself as a student in Menton in 2006, just a year after the opening of the campus, he grounded himself in a new reality. Coming from the suburbs of Paris with little international exposure prior to university, the melting pot of cultures defining our small campus of Menton was unrivalled for Mr Halaoua, as I know is the case for many of us arriving here this year. Merely from the exposure to students from all over the world and world-class professors like Marc Lazar, he described his experience simply as: “In Menton the world came to me.” “I remember thinking, what would be a dream first job for me? What would I remember for my whole life?” Turning to a story of dauntlessness, after six years in Sciences Po, three years dedicated to becoming a civil servant, and failure after failure to do so, Mr. Halaoua found himself at a personal and professional slough. However, this proved to be a pivotal moment. Despite the disheartening experience of multiple setbacks, he built resilience and took on his future with hard work and determination. So, at 7 p.m. on a Friday, out of a cloud of confusion, arose the opportunity to apply to the Parisian Olympic Candidacy committee. This was also accompanied by a unique set of challenges – tireless research, emails, letters and attempts for meetings, only to be faced with silence. With a mindset of ‘nothing to lose’ and strong-will, Mr. Halaoua posted a video on YouTube boldly delineating the reasons he should be considered to join the committee. After months of no response, this unprecedented move beckoned a call the next day. Subsequently, Mr. Halaoua found himself in Lima as one of the seven speakers at the official conference for the commencement of the planning for the Olympic 2024 games. An awe-inspiring story of ambition – check out the videos to see for yourselves! Coming to the present, how does our Director contextualize his own prior experiences in Menton to bolster his abilities in his current post? Going beyond that, does he believe Menton is a good location for a campus at all? “Firstly and most importantly I understand that students’ time in Menton is short.” As a transient ‘in-between’ given our maximum of two-years on this campus, amidst Mr Halaoua’s priorities is the happiness of the people of Menton — the staff and the students, but also the broader Menton community, through integration events, celebration of the arts and promotion of sports. Here I mentioned the common-held complaint amidst Menton students of the restrictive nature of our small town, and to that Mr. Halaoua agreed – “yes, Menton is small, far from Paris, but it is only the beginning. Enjoy what this town has to give you, not what it doesn’t.” Menton is incomparable to any other place due to the small delights it gives us — a multicultural experience, beautiful scenery, ease of movement to incredibly scenic places near us. “Maximize what can get here and not in Paris, because before you know it you’ll be in Paris and dealing with the very different but very real problems existing there, like three hours of commuting daily, as opposed to 20 minutes!” So, the bottom-line is let’s appreciate the smallness of Menton, the 5-10 minute walks to campus, the night-swims, the bumping-into-one-another-wherever-we-go because before we know it we’ll all be somewhere else! Us Sciences Pistes are fuelled by our passions for politics, society, economics, all as tools to understand and navigate the world better. Amidst the cornucopia of knowledge and experiences we garner in our two years here, Mr. Halaoua advises that we maintain our humility when going into our internships/years abroad and later when transitioning into the workforce. “Working in an embassy in my year abroad and then later in my work with the Olympic Committee, I was met with the saying ‘the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know’. Essentially a reminder of the fact that humility must be at the basis of our actions.” Concurrently, in transitioning into the workplace one should remain curious and perseverant — “stay open to new experiences, meeting people and be prepared to face bad news.” As for the challenges of navigating one’s orientation during and following their studies, our Director outlined the idea of opportunity cost – “the things you are missing out on today are not necessarily excluding you from anything in the future.” Finally, to get a more personal insight into who our Director is, what is his greatest strength/weakness and his favorite pastime activity? As hinted through Mr Halaoua’s reading interests growing up, curiosity is at the basis of his being, prompting him to seek knowledge at every cross-road he finds himself in. However, there is a flip-side that often comes with a great openness and passion for learning, “I get too personally invested in matters sometimes and get easily disappointed — as when your student leaders came to me with lists of complaints, I was happy to listen yet couldn’t help but be disappointed with how many things need be improved. As for a favorite hobby, travelling ranks highest in Mr Halaoua’s interests. “I love travelling. If I were to die tomorrow, Istanbul would be the place to go.” Bridging his love of food, culture and history, Istanbul holds a precious place in Mr Halaoua’s heart. As for his upcoming adventure, Torino is on the horizon! As we conclude our conversation with Director Youssef Halaoua, his journey highlights an important reminder. We should cherish our time in Menton, appreciating its unique charm, and seizing each fleeting moment with zeal. Simultaneously, his story inspires the balance of humility on our ambitious journeys, remembering to be receptive to life’s boundless lessons in our enduring pursuit of knowledge.

La COP 28 de Dubaï, censée tirer un premier bilan mondial de l’action climatique, n’en sera que plus décevante et alarmante tant l'absence de ces mêmes actions est frappante. < Back COP 27 ou Déception n°27 By Environnementon Guest Writer December 31, 2022 « Les COP sont un peu des machines à décevoir » déclarait François Gemenne scientifique, chercheur, membre du GIEC et professeur dans notre cher institut, à l’issue de la vingt-septième Conference Of Parties le 20 novembre. Une fois de plus, les 197 parties signataires de la CCNUCC se sont réunies dans l‘objectif de renforcer leurs engagements afin de lutter contre le réchauffement climatique.Ils se sont contentées, une fois de plus, du minimum demandé. Certes, un accord « historique » a été signé. Gemenne le souligne lui-même. Certes, la mise en place d’un fond pour compenser les « pertes et préjudices » , soit les dégâts irréversibles causés par les pays du Nord, est une victoire indéniable pour les pays les plus vulnérables. Certes, les pays industrialisés, les pollueurs historiques, reconnaissent enfin leur responsabilité et leur devoir d’indemnisation des dégâts. Certes. Des années de revendications de la part des pays les moins industrialisé s sont ainsi actées sur papier et, bien que seul le contenant en soit établi, cet accord est historique : une justice climatique ressort de Sharm El-Sheikh. Pour rappel, les zones les plus exposées au changement climatique sont également les moins responsables de ce même changement, à l’image du continent africain, responsable de moins de 4% des émissions mondiales de GES et continent le plus à risque selon le GIEC. Mais, et il est nécessaire de le préciser, cet accord n’est qu'un contenant. Laurent Fabius, président du Conseil constitutionnel et président de la COP 21, nuance ainsi la réussite de Sharm El-Sheikh : « Si on est honnêtes, on doit remarquer qu’on ne connaît ni le montant, ni les bénéficiaires, ni ceux qui vont payer » . Le texte de l’accord n’apporte donc pas de précisions sur ces sujets, qui devront attendre d’être déterminés par un comité spécial d’ici à la COP 28. Cela constitue tout du moins une avancée. L’échec qui ressort de Sharm El-Sheikh ne vient pas de là. Notre déception découle de l’ incapacité à produire une avancée véritable sur la question de la réduction de gaz à effet de serre, principal danger auquel l’humanité doit faire face et supposé objectif de ces conférences. Depuis 2015 et l’accord de Paris, avec son aspiration à parvenir à un monde climatiquement neutre d'ici le milieu du siècle, aucune avancée concrète ne s’opère. Le refus de reprendre la discussion sur la sortie des énergies fossiles, apparue à Glasgow en 2021, témoigne une nouvelle fois du poids des lobbies des entreprises fossiles. Le présent que ces derniers défendent est, de fait, plus attractif que les efforts colossaux qu’il faudra déployer en vue de garantir un futur stable. L’objectif de 1,5°C de Paris, quasiment impossible à l’heure actuelle pour Gemenne, s’éloigne davantage à chaque COP, présentée chaque année comme celle de la dernière chance. L'absence de référence à la COP 15 biodiversité tenue à la mi-décembre, quelques semaines après Sharm El-Sheikh, constitue un autre signal désastreux. La question de la biodiversité, pourtant étroitement liée à celle du climat, a été, une nouvelle fois, malencontreusement « oubliée » . Les déceptions sont ainsi nombreuses à l’issue de cette COP, notamment de la part des hauts dirigeants. Contrairement au président de la conférence, Sameh Choukri, qui déclare « nous avons finalement rempli notre mission » , déclaration déroutante au vu du manque de progrès, l’UE, le secrétaire général de l’ONU, Antonio Guterres, ou encore la France se disent déçus de cette COP et de son manque d’ambition. L’accord final qui en ressort n’appelle ainsi qu’à une réduction « rapide » des émissions, sans grande précision sur cette rapidité et sans nouvelles mesures pour aller en ce sens. La COP 28 de Dubaï, censée tirer un premier bilan mondial de l’action climatique, n’en sera que plus décevante et alarmante tant l'absence de ces mêmes actions est frappante.

Although the human rights violations in Qatar and its threat to the environment are alarming, it is of the utmost importance that one approaches the situation holistically. Forced labor, environmental threats and the kafala system gained attention due to World Cup boycott conversations. While the tournament has already occurred, it is paramount to not discard these issues in future discourse. < Back Analyzing the Morality of the World Cup: Boycotts, Forced Labor and Human Rights By Catarina Vita December 31, 2022 Every four years, not only do football fans from all around the globe gather to watch the sport but so does most of the world’s population. FIFA, the International Federation of Football Association, is responsible for the World Cup and decided to host the 2022 games in Qatar. Appalled by the workers’ rights violations and the imminent climate crisis in Qatar, a portion of the World Cup audience considered boycotting the tournament. However, counterarguments arose: the consideration of a boycott only popularized when the World Cup was located in the Middle East, and Qatar’s longstanding history of poor labor rights makes the timing of the boycott hypocritical. With increased international knowledge of Qatar’s recently abolished kafala system, alongside continued worker maltreatment in the country, potential World Cup spectators considered not watching the tournament at all. The kafala system, by definition, is a labor system connecting foreign workers to a local employer with no relation to labor ministries. As a result, workers have no rights, and many complain about a lack of breaks and overwhelmingly long working hours. Despite the Qatari government’s 2016 termination of the system, Amnesty International reports that the reform was “inadequate” and still allowed foreign workers to be exploited by their bosses. Furthermore, it is also argued that Qatar did not have the proper infrastructure for the World Cup. The high mortality rate among immigrants was due to the fast-paced manual labor of building stadiums. The climate crisis in Qatar also made the choice of country subject to criticism. Due to the ever-rising temperature in the country, even during the fall season in November and December, the government installed air conditioners inside seven of eight football stadiums. The total Qatar World Cup carbon emissions predicted were upwards of 3.6 million tons, while the tournament in Brazil and Russia had an estimated two million tons emitted. Some perceive the boycott to be either ineffective or contradictory. Although FIFA was involved in an extensive corruption scandal throughout the 2010s, the other World Cups were still watched and appreciated. Moreover, human rights violations in other World Cup host countries, such as massive corruption and torture in Brazil and anti-LGBTQIA+ stances in Russia, did not incur such international resistance. Qatar was the first Middle Eastern nation to host a World Cup, and the fact that only then did boycott ideas surface raises questions about the general perceptions of Middle Eastern countries. Although the human rights violations in Qatar and threats to the environment are alarming, it is of the utmost importance that one approaches the situation holistically. Forced labor and the kafala system gained attention due to boycott conversations. While the World Cup has already occurred, it is paramount not to discard these issues in future discourse. The worsening climate crisis and human rights violations are not limited to one country in the Global South; as these conversations arose because of the World Cup, it is vital to research and raise awareness about them on a global scale.

Until now, Kurdish voters have gritted their teeth and arguably voted against their best interest for the sake of democracy, and it seems that we must now imagine a world where they do not. < Back In The Lead-Up to Local Elections, Istanbul’s Kurdish Voters in Spotlight By Yasmin Abbasoy March 30, 2024 The 2019 elections were an undisputed success for a weary Turkish opposition. On a late-night political talk show of the sort that is omnipresent in a pre-election Turkey, then-leader of the main opposition Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu received nothing but laughter from the moderator when stating his party’s goals for the campaign. Listing the names of coveted provinces including the capital, Ankara, and the city that is arguably the heart of Turkey, Istanbul, he went on to state that the opposition would “be taking all of these places.” Despite the laughter and the ridicule he later received online, he was proven right by a prodigious result in the elections; the opposition alliance emerged having wrested away from the governing Justice and Development Party, and its People’s Alliance, the metropolitan municipalities of five additional provinces, among which were Ankara and, crucially, Istanbul. In Ankara, main opposition Republican People’s Party candidate Mansur Yavaş prevailed over longtime member of the President’s inner circle and current minister Mehmet Özhaseki relatively uncontroversially. His past as a member of the ultranationalist alliance partner of the government, the Nationalist Movement Party, was much-discussed but seemed to have little bearing on final vote totals. In Istanbul, whose mayorship carries unparalleled pragmatic and symbolic value, the race was much more fraught. As the largest city in Turkey in terms of population and industry, Istanbul is valuable for its rent-generating properties. Its status as the cultural capital and beating heart of the country has however transformed it into the nucleus of Turkish politics. President Erdoğan started his political career as the mayor of Istanbul in 2001, and engraved this path into the collective public consciousness with his often quoted phrase: “Whoever takes Istanbul takes Turkey.” The opposition candidate, Ekrem Imamoğlu, was at the time the mayor of a small western district of Istanbul. He emerged as the underdog, supported solely by Kılıçdaroğlu over other candidates which were more prominent in the public eye. He emerged mostly unscathed despite a state-supported campaign which saw him accused of everything from being a “crypto-Greek',”a fifth columnist opposed to Turkish national interests, to a supporter of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party. This was a true trial by fire for a candidate who constructed his persona on tolerance and pacifism as encapsulated by his slogan, “Everything will be alright.” Imamoğlu won the first round of the election with a margin of 14,000 votes, though the results were contested by the governing coalition and later annulled by the supposedly-impartial Supreme Election Council. This proved to be a strategic mistake on the part of President Erdoğan, as Imamoğlu increased his margin of victory to over 800,000 votes to lead the opposition to its most significant victory in decades. On the heels of this triumph, widely interpreted as the first blow to Erdoğan’s two-decade regime, the opposition coalition was optimistic heading into general elections in 2023. Hopes were dashed, however, when alliance parties were unable to decide on a unity candidate. The nationalist Good Party pushed for Imamoğlu, but was opposed by the main opposition, who cited a pending criminal case filed against him by the government, which would render him unelectable if he lost. Party chairman Kılıçdaroğlu was ultimately chosen as the candidate, upon which the Good Party announced a withdrawal from the alliance, setting off a cascade of meetings and backroom talks which saw crisis averted but the deep fractures in the alliance laid bare. A campaign that had already been launched on the back foot failed to sway nationalist and islamist voters and further failed to retain the Kurdish vote. A disappointing finish in the first round saw the alliance pivot sharply to the right and campaign on the lowest common denominator in Turkish politics: sending Syrian refugees back to Syria. There was a hasty attempt to establish ties with the far-right ultranationalist Victory Party, whose chairman Ümit Özdağ has been credited with mainstreaming the idea of sending refugees ‘home’ in buses involuntarily. Local media reported that Özdağ, who was courted by both the opposition and the government, had been offered a significant ministerial position from the opposition–a red line for the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party — who was not officially a part of the alliance but had been promised support on key issues. Shockingly, after this large-scale compromise of principles, Özdağ elected to support the government party instead. In the aftermath, Erdoğan won the second round with a comfortable margin of around 2 million votes. In a way, it has always been Kurdish voters who have decided the fate of the opposition. In 2019, the People’s Democratic Party broke with tradition and did not field a candidate in Istanbul, despite not being party to a formal alliance. During the campaigning stage for the second round of elections, Abdullah Öcalan, the former leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party who has been jailed since 1999, released a letter urging Kurdish voters not to unite under the banner of the opposition alliance. The coverage this letter received on pro-government news channels and discussion panels was no coincidence. When Kurdish voters coalesced around Imamoğlu, it was what won him the election. In 2023, pro-Kurdish parties again chose not to field candidates and to support the opposition alliance for informal guarantees. In return, however, they found an opposition that was perfectly willing to take their votes for granted all while attempting to form alliances with violent racists. This was yet another datapoint in an ongoing pattern for an opposition which sees Kurds as ‘vote depositories,’ according to senior party officials. Most direfully, the main opposition has consistently displayed a chilling disregard for what was and continues to be potentially the most salient issue in the Kurdish political space: the appointment of ‘trustees’ in the place of elected officials to 48 People’s Democratic Party municipalities since 2019. This practice, which has been referred to as a ‘coup on local democracy’ by party officials and the Council of Europe, has failed to draw overt condemnation from the main opposition. The opposition alliance broke apart almost immediately after the general elections. The main opposition replaced its chairman for the young(er) and allegedly more charismatic Özgür Özel, who inherited a party that had alienated most of its allies. The People’s Democratic Party, on the other hand, faced pressure from their base to drop the quasi-alliance strategy, especially in the light of an ongoing criminal case over tenuous links to terrorist organizations that could lead to the closure of the party. Party leaders admitted their strategy had not worked, and expressed their intention to run candidates in all big cities in the 2024 elections. The 2024 local elections will see Imamoğlu defend his position against Murat Kurum, an unremarkable man most notable for his role in rebuilding efforts after the devastating earthquakes of 2023 as the Minister for Forestry, Urbanism, and Climate Change. For Imamoğlu, a victory is essential to establish himself as a viable future presidential candidate, an opportunity for which he has already been passed over once. The field of candidates is a wide one — almost every single political party has at least one candidate in the running. The People’s Democratic Party, for their part, have put forward their co-leaders under the banner of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, a joint venture with the left-leaning Green Left Party. Polling figures show that the overwhelming majority of People’s Democratic Party voters who voted for Imamoğlu in the previous election would vote for their own candidate in 2024. In this scenario, the margin of difference between Imamoğlu and Kurum would be a mere two percent. It is these dynamics which will determine the result that comes out of the Istanbul elections. Like so many other elections in Turkey, what really matters here is not promises or ideological notions. This election is being played out in the past, as a response to two decades of betrayal from the main opposition. Until now, Kurdish voters have gritted their teeth and arguably voted against their best interest for the sake of democracy, and it seems that we must now imagine a world where they do not.

In the digital age, the responsibility of verifying and trusting information falls on us, the users. While content under the branding of Save Europe might not be falsified, it is deliberately presented with emotional imagery, evocative music and slogans—blurring the line between political activism and propaganda. < Back Who is “Saving” Europe? Stanimir Stoyanov March 31, 2025 Loud electronic music, vibrant landscapes and the statue of a stern man. These are the ingredients used to produce a social media-driven movement with political undertones now growing in popularity. If you have browsed social media recently, it is possible that you have encountered one of these short videos promoting traditional European values while opposing migration and progressive views on gender and sexuality. Coinciding with the recent rise of the right in European politics, this movement appeals to social media users by inciting a sense of doom and urgency to “Save Europe.” It all started with music. In May 2024, a video went viral, depicting people in Germany chanting “foreigners out” and “Germany is for Germans” to the song “L’Amour Toujours” by Gigi D’Agostino. Following this incident, the song was used at demonstrations and by Nazi sympathisers, replacing the lyrics with the above slogan, which was also used by Hitler. This led to significant backlash, ultimately resulting in its ban at the 2024 Oktoberfest celebrations. The song itself is about the artist’s love towards his wife, but coupled with other disco hits, it can be found in music playlists using the slogan “Save Europe.” The most popular music compilations are called “Aryan Classics” or something similar and they remain widely available on streaming platforms such as YouTube and Spotify. Continuing in this vein, 2024 saw the rise of short-form content using these songs on platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram. The average video juxtaposes clips involving historical European landmarks, nationalist symbols and modern-day street scenes, with footage of protests, immigration or urban unrest. The combination of nostalgic imagery with urgent messaging aims to evoke a sense of loss, framing contemporary societal changes as an existential crisis for European identity. These videos are often structured in a way that maximizes engagement—quick cuts, dramatic text overlays and emotional music. The messaging varies, with some videos calling for cultural revival and others pushing conspiracy-led narratives about demographic change. What can be noticed is a rebranding of nationalistic ideologies under the guise of social media culture. By blurring the line between meme culture and political activism, the visual and musical style of the short-form content makes it more accessible to mainstream audiences, especially younger viewers. The icon of this movement is the bust of a muscular male figure supposed to invoke a feeling of strength and resilience. The statue “ La Force ” is by the artist Arno Breker, who was a Hitler-appointed official sculptor for the Nazi regime in Germany. Breker’s work, heavily influenced by totalitarian aesthetics, was designed to showcase national pride and a rigid sense of cultural identity. Its prevalence in Save Europe content is no coincidence, as it aligns with the movement’s broader theme of rejecting a perceived societal decline. The clips used often depict immigrants in a negative light, aiming to incite fear of a cultural takeover and impending doom. By painting Europe as being in crisis, the movement fosters a narrative of salvation from decline in order to bring Europe back to a “golden age” through images of nature and grand architectural marvels. What makes the movement especially alluring to audiences is the fact that it feeds not only on xenophobic narratives, but also on actual current socio-political discourse. Save Europe claims to expose acts of social deviance committed by individuals. In doing this, it often portrays groups of people in a negative light, aimed at bringing up fear and even hatred on a racial and religious basis. The rise of Save Europe coincides with a turbulent European political landscape. The increasing number of people supporting the far-right signals a shift in the continent’s political landscape, and Save Europe is actively contributing to it. It is both reiterating existing rhetoric but also introducing it to new audiences. While the movement itself cannot be directly linked to any political party, its message is one of the most hotly debated in recent EU politics. Days before the German election, the eventual winner of the election, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), collaborated with the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) to pass migration policies, highlighting concerns that mainstream parties are legitimizing extremist positions on immigration. An interesting recent development is the introduction of new rhetoric surrounding Save Europe. Instead of talking solely about migration and social policies, a lot of recent clips under the tag have been connected to the effort of European Union rearmament, using the quote “ReArm Europe,” in conjunction with the recent change in U.S. foreign policy regarding the EU. It seems the movement is evolving to the narrative of Europe standing alone, with clips ranging from portrayals of Europe as a lone soldier to calling for the federalization of the EU. With clips following the same format popping up in support of European rearmament, this could be considered as an adaptation of the movement to current political narratives, in turn making it more appealing to general audiences. At the same time, it could be a sign that other movements, such as ReArm Europe, are beginning to use the platform SaveEurope has created to spread their narratives through social media. While Save Europe and other such movements are gaining traction, the platforms they use have not taken an official stance towards them. A large number of the accounts using phrases like “Save Europe” are short-lived, as they often face restrictions or bans for posting inappropriate content. However, new accounts with these names are being created all the time. At the beginning of 2025, Meta, owner of platforms Instagram and Facebook, even loosened its fact-checking and content monitoring policies. This change has allowed for a more unrestricted flow of information, opening the gates for misinformation, a prime tool for manipulating opinions. In the digital age, the responsibility of verifying and trusting information falls on us, the users. While content under the branding of Save Europe might not be falsified, it is deliberately presented with emotional imagery, evocative music and slogans—blurring the line between political activism and propaganda. If you haven’t personally been exposed to Save Europe content, keep in mind that it is not the only politically charged content online. Even the simplest online meme can influence us, sometimes unconsciously. As this movement gains traction, its influence on public discourse and electoral politics remains uncertain. Whether it fizzles out as just another viral trend or evolves into a significant force in this rebirth of European nationalism depends on how political actors, social media platforms, and, most importantly, we, the public, respond to it. Photo source: Matthias Berg on Flickr