Music has a strange sort of power; it can outlive the moments it was originally made for. You’ll Never Walk Alone has transcended Liverpool. Celtic fans sing it in Scotland, as well as Dortmund fans in Germany. It’s been sung in times of crisis—after terrorist attacks, during the pandemic and other acts of remembrance. But it will forever belong to Hillsborough first. It is sacred in the way a national anthem can become sacred, or a funeral hymn. You’ll Never Walk Alone began as a ballad of hope and then a cry for justice.  < Back Singing through Grief – Collective Memory through Music Rebecca Canton April 30, 2025 “Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart / And you’ll never walk alone.” Such words, sung by thousands in harmony at Anfield, the home of Liverpool Football Club, and beyond, are more than just lyrics—they are a cultural memory, a form of resistance and a promise of togetherness. Football, especially concerning fans, can be described as tribal—rooted in geography, loyalty and collective passion. Alongside this, it is also inherently musical. From the cacophony of chants of a favorite player on the stands to the quiet suspense before a penalty, football culture is a sonic landscape. These sounds create a unified identity, binding thousands of strangers into one voice. In this way, football matches resemble a form of ritual: they are repetitive, emotionally charged and have deep symbols. When tragedy strikes, it is often such rituals that remain. Nowhere can these concepts be felt more than in the context of the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, a tragedy that undoubtedly changed football but also transformed grief into music and then identity. In the wake of loss, one of the world’s greatest football anthems— You’ll Never Walk Alone— became something altogether more potent. As a Liverpool fan, Hillsborough, or the Hillsborough Disaster of Apr. 15, 1989, is the darkest day in our club’s history. Forget the infamous Steven Gerrard ‘slip’ of 2014, or the 2022 Champions League Final, Hillsborough overshadows even the most notorious incidents. Four years after the Heysel Stadium disaster, where 39 fans died in a collapse following clashes between Liverpool and Juventus supporters, another tragedy struck. On Apr. 15, 1989, 97 people died in a crowd crush at Hillsborough Stadium during an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest—94 on the day, with the death toll later rising to 97 by 2021 due to related complications. These people died because of a lack of stadium control. 97 died because of police errors, not because of the fans. Yet what followed the disaster was not just heartbreak, but injustice. In the days following, fans and victims were smeared by the press. The infamous The Sun article — ‘ the Scum ’ or ‘the S*n’ if you’re from Merseyside—‘ The Truth’ accused the dead of looting, drunkenness and even urinating on police officers. Such allegations were not just lies, but acts of systemic violence, designed to discredit the grieving and shift the blame away from the authorities, who let down the very people they were meant to protect. Despite such a tragedy, Liverpool didn’t stay silent. Instead, it sang. You’ll Never Walk Alone didn’t originate from Hillsborough—it’s actually from a show tune from the 1945 musical Carousel by Rodgers and Hammerstein. It was later covered by the Liverpool band Gerry and the Pacemakers in the 1960s. Before Hillsborough, it had already been adopted by Liverpool fans, yet in the wake of such a profound loss, it became something else—an anthem not just of loyalty, but of mourning. Of protest, and of survival. Singing You’ll Never Walk Alone for Liverpool fans became much more than tradition. It became an act of resistance. In a society that refused to believe they were wronged, Liverpool fans created a sound that couldn’t be ignored. Singing became a way to grieve together, but also a refusal to forget the injustices imposed upon them. There’s a sort of rhythm to football, both on and off the pitch. Whether through home and away fixtures, the same 36 matches each year, or the Saturday rituals. The same pubs, scarves, the same voices raised in unison. Football is, in many ways, religious. Stadiums become cathedrals. Chants become prayers. And at Anfield, the home of Liverpool, You’ll Never Walk Alone transformed into something more than a hymn—it became sacred. It’s undeniable that when you bring 50,000 voices together, it’s euphoric, but what gives the song its power isn’t just its melody, but the words . “When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high…” In the aftermath of Hillsborough, these lyrics no longer were a metaphor, but an instruction and reminder to walk on, even through grief. The storm was the disrespect, the interviews, even by famous figures like Wayne Rooney, blaming Liverpool fans for the deaths of their own. Likewise, “though your dreams be tossed and blown” such words speak to what was lost—the lives, the futures, the hopes and dreams of the 97. “Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart” is a rousing call for togetherness and thousands promise that “you’ll never walk alone.” There’s a phrase often heard in Liverpool: Scouse, not English. To outsiders, it perhaps sounds exaggerated, or even cheeky. Yet it's more than regional pride—it’s defiance, a declaration of cultural independence. As someone who isn’t Scouse, I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand what it truly means to be Scouse— that is with a capital S. The phrase captures it better than anything else could: Scouse, not English. It reflects a deep-rooted identity in politics, pride and pain. Liverpool, as a city and as an identity, has long stood apart from the rest of England. With its Irish heritage and history as a working-class port city, alongside its long-term loyalty to the Labour party, the city has often been distant from Westminster, especially under Margaret Thatcher. During the 1980s, under Thatcher’s Conservative government, Liverpool was treated not only with neglect but also hostility. Deindustrialisation ravaged the city, reducing jobs and futures. Later disclosed cabinet documents showed government ministers even considered a policy of “managed decline”—effectively letting the city fall apart rather than supporting it. Any sort of neglect Liverpool suffered was not accidental, but a deliberate attempt to reduce Merseyside’s livelihood. In the face of this decline, rising unemployment, social unrest and the 1981 Toxteth riots, Thatcher’s response only increased policing and blame. Liverpool, already proud and politically stimulated, became vilified in the press as angry, dangerous and self-pitying. To be Scouse was to be othered—culturally, economically and politically. Thus, when Hillsborough occurred, and the government chose to ignore the victims, it wasn’t a shock but a confirmation. When Thatcher visited, she sided with the South Yorkshire police. When The Sun printed lies, the state stayed silent. Normally, in tragedy, people would be allowed to mourn their dead, yet Scousers were forced to defend their character instead. As such, Hillsborough is more than a tragedy for Liverpool. Instead, it's a culmination of years of being ignored and misunderstood. It’s why the song You’ll Never Walk Alone cannot be reduced to just a song of grief. It’s an anthem, a refusal to be erased, a declaration that Scousers will not be ignored. It took 23 years for an official apology. In 2012, the Hillsborough Independent Panel released a report confirming what had always been known. The police were to blame, the victims were innocent. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, issued a formal apology in Parliament. Yet apologies mean nothing and Liverpool does not forget, with the S*n being banned in all of Merseyside. This does not take back the suffering inflicted, and justice is never simple. Trials have dragged on with little to no resolution, and no senior police officers have been convicted. Despite this lack of accountability, Liverpool has stayed strong, and You’ll Never Walk Alone has continued to be sung. Every year on the anniversary, Anfield falls silent—and then erupts in one voice. The wails of this legendary song sound louder than ever, a reminder that justice does not end with headlines, but only when the truth is known. When the dead are honored as people and not just as statistics. Music has a strange sort of power; it can outlive the moments it was originally made for. You’ll Never Walk Alone has transcended Liverpool. Celtic fans sing it in Scotland, as well as Dortmund fans in Germany. It’s been sung in times of crisis—after terrorist attacks, during the pandemic and other acts of remembrance. But it will forever belong to Hillsborough first. It is sacred in the way a national anthem can become sacred, or a funeral hymn. To put it simply, it is more than music. It is a memory that cannot be erased, a resistance that cannot be silenced or reduced. You’ll Never Walk Alone began as a ballad of hope and then a cry for justice. It reminds us that grief can be public, that mourning can be political, and that justice can be demanded outside the courts. Yet above all, it shows that when people come together, they can never truly be alone. The importance of remembrance is clear. For the victims of the Heysel and the Hillsborough stadium disasters, we should not and will not forget. Victims of the Heysel Stadium Disaster, Mar. 29 1985 Rocco Acerra, 29 Bruno Balli, 50 Alfons Bos, 35 Giancarlo Bruschera, 21 Andrea Casula, 11 Giovanni Casula, 44 Nino Cerullo, 24 Willy Chielens, 41 Giuseppina Conti, 17 Dirk Daeninckx, 38 Dionisio Fabbro, 51 Jacques François, 45 Eugenio Gagliano, 35 Francesco Galli, 24 Giancarlo Gonnelli, 20 Alberto Guarini, 21 Giovacchino Landini, 50 Roberto Lorentini, 31 Barbara Lusci, 58 Franco Martelli, 22 Loris Messore, 28 Gianni Mastroiaco, 20 Sergio Bastino Mazzino, 38 Luciano Rocco Papaluca, 38 Luigi Pidone, 31 Benito Pistolato, 50 Patrick Radcliffe, 38 Domenico Ragazzi, 44 Antonio Ragnanese, 49 Claude Robert, 27 Mario Ronchi, 43 Domenico Russo, 28 Tarcisio Salvi, 49 Gianfranco Sarto, 47 Amedeo Giuseppe Spolarore, 55 Mario Spanu, 41 Tarcisio Venturin, 23 Jean Michel Walla, 32 Claudio Zavaroni, 28 Victims of the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster, Apr. 15 1989 https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2024/apr/15/hillsborough-disaster-the-97-people-whose-lives-were-cut-short Jon-Paul Gilhooley, 10 Philip Hammond, 14 Thomas Anthony Howard, 14 Paul Brian Murray, 14 Lee Nicol, 14 Adam Edward Spearritt, 14 Peter Andrew Harrison, 15 Victoria Jane Hicks, 15 Philip John Steele, 15 Kevin Tyrrell, 15 Kevin Daniel Williams, 15 Kester Roger Marcus Ball, 16 Nicholas Michael Hewitt, 16 Martin Kevin Traynor, 16 Simon Bell, 17 Carl Darren Hewitt, 17 Kevin McGrath, 17 Stephen Francis O’Neill, 17 Steven Joseph Robinson, 17 Henry Charles Rogers, 17 Stuart Paul William Thompson, 17 Graham John Wright, 17 James Gary Aspinall, 18 Carl Brown, 18 Paul Clark, 18 Christopher Barry Devonside, 18 Gary Philip Jones, 18 Carl David Lewis, 18 John McBrien, 18 Jonathon Owens, 18 Colin Mark Ashcroft, 19 Paul William Carlile, 19 Gary Christopher Church, 19 James Philip Delaney, 19 Sarah Louise Hicks, 19 David William Mather, 19 Colin Wafer, 19 Ian David Whelan, 19 Stephen Paul Copoc, 20 Ian Thomas Glover, 20 Gordon Rodney Horn, 20 Paul David Brady, 21 Thomas Steven Fox, 21 Marian Hazel McCabe, 21 Joseph Daniel McCarthy, 21 Peter McDonnell, 21 Carl William Rimmer, 21 Peter Francis Tootle, 21 David John Benson, 22 David William Birtle, 22 Tony Bland, 22 Gary Collins, 22 Tracey Elizabeth Cox, 23 William Roy Pemberton, 23 Colin Andrew Hugh William Sefton, 23 David Leonard Thomas, 23 Peter Andrew Burkett, 24 Derrick George Godwin, 24 Graham John Roberts, 24 David Steven Brown, 25 Richard Jones, 25 Barry Sidney Bennett, 26 Andrew Mark Brookes, 26 Paul Anthony Hewitson, 26 Paula Ann Smith, 26 Christopher James Traynor, 26 Barry Glover, 27 Gary Harrison, 27 Christine Anne Jones, 27 Nicholas Peter Joynes, 27 Francis Joseph McAllister, 27 Alan McGlone, 28 Joseph Clark, 29 Christopher Edwards, 29 James Robert Hennessy, 29 Alan Johnston, 29 Anthony Peter Kelly, 29 Martin Kenneth Wild, 29 Peter Reuben Thompson, 30 Stephen Francis Harrison, 31 Eric Hankin, 33 Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons, 34 Roy Harry Hamilton, 34 Patrick John Thompson, 35 Michael David Kelly, 38 Brian Christopher Mathews, 38 David George Rimmer, 38 Inger Shah, 38 David Hawley, 39 Thomas Howard, 39 Arthur Horrocks, 41 Eric George Hughes, 42 Henry Thomas Burke, 47 Raymond Thomas Chapman, 50 John Alfred Anderson, 62 Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron, 67 Keith McGrath, 17 Photo source: Mark Lowen on Wikimedia

The trend of "sassy-man politics" shows a shift in politics, where personality and showmanship often take priority over serious policy discussions. Politicians using humor, boldness, and sarcasm to connect with the public are gaining attention, especially on platforms like TikTok, which favor short, attention-grabbing clips over deeper conversations. < Back Sassy Man in Politics Nil Çelik October 31, 2024 Donald Trump infamously stated in the course of his 2016 presidential campaign: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose voters.” This audacious assertion explicitly exemplifies what has come to be known as the “sassy-man in politics.” In this approach, male politicians shift away from profound, thoughtful debate and instead depend on arrogance, sarcasm and stage performance, leading to significant social and cultural changes. The rise of media-influenced political leaders is often seen as the root cause, starting with television and later amplified by social media platforms. These platforms award politicians who amuse viewers and provoke controversy instead of concentrating on significant issues with screen time. Political figures such as Trump and British statesman Boris Johnson have evolved into the symbols of this initiative. This transition in political discussion indicates a concerning deviation from established principles of leadership like skill, morality and responsibility. With it, the priority has shifted to politicians who behave in a manner resembling performers who strive to gain “likes” and “shares” instead of the trust of the public. The social media platform TikTok, renowned for its short and entertaining videos, has contributed greatly to this transition. The TikTok phenomenon “ Sassy Man Apocalypse ” is a projection of men who are often referred to as flamboyant and emotional, accepting and celebrating their “sassy” characteristics. The term “sassy” was originally utilized to ridicule men who displayed non-traditional masculine manners. Nevertheless, TikTok creators such as Prayag Mishra have begun to reshape it, shifting being sassy toward a more positive demonstration of self-confidence, and emotionality. These characteristics are now established as acceptable, instead of being seen as a weakness. Although this development has led to crucial debates about toxic masculinity, critics argue that trends alone do not lead to actual social change. Even though the “sassy-man apocalypse” began as a joke on the internet, it has now impacted real-world politics, with male politicians integrating this demeanor to relate to meme-loving younger viewers. A relevant example is Mustafa Sarigul, who is currently serving as the member of parliament in Erzincan, who used a playful and non-traditional style of campaigning during the 2023 elections. Sarigul posted several theatrical and entertaining videos on his TikTok and Instagram, including one where he drove a tractor on the Erzincan fields, addressing local voters while combining political messages with everyday life. His over the top delivery where he humorously, combined with relatable humor led to the videos going viral, allowing him to connect to younger audiences. His social media presence through this approach led to him being erected for parliament. This approach shows Mustafa Sarigul utilizing internet culture to remain relevant in Turkish politics. However, young viewers have also utilized this internet phenomenon to ridicule the bold statements that male politicians make. The result of this change has been consequential. Sassy-man politics decreases the importance of governance, downplaying substantial subjects in the interest of self-centered acts. This action resonates with a public that concentrates more on personality than policy. This produces a series of politicians who must constantly outperform each other with controversial arguments to stay relevant. Since social media platforms gradually change the cultural environment, this manner of politics may continue, drawing concern about whether future leaders will be determined by their skills to lead or by their skills to entertain the public. As politics becomes more about spectacle, there’s a danger that the focus on governance and long-term solutions will be replaced by short-term popularity contests, potentially leading to leaders who lack the necessary expertise to effectively manage public affairs. The 2024 presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump openly displayed the concept of sassy-man politics, characterized by sharp discussions, interruptions and sarcastic remarks. Trump didn’t withhold from delivering sarcastic and offensive statements. At a particular moment, he stated , “Biden doesn't even know that he’s running for president.” This mocked both Biden’s age and cognitive capabilities. Biden retaliated, claiming, “I’ve been doing this longer than you’ve been making money off bankruptcies.” These sassy remarks entertained some viewers but transitioned the debate from profound policy discussions to personal insults. This led to viewers seeing viral moments of the debate instead of having a concrete understanding of the candidates plans for governance. The overall result of this “sassy” back-and-forth was a debate that was concentrated more on personal drama instead of real policy issues. Short clips of this debate circulated on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, strengthening the view that sassiness in politics is seen as a main way to achieve the attention of the public. Likewise, the 2024 presidential debate between Vice President Kamala and Former President Trump followed a similar sassy style. Trump stated that “Harris was the worst Vice President in history” and that “she’s so good at being invisible, I forget she’s even on the ticket.” These indicated Trumps’ strategy of attacking Harris by using sharp and repeatedly mocking comments. Although his sassy attitude and remarks resonate with his fan base, it demonstrates the more profound issue of how women, specifically women of color, are treated in political debate. This pattern becomes even more distinct when political figures face attacks that question their competence and authority through demeaning humor or stereotypes. While these tactics may rally Trump's base, they also serve to reinforce harmful gender and racial stereotypes, diminishing the legitimacy of women, particularly women of color, in positions of power. This evolution in Trump's approach signals a broader issue of how women in politics are not only undermined in their capacity as leaders but also weaponized as subjects of ridicule, demonstrating the intersections of misogyny and racism in modern political discourse. Harris rebutted his statements firmly, but it was difficult to overcome Trump’s offensive language. This trend of shifting political discourses into witty interactions is altering American politics, promoting entertainment instead of profound debates, and influencing political norms and gender roles. The trend of “sassy-man politics” has also affected the Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis , who has become a primary target on TikTok after the phenomenon of the “sassy- man apocalypse.” While the TikTok trend didn’t start politically, DeSantis has been the topic of millions of views on TikTok, as users developed and shared content ridiculing his character. Recently videos of an irritated reply from DeSantis concerning a Guantanamo question have led to hundreds of viral contents, gathering over two million views. His aggressive standpoint as a savior of traditional values, especially with the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation such as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, has made him a figure of mockery for young progressive Americans. Polls in the beginning of the year showed that DeSantis had one of the most negative ratings among Republican candidates between the voter age group from 18 to 34. The given age group could be said to respect diversity and expression of gender and sexuality more, driving DeSantis to be a primary target for critics due to his policies. As he is known for being defensive and sensitive, this leads to the creation of the “sassy man” and “short king panic” memes that are commented on posts that involve him. However, Ioana Literat, an associate professor at Teachers College Columbia University who studies the civic engagement of young people, stated that these videos indicate a more comprehensive critique on what acceptable actions are in today’s politics. The trend of "sassy-man politics" shows a shift in politics, where personality and showmanship often take priority over serious policy discussions. Politicians using humor, boldness, and sarcasm to connect with the public are gaining attention, especially on platforms like TikTok, which favor short, attention-grabbing clips over deeper conversations. Leaders like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, and Mustafa Sarigul show how this entertaining style appeals to certain groups, but it can also distract from real issues. This trend has also highlighted stereotypes and, at times, undermined the authority of women and people of color in leadership. Overall, "sassy-man politics" raises concerns about whether leaders are more focused on gaining popularity than effectively addressing important problems, potentially weakening trust in the political system.

In such delicate moments as those that engulf the West right now, its position is far from being unitary and clear. It hesitates to help Ukraine and to have a rigid position about the Israeli-Palestinian situation. It quarrels with itself to the highest degree and it always finds a way to take a stance too late. In this context, the West is divided as never before in recent history. < Back The Fall of the West Amer El-Ibrahim November 30, 2024 In recent times, the idea that the West is declining has repeatedly been vehiculated in media, articles and books. Such timidly apocalyptic visions have always plagued the West, especially when it finds itself in periods of crisis, be it moral or economic. Nonetheless, one can wonder: is today’s presupposed decline a real threat to our civilization, or is it just paranoia? The idea of the decline of the West was born during the Enlightenment. Rousseau was one of the first to raise concerns about civilization's debilitating effects with his idea of the “noble savage.” Later in the 19th century, thinkers such as Karl Marx and Nietzsche expanded on this idea. Nietzsche regarded European culture to be in spiritual decline, undermined by a Christian morality that, according to him, outlived its utility. Marx and Engels offer a materialistic interpretation, attributing this deterioration to the exploitative forces of capitalism, which should at one point bring the societal collapse that would be followed by socialism. In the 20th century, two other writers delved into this presumed perpetual downturn: Oswald Spengler and Arnold Toynbee. Spengler predicted the fall of Western society by comparing it to a living organism that is subject to growth, maturity, and decay. Meanwhile, Toynbee, in his book “A Study of History,” examined cycles of rise and fall across civilizations, regarding Western decline as part of a cyclical pattern of history. Both theoreticized that this fall is not temporary and curable, but an inevitable stage within a broader system. Additionally, there was a growing pessimism that took hold of post-WWII Western thought, marked by two World Wars, the Holocaust and nuclear war anxieties. Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer were key figures in establishing a culture of critique of modernity and the West, with phenomena such as mass consumer culture, technological alienation and bureaucratic rationalism being seen as dehumanizing forces. In the 1970s and 80s, a new declinism made its way onto the stage—present until now—which critiques Western industrial progress for leading to ecological destruction. All of these iterations of decline across centuries show that declinism has become a mode of Western thought, not lacking in biases. However, this declinist outlook usually displays the spiritual, cultural or economic turbulences of an epoch and not the whole West across centuries. Writers who critiqued the West were driven more by subjective perceptions than objective realities. Nonetheless, the “idea of decline” is serving as a mirror into anxieties of each era rather than an inherent decay of Western civilization. Moreover, the West’s obsession with its own deterioration seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, born of philosophical pessimism that blinds us to our achievements. On another note, Hegel noted 200 years ago, civilizations perish not because of external reasons, such as war, famine or economic crisis, but due to internal disputes. Enemies from the outside, regardless of their nature, cannot prevail if there does not exist a profound internal scission. Petty rivalries and endless scandals drain the spirit of a particular nation and not wars. In such delicate moments as those that engulf the West right now, its position is far from being unitary and clear. It hesitates to help Ukraine and to have a rigid position about the Israeli-Palestinian situation. It quarrels with itself to the highest degree and it always finds a way to take a stance too late. In this context, the West is divided as never before in recent history. Even though the West has far more economic power than its main opponents—Russia, Iran, China, Syria, etc—this power is useless if it is not animated by a combative spirit that fights for its values and principles. An example can be given by the US, which struggled for months on end to vote for a package of 60 billion dollars aimed mainly for the aid of Ukraine, but also for Taiwan and Israel. This postponement stemmed from the petty rivalries between the Democrats and the Republicans. Meanwhile, the EU was blocked from supporting Ukraine by Viktor Orban’s opposition, a giant blocked by an ant. Amidst this air of hesitancy, the West’s main rivals, namely, Russia, Hamas, Iran and China, seem to have no such impediments or ideological hiccups. They arm themselves, violate existing treaties, launch themselves into war economies, as seen in the case of Russia, and control their population—evident in all but especially China. The West, on the other hand, seems to be lost spiritually in its own auto-critic frenzy. Is the West really in decline, as countless others have hypothesized? Others’ belief that it is in such a state, then, does not matter. What matters is if the West itself believes it.

In the face of Brazil’s largest corruption scandal to date, Brazilians directed their rage at the once beloved former president, Lula, whose entanglement in the scheme paved an easy path to victory for the fringe right-wing candidate, Jair Bolsonaro. < Back Has Brazil’s Largest Corruption Scandal Irreparably Damaged Democracy? By Lara-Nour Walton April 29, 2022 Something sinister was afoot in 2012 Brasilia. Money was moving unnaturally — streaming in and out of a local gas station in abnormally large quantities. Officials believed that they had flagged a routine case of laundering in the nation’s capital and zeroed in on the usual suspect: small-time doleiros (black market dealers). What their investigation uncovered was even bigger and far more unsettling. What they found imprisoned presidents, bankrupted billionaires, and paved the way for Jair Bolsonaro’s election. In 2014, Operation Lava Jato (Car Wash) was formally launched when police discovered a suspicious email correspondence in doleiro Alberto Youssef’s inbox. Youssef had been involved and apprehended on laundering counts in the past, but had proven to be quite the recidivist. The email in question discussed a Range Rover that the doleiro had recently bought. But, this was no above-board car purchase. Youssef had bought a Range Rover for none other than the high profile Petrobras petroleum company executive, Paulo Roberto Costa. Under questioning, a somber Youssef informed police, “If I speak, the Republic is going to fall.” And fall it did. Operation Car Wash is Brazil’s largest corruption scandal to date. The operation earned its name from being hatched at the Brasilia gas station and car wash. The scheme began as a way for the construction conglomerate, Odebrecht, to secure constant and overly-lucrative business at the national petroleum company, Petrobras. To accomplish this, Odebrecht, the ringleader of the scandal, developed a cartel of engineering companies which set inflated contract prices for petrochemical complex building projects. In custody, Costa revealed how this intricate scheme functioned: first, Petrobras directors intentionally overpaid cartel contractors for construction, drilling, exploration vessels, and refinery. Then, 1% to 5% of the profit from those shady contracts was funneled into clandestine slush funds. Elected politicians (who incidentally appointed Petrobras officials) were the beneficiaries of the funds and used them to finance personal agendas and election campaigns. Bribes were the currency of Brazil’s elite. Everyone involved in the scandal was paid off in cash, luxury automobiles, art, Rolex watches, yachts… Money cascaded into Swiss accounts, a bevy of oversea properties were purchased, elderly mules, strapped with bricks of cash, flew from city to city, inconspicuously distributing bank notes. By the time Operation Car Wash was on law enforcement’s radar, Petrobras and Odebrecht had paid off over 16 companies, 1,000 politicians, 50 congressmen, and four former presidents (including Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula) with a whopping sum of $5.3 billion. The victims of this kafkaesque scheme? Average Brazilians. Not only was the potency of their vote diluted by this operation, but their own tax dollars were funding it. No strangers to institutional corruption, Brazilians directed the entirety of their rage at the once beloved former president, Lula, his successor, president Dilma Roussef, and other members of the Workers’ Party. The party was not the only culpable entity implicated in the scandal, but received the most popular backlash — and perhaps justifiably. The political group ascended to power to fight Brazil’s seemingly untreatable case of corruption. Yet, the disease only seemed to have metastasized in the Lula administration. Elected in 2002, Lula suffered from having a minority Workers’ Party in congress. Although he denies any knowledge of involvement in the scheme, Operation Car Wash would have allowed for the president to buy the support of small parties, thus permitting him to pass legislation through congress. The Lula administration improved the condition of working class Brazilians through policies that reduced poverty and increased social safety nets and environmental controls. He left office with an unprecedented approval rating of 80%. Lula attributes his success to securing a symbolic majority in congress through political allegiances. Instead, the immense progress he made was found to have a morally and legally unsound infrastructure. These findings eventually culminated in his 2018 arrest. Brazilians have a complex relationship with Lula — they continue to reap the benefits of his presidency while lamenting his hypocrisy. The true test of national sentiment will be reflected in the result of the upcoming October presidential elections, which the now-released Lula has announced his candidacy for. The imprisonment of Lula created an easy path to victory for the fringe right-wing candidate, Jair Bolsonaro. Due to the elimination of his main opponent and his anti-establishment, anti-corruption platform, Bolsonaro, sometimes referred to as the “Trump of the Tropics,” waltzed into office in spite of his notoriously racist, homophobic, and misogynistic public persona. However, the comparison to Trump is misleading. Despite sharing some qualities with the former United States president, Bolsonaro is more akin to the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte. And this makes him all the more dangerous. Unlike Trump, Bolsonaro and Duterte actually followed through with their alarming campaign trail claims. Similarly to Duterte, Bolsonaro has an affinity for militarizing state police, cracking down on crime, and green-lighting extrajudicial killings. He waxes nostalgic for Brazil’s military dictatorship and has been openly threatening Brazil’s increasingly tenuous checks and balances. According to United Nations human rights activist, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, the Bolsonaro administration encourages violence towards women, favela community leaders, journalists, quilombolas (Afro-Brazilians), and indigenous peoples. Bolsonaro shamelessly intimidates the Supreme Court, which has active investigations into his conduct, threatens his critics' freedom of speech, and makes baseless claims about fraud in the Brazilian electoral system. To Voule, it is clear: the world’s fourth largest democracy hangs by a thread. On September 7, 2021, Brazilian Independence Day, Bolsonaro proclaimed, before tens of thousands of supporters, “Only God will remove me from power.” This ominous statement follows months of disinformation, propagated by Bolsonaro himself, about Brazil’s supposedly “fraudulent” electronic voting system. It has been speculated that such allegations intend to lay the groundwork for canceling the upcoming October 2022 elections or to contest a potential presidential loss. With the president trailing behind his perennial foe Lula in the polls, fears that Bolsonaro will refuse to accept defeat have increased. As such, Brazil’s top election authority, Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE), has invited the European Union and other international bodies to monitor the validity of the October elections. The EU plans to send a mission to Brazil this May to assess whether it can fulfill the duties of official observer. From the outside, Operation Car Wash is a juicy scandal indeed. But at its core, it is a tragic case of government inefficiency. Lula was charged with serious crimes, to be sure, but the consequences of his alleged actions should not spell another Bolsonaro victory. Brazil might not survive it. Democracy becomes more fragile every day that Bolsonaro presides. His record-level deforestation is leaving the Amazon more vulnerable than ever. Climate expert, Marcio Astrini, has determined that the forest will not be able to withstand another four years of a Bolsonaro presidency. Brazilians are at a critical crossroads. On October 2, 2022 they may sow the seeds of their own destruction or secure their survival. But if Brazil has learned anything from its past, it is that the power should and must, lie in the rightful hands. The people must be the final deciders — not between Lula or Bolsonaro — but rather life or death.

Amnesty International at Sciences Po Menton calls on the international community to thoroughly explore the situation in the Tindouf camps — investigating and documenting alleged human rights abuses, ensuring that humanitarian aid helps the people of the camps rather than wealthy government officials, and addressing solutions for the Tindouf camps through diplomacy with Morocco and Algeria. To read recent political and humanitarian developments from the Tindouf camps, visit tindouf.org. < Back Tindouf Refugee Camps By Peyton Dashiell October 29, 2022 In 1973, a group of indigenous Sahrawi university students in Morocco established the Polisario Front, a nationalist liberation group with the goal of establishing an independent state in Western Sahara. Later that year, they began an armed rebellion against Spanish colonization in Western Sahara, instigating two years of guerrilla warfare. After facing pressure from the UN to decolonize in 1974, Spain withdrew from Western Sahara and transferred administrative power to Morocco and Mauritania, who split and annexed the territory. The Polisario Front, wanting an independent Sahrawi state in the region, began resisting the Moroccan and Mauritanian governments, and Western Sahara War began. Shortly after, the Polisario Front formed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Western Sahara. After nearly twenty years of war, the conflict transitioned to civilian resistance in 1991, although the SADR declared war again in 2020 after accusing Morocco of violating a ceasefire agreement. The SADR, governed by the Polisario Front, is currently recognized by 47 UN member states and controls around 20 percent of Western Sahara, with Morocco holding the remaining territory. The United Nations considers Morocco and the Polisario Front the main parties to the conflict, with both sides claiming a right to the territory. Algeria has continued to dedicate attention on the national stage toWestern Sahara by supporting the Sahrawi right to self-determination and accusing Morocco of using the conflict to advance geopolitical interests. Today, thousands of Sahrawis who were displaced in the original Western Sahara War remain in refugee camps and cannot return home. Most Sahrawi refugees live in the Tindouf Camps — a network of five compounds administered by the Polisario Front near the Algerian city of Tindouf.. The camps currently house approximately 165,000 people, down from the 300,000 throughout the 1980s. The Polisario Front conducts government operations in the camps rather than Western Sahara, and the camps include a basic level of democratic organization, a strong education system, and a justice system with courts and prisons. However, camp authorities have faced numerous allegations of human rights abuse, and the Algerian government has inhibited entry of human rights organizations except a select few. In 2013, Human Rights Watch issued an extensive report on the Tindouf Camps after being approved for a two-week research visit. They identified several areas of concern for the camps, including arbitrary detentions, physical abuse while in detention, a lack of free and fair trials, and slavery that was ignored by authorities for several years. The Freedom and Progress Association, a civil society organization based in the Tindouf camps, released a report documenting at least 10 current cases of race-based slavery in the camps. Additionally, the Moroccan government and Polisario Front have refused to atone for past human rights violations committed during the military stage of Western Sahara War. Human Rights Watch stated that both sides fail to acknowledge most past wrongdoings and have not removed offenders from leadership positions. Additionally, in 2020, Amnesty International called on the United Nations to include a human rights component in the UN Mission for Referendum in Western Sahara — an annually-renewed mandate that is the only modern UN peacekeeping mission without human rights conditions attached. In their statement, Amnesty cited the Moroccan government’s expulsion of journalists and peaceful activists from the camps as well as restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly. In 2022, the international community brought attention to the situation in the Tindouf camps at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The United States delegation, led by Bathsheba Nell Crocker, voiced concern for laws restricting freedom of assembly and expression as well as the practice of arbitrary arrests. Shortly after, the UN heard direct testimony from two Sahrawi human rights activists and residents of the camps, Aicha Duihi and El Fadel Brikel. Duihi highlighted repression of free speech, violence, threats and discrimination that the Algerian government justifies as counterterrorism measures. Brikel alleged psychological and physical torture in prisons connected to the Tindouf camps and recalled the murders of several Tindouf camp residents, which he believes the Algerian government is responsible for. Additionally, Brikel purported that the Polisario Front is embezzling humanitarian funding. The UN recently reported that food rations have decreased by 75 percent in the camps despite ongoing international assistance, and the amount of money that Polisario forces say is required for food supplies has doubled in the past two years. This discrepancy has caused a sharp rise in malnutrition and life threatening-health issues among children in the camps. Amnesty International at Sciences Po Menton calls on the international community to thoroughly explore the situation in the Tindouf camps — investigating and documenting alleged human rights abuses, ensuring that humanitarian aid helps the people of the camps rather than wealthy government officials, and addressing solutions for the Tindouf camps through diplomacy with Morocco and Algeria. To read recent political and humanitarian developments from the Tindouf camps, visit tindouf.org .

< Back L’affaire Depardieu: un énième reflet du harcèlement sexuel dans les médias français By Calista Cellerier February 29, 2024 Photo/Siebbi Depuis quelques semaines, la France fait face à un énième scandale parmi les plus hauts placés, reflétant la dure réalité que les violences sexistes et sexuelles (VSS) ne font pas encore partie du passé. Le sexisme en France ne cesse d’augmenter. Selon les chiffres du Baromètre Sexisme 2023, 80% des femmes déclarent avoir été victime de sexisme et un tiers des Françaises ont vécu une situation de non-consentement. 23% des hommes considèrent qu’il faut de la violence pour se faire respecter. Aujourd’hui, on peut voir les conséquences de tels chiffres : une affaire de plus d’agression et de harcèlement sexuel qui indigne les foules, ou l’affaire Depardieu. En 2020, le célèbre acteur français Gérard Depardieu était mis en examen après que la comédienne Charlotte Arnould l’accuse de viol. 3 ans après, l’affaire n’est pas résolue. Depardieu était donc déjà connu des services de police pour un comportement grave envers ses collègues quand 13 femmes l’accusent à leur tour de VSS. Dans une enquête de Mediapart , trois femmes se confient sur leur expérience avec l’auteur mais affirment ne pas avoir porté plainte, de peur de ne pas être prisent au sérieux. Au fur et à mesure, de plus en plus de femmes dénoncent les mêmes comportements: des gestes, des commentaires et des actes à caractères sexuels, non consentis et souvent par surprise. Le même mode opératoire se discerne, ce sont des maquilleuses, actrices ou figurantes qui sont visées par l’acteur. Sophie Marceau, actrice star du film La Boum, déclaré dans les colonnes de Paris Match : “ Il ne s’en prenait pas aux grandes comédiennes, plutôt aux petites assistantes… La vulgarité et la provocation ont toujours été son fonds de commerce ”. De plus, lors d’un reportage de l'émission Complément d'enquête , il apparaît faisant des commentaires choquants et vulgaires sur des femmes et petites filles. Or, Gérard Depardieu dément formellement ces accusations. Pourtant, il ne s’agit pas de la première fois qu’un tel scandale éclate au sein des médias et du cinéma français. Gérard Depardieu est accusé de nombreuses fois de viol et d’agressions sexuelles au cours de sa carrière, notamment par la figurante Hélène Darras ou la journaliste espagnole Ruth Baza. Et il n’est pas le seul : il y a quelques années, la grande star de télévision Patrick Poivre d’Arvor (PPDA) est accusé par la journaliste Florence Porcel de viol, une affaire classée sans suite. Plus tard s’ajoutent avec son témoignage une vingtaine d’autre femmes, portant plainte pour viol, tentative de viol et agressions sexuelles. L'association MetooMédias se forme par la suite: c’est une lutte contre le pouvoir des stars françaises de la télévision. Et encore une fois, l’affaire est classée sans suite pour “insuffisance de preuves”. De nombreuses autres affaires peuvent être citées, comme Nicolas Hulot ou Roman Polanski, qui a reçu un oscar malgré ces accusations. Car oui, la plupart de ces affaires aboutissent à peu ou même aucune conséquences judiciaires. En effet, les accusations de Charlotte Arnould sont classées sans suite pour manque de preuves. Hélène Darras, qui accusa Depardieu en 2023 de viol et agressions sexuelles lorsqu’elle était figurante dans le film Disco en 2007, voit aussi son dossier classé pour prescription des faits. C’est le cas pour de nombreuses autres accusations contre l’acteur, qui actuellement reste en mise en examen pour viol dans le cadre de l’enquête de Mediapart . Il est libre d’aller et venir à sa guise, sans réelles conséquences pour l’instant. D’ailleurs, il est aperçu à Dubaï, à Lisbonne, en Belgique… selon de nombreux médias français, comme le Journal des Femmes . Il est en réalité assez courant que les hommes célèbres accusés de VSS s’en sortent sans grande difficulté. Usant de ripostes telles que la présomption d'innocence, la diffamation ou la conquête médiatique de l’opinion, ils se défendent en étalant “leur propre vérité et version des faits”. C’est la stratégie de base dans ces situations: aussi utilisée par Nicolas Hulot ou PPDA, qui eux non plus de semblent pas inquiétés par la justice mise à part des pertes de contrats et une image publique controversée. C’est d’autant plus le cas quand ces hommes bénéficient d’un capital social et financier considérable, obtenant le soutien d’autres célébrités. Ce soutien devient crucial pour ces célébrités, car il est leur dernier moyen de conserver leur position dans la société. Si l’on bénéficie du support des figures les plus hautes de la hiérarchie sociale, il devient alors facile d’ignorer de telles accusations et de continuer à vivre sans conséquences sociales, surtout s’il n’y a pas de répercussions judiciaires non plus. C’est ce qui s’est passé pour Depardieu des suites de C omplément d'enquête et de Mediapart . Dans une tribune publiée par Le Figaro le 25 décembre 2023, une cinquantaine de célébrités, dont des réalisateurs, acteurs et actrices, chanteurs et autres personnalités dénoncent un “lynchage” de l’acteur et un mépris de la présomption d’innocence. Et ce, bien après la publication des nombreuses vidéos affichant Depardieu faisant des commentaires vulgaires à caractère sexuels sur des femmes et petites filles dans C omplément d'enquête . Cependant, cette vague de soutien ne s'arrête pas là, car le président Emmanuel Macron déclare sur France 5 le mercredi 20 décembre que Depardieu est une “ fierté pour la France ” et affirme être un “ grand admirateur ” de l’acteur. Macron dénonce une “ chasse à l'homme” et remet en question l'authenticité des images présentées par Mediapart . En revanche, tout le monde ne continue pas de soutenir Depardieu. L’ancien président français François Hollande déclare dans sur France Inter: “ Nous, nous ne sommes pas fiers de Gérard Depardieu ”. Il critique ouvertement Emmanuel Macron: “ [Macron] a parlé de Gérard Depardieu, de son talent, et de la présomption d’innocence. Moi, je vais vous parler des quatorze femmes agressées, des femmes humiliées, des femmes bouleversées par les images qu’elles ont vues, de toutes ces femmes qui voient à travers Gérard Depardieu ce que peut être la violence, la domination, le mépris. ” Depardieu a été radié de l’Ordre National du Québec et a perdu son titre de citoyen d’honneur en Belgique. Sa statue a aussi été retirée du Musée Grévin à Paris. De nombreuses associations se sont saisies de l’affaire, comme MetooMédias . En effet, une lettre ouverte publiée peu après les faits dénonce les propos de Macron ainsi que l’absence de soutien aux victimes: “ Monsieur le président, vos paroles dénient à toutes les femmes victimes de violence le droit à être entendues et crues.” Cette association faisait déjà beaucoup de bruit lors du scandale de PPDA, et ne semble pas vouloir se démonter aujourd’hui non plus. Le cas de Gérard Depardieu n’est donc ni une affaire isolée, ni une affaire résolue. Que ce soit le gouvernement, la justice ou la communauté de célébrités en France, personne ne semble prendre au sérieux les accusations des victimes de l’acteur. Si nombre d’associations et figures publiques travaillent dur pour faire entendre la voix de ces femmes dans ce genre de situation, les efforts n’aboutissent pas souvent à de vraies poursuites judiciaires et de conséquences concrètes. Ainsi, ne laissons pas ces efforts tomber dans l’oubli, et continuons d’en parler, de se mobiliser et surtout de se soutenir, à travers des associations, des journaux, des actions.

< Back Daring More Progress: Freedom, Justice, and Sustainability are Germany's new Leitmotifs. Florian Heydecker December 31, 2021 On November 24, the Social Democratic Pary (SPD), the Greens, and the Liberal Party (FDP) presented the coalition agreement for the next four years of government. The paper is the result of almost two months of negotiations that aimed at forming the first three-party coalition and the first government after sixteen years of Angela Merkel. Two weeks later, Olaf Scholz, SPD candidate and Minister of Finance in the previous government, was elected Bundeskanzler (Chancellor) and took office on December 8. Now Germany has a new leader, a new government, and a new agenda. The parties called their coalition ‘traffic light’ referring to their colors: red for SPD, yellow for the FDP, and the Greens. Briefly, the traffic-light coalition will increase the minimum wage, respect the balanced budget amendment, implement the coal phase-out, and legalize cannabis. Post-Merkel Germany will revolve around these new axes. Voting rights & Cannabis The new government is committed to lowering the active voting age for elections to the Bundestag and the European Parliament to 16. The traffic light coalition also wants to revise the electoral law “within the first year” to prevent the Bundestag from growing. Furthermore, the government wants to introduce the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults “for consumption purposes” in licensed stores. This reform would supervise quality, prevent the distribution of contaminated substances and ensure the protection of minors. The regulations for marketing and sponsorship of alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis will become more restrictive. Minimum wage & Housing The statutory minimum wage should increase to 12 euros per hour in a one-off adjustment, hence overcoming the current wage of 9.60 euros per hour. The minimum wage commission is then to decide on further increases and adapt it to the national and international circumstances. In addition, the coalition agreement outlines the goal of building 400,000 new homes per year, including 100,000 publicly subsidized homes. An “affordable housing alliance” will be established, and a new non-profit housing scheme with tax incentives and investment subsidies is to be launched immediately. The rent brake will be extended and tightened. In areas with a tight housing market, rents will be allowed to rise only up to 11 percent within three years instead of up to 15 percent as before. Climate The traffic light coalition wants to bring forward the coal phase-out. “Ideally, this will already succeed by 2030,” the agreement said. This eight-year process will revolve around the expansion of wind and solar power. By 2030, 80% of electricity consumption is to come from renewable energies. This will require more gas-fired power plants. The partners want to more than the triple solar capacity to 200 gigawatts (GW), by making photovoltaics mandatory on commercial roofs, among other things. They also want to accelerate the expansion of offshore wind energy, which is to climb to 30 GW in 2030 (previously 20 GW). Two percent of Germany's surface area is to be reserved for onshore wind energy. The phase-out of coal is also to be accelerated via European trading in CO2 pollution rights. The coalition, therefore, intends to lobby the European Union (EU) for a minimum price for these certificates, which power plants require. If this is unsuccessful, it will be fixed nationally such that the price does not fall below 60 euros per ton. In the future, climate protection will be more strongly integrated into the decisions of the German government than in the past. Each ministry is to review its draft laws for climate impact and compatibility with national climate protection targets and provide an appropriate justification — the so-called climate check. The Federal Climate Protection Act will be further developed “consistently” before the end of 2022, and an emergency climate protection program will be introduced. Nuclear weapons The new federal government wants to abandon Germany's fundamental rejection of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and thus deviate from the previous. Germany will participate in the Conference of the Parties as an observer. The controversial treaty banning nuclear weapons was adopted by 122 of the 193 countries of the United Nations in 2017 and entered into force at the beginning of this year. It prohibits the possession, acquisition, development, and deployment of nuclear weapons. All nuclear powers, as well as all NATO countries, and thus also Germany, have so far rejected it because they considered the previous treaties to be a better basis for nuclear disarmament. Transport Starting next year, the regional funds for local transportation will be increased. Quality criteria and standards for services and accessibility for urban and rural areas will be defined by both the federal states and local authorities together. Deutsche Bahn AG will be retained as an integrated group, including the group's internal labor market, under public ownership. Internal structures will be made more efficient and transparent. The infrastructure units (DB Netz, DB Station und Service) of Deutsche Bahn AG will be merged into a “new infrastructure division oriented toward the common good.” Cross-border traffic will be strengthened and night train services developed with the EU and the member states. By 2030, 75 percent of the rail network is to be electrified. Germany aims to become the lead market for electromobility, with at least 15 million electric cars in 2030. The SPD, Greens, and FDP also want a reform of the truck toll. In 2023, a “CO2 differentiation” of the truck toll is to be implemented. Commercial road haulage of three and a half tons or more will be included in this toll, and a CO2 surcharge will also be introduced — on condition that a double burden from the CO2 price is ruled out. Migration and right to stay Visa issuance is to be accelerated and increasingly digitized. Residence permits should not expire during temporary stays abroad. The “complicated system of toleration” is to be reorganized. “Well-integrated young people,” up to the age of 27, will be allowed to stay after three years of residence in Germany. People who have lived in Germany for five years by January 1, 2022, have not committed any criminal offenses, and are committed to the free democratic basic order will be able to obtain a one-year probationary residence permit. For faster asylum procedures, the new coalition wants to relieve the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. “We want faster decisions in asylum proceedings, as well as a standardization of jurisdiction and will quickly present a bill to this end,” the three parties announced. Financing The Balanced Budget Amendment enshrined in the Basic Law is to be complied with again starting in 2023. In the coming year, however, new loans will have to be taken out again due to the ongoing consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Municipalities with high levels of old debt are to be relieved. “In 2022, there will also be continuing pandemic consequences to deal with, which will continue to constitute an exceptional emergency in the sense of the debt rule,” the agreement said. “Beginning in 2023, we will then limit debt to the constitutional margin provided by the debt brake and comply with the debt brake requirements.” Foreign Policy The signal of continuity in German foreign policy could not have been clearer. At the G20 summit in Rome, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and her vice-chancellor and successor Olaf Scholz (SPD) took part in a virtual duet and completed all the important talks together. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden continues to rely on a strong Germany that assumes responsibility within the EU, NATO, and the international community. The U.S. will pay particular attention to how the new German government positions itself vis-à-vis China and Russia. Washington D.C. is pushing for a more confrontational approach to its strategic rival, whereas Merkel's government has tended to focus on dialogue and good trade relations. As for China, Merkel is already sorely missed in Beijing because she spoke her mind honestly, but also always showed understanding for China and pursued a more business-oriented China policy. Beijing hopes that Scholz is also aware of how dependent Germany is on economic cooperation with China. Yet, the Greens and the FDP not only want to do more for human rights, including the persecution of Uyghurs and Tibetans and the situation in Hong Kong but also advocate free trade and fair market access. This last aspect resonates well with the increasing tensions between Beijing and the U.S. Further developments will become more visible in the future. Back to Europe, Russia does not expect a fundamental improvement in its relationship with Germany given the severe tensions of recent years. Moscow-based Germany expert Vladislav Belov, however, expects the chancellor to continue to set the foreign policy lines. He does not see a new confrontational course under Scholz. “The coalitionists are not starting from ‘red lines’ but a constructive approach,” said the head of the Germany Center at the European Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. On the other hand, Turkey will likely face a tougher course from the new German government concerning human rights issues and the EU-Turkey refugee deal. Both SPD and the Greens are committed to emphasizing the respect of human rights and the right to asylum. Concerning Israel, a policy of continuity can be expected from the traffic light government as a whole. The new government is also committed to a two-state solution in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Palestinians are expected to make “progress on democracy, the rule of law and human rights.” Israel is expected to halt settlement expansion in the Palestinian territories and, hence, promote a future peace settlement. Finally, the EU expects a solid continuation of Merkel’s European commitment. With the SPD, the Greens, and the FDP as pro-European parties, Paris expects a certain continuity of previous German policies. Scholz, as an already well-known and experienced politician, gives Paris a certain degree of security and is seen as a desirable partner. Some concerns might arise due to different views between the Greens and the FDP. France also observes the way Germany will combine climate investments and strict debt policy. The strengthening of the collaboration with Italy has also become a further point of the EU balance. Thus, the new German government entails both continuity and rupture with the Merkel era. Although Olaf Scholz should preserve, if not even strengthen, Germany’s transatlantic and European commitment, the coalition will adopt a more liberal line for national politics and a harder approach with regards to human rights and the rule of law abroad. Post-Merkel Germany has taken its first steps, the race has just begun.

Facing the familiar blue light of my computer screen—SkyScanner displayed in my Chrome browser and the threat of several four hour final exams looming over my head—I booked a flight to Paris. < Back Another American in Paris By Maia Zasler December 31, 2023 Facing the familiar blue light of my computer screen—SkyScanner displayed in my Chrome browser and the threat of several four hour final exams looming over my head—I booked a flight to Paris. Apart from the excitement of anticipating a change of scenery in this beautiful, historic destination, I embraced the vision of feeling like a native as I would wrap my wool scarf around me and sip coffee in a Parisian cafe far from the tourist sites. Alas, that dream has long since vanished. As much as I have immersed myself in the French language and culture since arriving in Menton last August, my experience in Paris remained internally a French Sciences Po Menton student, yet externally… sigh …just a girl almost always put in her place as yet another “American in Paris.” This trip in December 2023 marks my third visit to the Île de la Cité . At this point, I feel fairly proficient in the “Parisian way.” I am not deterred when, following a brief exchange of “bonjour(s),” I am answered in English (and met with the occasional pitying, pedantic smile). I persist; I insist on responding in French. I know that athleisure is an absolute no-go (I apologize for even including the word in this article), and that a sturdy umbrella is a must (if it's black, you get bonus points). I will not attempt to go to any museum past 3pm (15h, if you will) lest I have some sort of odd proclivity towards waiting in an infinitely long line that particular day. I could deliver a dissertation on the distinction between a “pain-au-chocolat” and a “chocolatine,” and I know to never order an iced coffee. Yet, my knowledge might as well be utterly useless. To an extent, I understand. American tourists don’t exactly have a great reputation, and perhaps that is rightfully so. France, being the world’s most visited country, definitely has some real, negative experiences to draw from. I will not contest any evidence put forth… but I will say, when I was walking in the 8eme arrondissement—in a long black coat, dark jeans, boots, and a maroon sweater, mind you—and a French man bumped into me and said “excuse me,” I was absolutely demoralized. How did he know?? How do they know??? I don’t get it. Does my American-ness radiate from the back of my head? “Pardon” is so much more fun to say, anyways. It rolls off the tongue much quicker than the clunky “excuse me.” This extra effort and somehow psychic knowledge leaves me gobsmacked. Even the Paris weather seems to go above and beyond to make it clear that I am not completely welcome. The crisp cold and incessant rain are the least of it; strong winds that render my feeble umbrella pointless by ultimately inverting it and snapping the little metal legs leave me susceptible to further frigid unpleasantness. With external elements like this, I can comprehend the desire to make Mondays slightly more bearable by shutting down ostensibly every store. I can also better wrap my head around the Parisian tendency to speak in the negative—when your jeans are wet and stick to the crevices in your legs with an anxious attachment style, one becomes much less optimistic or loquacious. On the rare occasion that I am able to blend in—and I’m not violently shaking my umbrella to get it to right itself—I truly enjoy observing the interactions between the French / Parisians and the many tourists. But, more often, I am—or am adjacent to—the source of fascination in such interactions. For example, during our first dinner together in the lovely Marais district, my roommate, Marly Fisher, got her finger stuck in the loop of her hot chocolate mug handle. How she managed to squeeze her finger through the loop in the first place, I do not know. The issue was, she could not get it back out. As tears gathered in the corners of her eyes—fueled by intense laughter and mixed with profound panic—I could not help but burst out laughing, too, at her repeatedly failed retractions. I attempted to pull the mug off her finger (which was gradually swelling), but to no avail. This, one can imagine, was quite the scene. Our little tug-of-war attracted quite a few looks and chilling, disapproving glares from the servers. I have no adequate defense. Side note: It may be a good thing, then, that water in restaurants is so difficult to come by. We, as Americans, would most likely topple the glass over. The smells of Paris tend to bring out the American in me as well. Now, I would not dare to claim this phenomenon endemic to Paris, but seriously…every time I walk past a metal sidewalk grate I am greeted with a whiff of a warm, pungent odor. I find myself dodging dog feces scattered on the sidewalks or praying I don’t spot a rat scurrying across the metro tunnels. Despite it all, I do truly enjoy Paris, and I love France. I would not have committed myself to studying here for at least two years if I did not. I feel fortified, and I will continue to brave the cobblestone and concrete streets, gradually improving my French thanks to the generous corrections natives kindly provide (without my asking!). While in Paris, I will own up to my identity as an “American tourist,” but, I’d prefer to publicly propagate “je suis étudiante à Sciences Po.”

In a small apartment on the outskirts of Marrakech, the close relatives of a wrongfully imprisoned man have gathered to share their story with a Swedish university student. The relatives are desperate to disseminate the circumstances of his imprisonment and hope their story will one day reach the public. < Back The Life of Mustapha Eddarja: A Wrongfully Imprisoned Man Fighting for the Independence of Western Sahara By Vanja Lerch Eriksson October 31, 2023 Mustapha Eddarja, a father of six and a strong believer in West Saharan independence, was arrested in a coffeehouse in central Marrakech late at night on January 10, 2017. He was brought to a secret location in Salé City and kept there for days, without being notified of the grounds for his arrest. During his time in Salé City, Eddarja was subjected to systematic physical torture with the purpose of forcing him to sign the police records which contained wrongful claims about his arrest. For a number of days, Eddarja refused to sign, but he had to give in after several days of electrical shocks, forced sleep deprivation and continuous beatings. After the torture, Eddarja was brought to Tangier Hospital to recover and the interrogation was therefore postponed. Instead of being brought back to Marrakech, Eddarja was kept in a prison in Tangier for months, unable to be visited by his family. The arrest warrant for Mustapha Eddarja was based on him allegedly being part of a drug smuggling operation. Eddarja has denied any connection to the drug trafficking group and his relatives support this claim. In court, Eddarja’s family complained about the lack of evidence of his connection to the crime. However, this was ignored by the judge. Evidently, Eddarja has been subject to a fabrication of accusations. Eddarja’s family and the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara (CODESA) interpret the arrest of Mustapha Eddarja as a retaliation to his support for the Gdeim Izik camp events in 2010. The Gdeim Izik protest started off peacefully but later developed into a violent confrontation when Moroccan security forces entered the camp. The camp was originally erected to protest human rights violations, discrimination and poverty inflicted by the Moroccan government on West Saharians. However, later, a part of the protesting group also claimed to be protesting against the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara and demanded independence for the occupied territories. After the Gdeim Izik protests, Eddarja was subjected to continuous harassment by government agencies, both through physical encounters and through the constant surveillance of his movements. In addition, Eddarja’s name started to pop up in similar judicial cases to the one he was later accused and convicted of. Having his name reoccur in similar investigations provided the Moroccan Judiciary with sufficient reason to see his actions as premeditated, thereby making him eligible for a harsher punishment. This suggests that the Moroccan Judicial Police had made preparations for his arrest for several years before following through on his arrest. Eddarja was known for his support of the non-violent fight for the freedom of Western Sahara. He supported peaceful activists and protests financially as well as through moral and health support. He was deeply appreciated by his community and was regarded as a figure of high morale. According to CODESA, The Moroccan government has committed similar operations to stop supporters of this cause on numerous occasions. However, these discriminatory conditions prevailed when the persecuted individual received their sentence. After being sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison, Eddarija was transferred numerous times between different prison facilities in northern Morocco but has now been transferred to what is seemingly his last location – the Oudaya prison in Marrakech. During their short visits, family members have learned that Eddarja is kept in a solitary cell and has been for the last two years. In Oudaya prison, Eddarja is held in the high-security wing, which is the most well-guarded one. According to his family, he suffers from the inhumane prison conditions. He is often handcuffed for no apparent reason; he is deprived of walks and outside activities and has been prohibited from seeing his family on several occasions, who have traveled 900 kilometers to visit him. A family member who was able to meet him said that he had gastro-intestinal pains, diseases connected to malnutrition and was in a poor mental state. The inhumane conditions have contributed to Eddarja’s health worsening, pushing him towards more radical means. Eddarja did, for weeks, go on a hunger strike in prison; however, this was met with indifference from the prison staff, and his health worsened even more. In 2021, Eddarja’s wife, child, and Eddaich Eddaf, a former political prisoner who has become a human rights defender for CODESA, and his partner attempted to visit Eddarja in jail. The group provided all the required documents to visit him, but only his daughter was allowed. She met him and could testify that his health had worsened even more. Unfortunately, the others were not allowed entry and made the 900-kilometer-long journey in vain. None of these circumstances align with international humanitarian law – they oppose the most basic human rights. Suppose one were to observe the framework of the 70/175. United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) , one can distinguish that the treatment of Mustapha Eddarja does not comply with its requirements. Neither does it comply with the vital conditions proposed in the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment , which the Kingdom of Morocco ratified in 1993. The 2nd and 11th Articles of this convention specify that torture should be non-existent in the countries that have ratified it, suggesting that the Kingdom of Morocco does not fulfil these obligations. Article 15 states that any statements made during torture shall not be invoked as evidence. This is, however, evidently not complied with in the case of Mustapha Eddarja and is thereby not fulfilled. Eddarja’s family demands that his human rights should be respected and thus also states that Eddarja deserves a new trial based upon a new independent and impartial investigation. They urge international actors to intervene to bring justice to Mustapha Eddarja and force the Moroccan government to stop using fabricated accusations. Mustafa Eddarja’s family is looking forward to his release in a couple of years but still hopes that the visibility from sharing their story might give them the opportunity to meet him sooner.

Considered the oldest political group within the Arab world, the Muslim Brotherhood is rejected by multiple Arab countries who designate it as a terrorist organization. Can an organization which participated and led alleged plots, assassinations and government overthrows truly change and become non-violent? < Back Is the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization? By Isabella Hehl Dalla Zuanna November 30, 2022 Where lies the limit between a strong ideological religious group with a history of violence and a terrorist organization? After how many violent attacks do these stop being exceptions and instead a major characteristic of the group? Can an organization that participated in and led alleged plots, assassinations and government overthrows truly change and become non-violent? These are the questions that outline the struggle of countries today when deciding whether or not the Muslim Brotherhood should be labeled a terrorist organization or a religious and political movement. Considered the oldest political group within the Arab world, the Muslim Brotherhood is rejected by multiple Arab countries who designate it as a terrorist organization, such as Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and even non-Arab country Russia. Founded in 1928 in Egypt by an Islamic teacher and scholar, Hassan al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood’s original goal was to find a universal Islamic system of rule. Embracing political activism, social responsibility, charitable works and social support programs, the Brotherhood seeks to serve its main support base of low-income populations. The organization’s current leader in Egypt is Mohamed Badie, who is currently in prison, serving numerous life and death sentences for, among other charges, murder, incitement of violence, support of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, vandalism and incitement to terrorism. Some of the group’s international offshoots are the Islamic Constitutional Movement in Kuwait, Tunisia’s Ennahda and Hamas in Palestine, some of whose founding members were originally in the Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood has a complicated political history within Egypt, which was only exacerbated by brotherhood member Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-Ayyat’s, stint as president between 2012 to 2013. Morsi was nominated as a backup candidate but became the official President when Kharait El-Shater was disqualified in the elections. Through a temporary constitutional declaration in November of 2012, Morsi granted himself unlimited power, described by some as an “Islamist coup.” Soon, with accusations of repressing the freedom of press and demonstrations, major protests began in 2012 and ended in June of 2013, when now-President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed Morsi from office in a coup-d’état, commonly referred to as the June 30 Revolution. Presently, many of the Brotherhood’s remaining members have been accused by the Egyptian government of supporting Morsi, a criminal act in the eyes of the Sisi regime. Since then, the government has labeled the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Sisi’s administration has implemented aggressive policies which aim to eradicate Brotherhood leadership and isolate it by spreading a narrative that links it to violent Islamism. Yet, the Muslim Brotherhood miraculously still prevails today. Their resilience poses a risk to Sisi’s legitimacy and the stability of the Egyptian state. Currently, the Egyptian government holds thousands of the group’s members in prison, where they often face abuse, violating international prison standards, such as the freedom from torture outlined in the Declaration of Human Rights. Other preventative measures against the organization include confiscating its assets and media censorship. Sisi believes that the ends justify the means — it is worth suppressing a violent terrorist organization that has previously threatened political leadership for national security. However, the Brotherhood has claimed to reject violence and wishes to participate in mainstream politics. Are governments to believe that they are still a terrorist organization, or should they be treated as any other religious and political movement? The Egyptian government justifies its classification of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization by describing it as a group with “blood on its hands,” due to their connection with Morsi, the multiple terrorist attacks orchestrated by Brotherhood members and because many offshoot organizations of the Brotherhood are jihadists. They claim that the Brotherhood’s attempts to prove it has become a non-violent organization are only a manipulative tactic to regain public and media popularity. At this point, they will once more resort to violence. Terrorist attacks led by members of the organization include the bombing of a police bus in Rashid in 2015, wounding dozens of policemen and killing four, the burning of the General Court of Fayoum Governate in Fayoum, the setting of fires at the Friends of the Bible Society building in Fayoum, storming police stations in Youssef Al-Siddiq and Tamiya, and the theft of ammunitions. The Muslim Brotherhood’s perennial challenge of effectively mixing religion with politics has historically ended in violence and strife, as was the case for Egypt in 2012-2013. Gamel Abdel-Gawad, a political analyst from Al-Ahram, wrote that “Egypt began to stabilize only after Al-Sisi was elected president in May 2014, and even then, the country was still forced to fight the remnants of terrorist groups and help the state stand on its feet again. Despite its defeat on June 30, 2013, the Brotherhood resumed its war against the new regime, resorting to terrorism and assassinations and launching a media war.” Another aspect that would justify categorizing the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization would be that many offshoots of the group are known to be violent and dangerous jihadists, such as “Liwaa al-Thawra,” “Popular Resistance,” “Helwan Brigades,” “Ajnad Misr” and “Revolutionary Punishment.” According to the Egyptian government, these offshoots did not only originate from the group but were financed and led by them. However, Sisi’s claims are disputed by other states and independent journalists. The Tahir Institute for Middle East Policy stated that “understanding the Salafist influence is important for it highlights how [Ajnad Misr] and similar [groups] that may pop up are not necessarily an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideological outlook, as the government contends.” Even though the Muslim Brotherhood’s rightful characterization may be up for debate, it is indisputable that they have a history of violence, starting at their roots. The group’s founder, Hassan al-Banna, once said, “Jihad is an obligation from Allah and every Muslim and cannot be ignored nor evaded.” In his book “The Way of Jihad,” he wrote: “Jihad means the fighting of the unbelievers and involves all possible efforts that are necessary to dismantle the power of the enemies of Islam, including beating them, plundering their wealth, destroying their places of worship, and smashing their idols.” This ideology was followed not only during the Brotherhood’s terrorist attacks but also when they mourned the death of Osama bin Laden. Numerous clerics of the group have openly supported the violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt, as well as antisemitic behavior when discussing their views on the Holocaust. An Egyptian Sciences Piste, who has asked to remain anonymous, described the “atrocious” acts of terror by the Brotherhood: “words cannot describe the hate I have for them, and how they made it more complicated to get into a place of worship. Until today, before entering churches, bags are checked, you go through scanners, and they sometimes even ask for your ID (which indicates your religion).” Most violent extremist acts and quotes come from the three years following the June 30 Revolution and have not occurred more recently. However, the Brotherhood’sHamas branch still currently participates in suicide bombings, kidnappings and rocket attacks with civilian targets, all of which the Brotherhood view as a legitimate response to Israeli occupation. Its other branches, conversely, only very loosely associate themselves with the Brotherhood and arguably cannot concretely be connected. The Egyptian media and government propagate myths about the organization being affiliated with large jihadist groups such as Al Qaeda. While some Brotherhood members quit the group in frustration with the organization’s policy on non-violence and joined groups such as Al Qaeda, the Brotherhood has repeatedly denounced the infamous jihadist group. Most experts outside of Egypt have agreed that the organization cannot be classified as a terrorist group. Even when the Donald Trump presidency tried to label it as such, the Trump administration could not find enough evidence. David D. Kirkpatrick from the New York Times argued that “the main international advocates for the designation are Mr. el-Sisi of Egypt and his authoritarian allies in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Alarmed that Muslim Brotherhood parties might rise to power through elections, all three governments have cracked down on the Islamists and pressed their allies to do the same. They argue that the Brotherhood’s Islamic ideology makes it a threat to the idea of the nation-state and thus a threat to the region’s stability.” As a result, whether or not it is for Sisi’s political gain, if one only looks at the present day, there is not enough proof to label the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. However, it cannot be easy to erase its history of violence. The anonymous Sciences Piste stated, “what makes it more alarming to me is how some of the churches that were bombed were ones my parents had been to throughout their childhoods, and that’s not anything they can forgive the Muslim Brotherhood for committing. I would not trust a Muslim Brotherhood-based government.” It is logical why countries might define the Brotherhood differently based on their geographical location. Countries far from the conflict — unaffected by the group’s historical violence — would understandably be more easily ready to believe the Brotherhood has evolved. In contrast, countries with a more personal relationship with the organization who still see the psychological scars caused by the Brotherhood today would be more inclined to stay wary. Overall, the rational labeling of the group as terrorist or non-terrorist depends on how long one believes a period of non-violence must last until the group in question has definitively shifted away from terrorism. Arguably, since it has only been about half a decade in the case of the Brotherhood, it might be premature to claim that they have completely veered away from terrorism. The Brotherhood being labeled as a terrorist organization in Egypt is enforced by Article 7 of the Terrorist Entities Law. Their meetings are banned, all of its activities have been shut down, funding is prohibited, all of the group’s assets and its members are frozen, and it cannot access any social media or express itself digitally. As a result, the Muslim Brotherhood, which has often wished to become a part of the mainstream political conversation, is strictly banned from all public activity. Even if some can consider these measures as unfair since the Muslim Brotherhood is characterized by most as a non-terrorist organization, it cannot be disputed that the organization stands for extreme and arguably highly dangerous and intolerant values such as a support for a totalitarian system operating under sharia law and various forms of religious discrimination. Today, the Brotherhood attempts to gradually return to the Egyptian street through its “Change Movement of the Muslim Brotherhood,” also called the “Kemalist movement,” after Muhammad Kamal, who led major terrorist operations in Egypt in 2014. Whether or not this is a prelude to violence that could once again destabilize Egyptian politics remains yet to be seen.

< Back European E-Waste is Transforming Entire Cities in Africa into Wastelands By Mayra Kost January 31, 2022 With the rise of technological development and our global dependence on electronic devices, European discarded electronic waste, or “e-waste”, is transforming entire cities in Africa into wastelands. In the Agbogbloshie region near the Ghanaian capital, Accra, one of the largest electronic wastelands in the world, is expanding. The area currently holds over 50 million tons of e-waste, with predictions doubling the figure by 2050. Yet, the e-waste is not generated within the region, or even the continent. Instead, it is illegally imported from Europe and the United States to Africa. The wasteland in Agbogbloshie began forming in the 1990s as large shipments from European countries, such as France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands arrived at the port of Accra with immense containers labeled as “secondhand consumer products.” In theory, the content of these containers was meant to be recyclable, expanding the market for reused electronic goods and pushing the Ghanaian economy forward. Yet, in reality, about 75 percent of these allegedly secondhand electronics cannot be further processed and are directly transported to landfills in Agbogbloshie. While the waste is not imported directly from European incinerators, informal collectors in recycling centers or metal scrap dealers send the unusable e-waste either to African or Asian countries simply by changing their official label to “recyclable” or “secondhand” goods. The illicit trade of digital dumping proposes a more profitable option than properly recycling devices that contain toxic chemicals for most European manufacturers. Many among Ghanaian authorities blame the lack of surveillance in the ports, which allows about 150 thousand tons of foreign waste to enter the country annually. As regular inspections would result in a significant slowdown in the movement of multiple massive containers that the port passes daily, imported goods swiftly pass over from international waters into the country. It appears that making a slight bureaucratic change is sufficient to continue the exploitation of the country, as the West has managed to maintain its private wasteland despite multiple conventions, namely by the Basel Action Network, an NGO that combats toxic waste importation to developing countries, and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). In 1989, with the signing of the Basel Convention, the first attempts to control and monitor transboundary movements of waste from Europe to Africa were made. The treaty explicitly forbade developed nations from unauthorized dumping of e-waste in less developed nations, yet the Basel Convention’s scope of power appeared to be minimal, and led to absolutely no significant change in the area. Subsequently, in 2012, a forum meeting took place between the UNEP and the Basel Action Network to discuss the violations of the 1989 Basel Convention, yet, once again, no consequential action was taken. While several meetings dedicated to this matter were organized in past years, they all shared a pattern of acknowledging the problem, but justifying the influx of waste from the West as an opportunity to create green jobs and facilitate economic development in Africa. This idealistic thought behind “green jobs” harshly clashes with the reality of working in Agbogbloshie. Currently, the region holds about 10,000 workers who are engaged in an informal recycling process, scavenging for profitable metals by disassembling electronic devices and burning off plastic encasements on computer sites and refrigerator coils. Such fires release toxic gases into the air, amounting to abnormal levels of air pollution in the area, which puts these workers at serious risk of respiratory problems. Burns, back problems, and infected wounds as well as long-term issues like chronic nausea and lung problems are common ailments among the residents and workers in Agbogbloshie. Moreover, the pollution has a larger effect on the country, as the region is simultaneously one of the largest food markets near Accra. Local farmers are left with no choice other than continuing their production and grazing the livestock freely on the dump site. It is estimated that one egg hatched by a free range chicken in Agbogbloshie exceeds the European food safety authority limits on chlorinated dioxins, which can cause cancer and damage the immune system, by 220 times. According to a report by the Basel Action Network, the site contains some of the most toxic chemicals on earth, putting both local farmers and consumers at an immense health risk. While the Ghanaians suffer as an entire city is taken over by an ever-growing wasteland, the West continues its covert operation, hiding behind excuses such as “Opportunity” “Green Jobs!” and “Economic Development!” No amount of ‘opportunity’ is worth the harm that is being inflicted upon the inhabitants of Agbogloshie, who must grapple with the inhospitable conditions of their home city with every breath of polluted air they take. The situation in Agbogbloshie also reveals a much larger, global problem, centering around the West’s attitude towards African countries. Although colonialism is now considered to be an issue of the past, European nations are able to continue exploiting less developed countries, while the European Union maintains its public principles as “equality” and “promoting peace and stability.” The vast wasteland of Agbogloshie is living proof of this ongoing Western hypocrisy.

Stone skipping is a sport at least to the same extent as tennis is a sport. It involves a motion and movement giving a round object projectile motion. They both involve handsome gentlemen and ladies partaking in the activity. < Back Stone Skipping Society: A New Player in Menton Athletics By Ada Baser October 30, 2021 No one can dispute that the key value of the Menton campus is athletic excellence. Students burn the midnight fuel in the volleyball courts or drag themselves out of bed to head to the fields. Yet, the rocky beaches and the crystal clear water remained untouched in a competitive environment. Until now. Three 2A entrepreneurs and masterminds responded to the deep void created by the absence of organized stone skipping on campus. An association that is well before its time, the Stone Skipping Society of SciencesPo Menton engrains the sport into our community forever. Established in 2021 by co-founders Nikola Avramovic, Stanisław Naklicki, and Benjamin Vitenson, the Society is a response to those with a great interest in and desire to institutionalize the sport, according to Naklicki. The athletes in the society can be found on the Sablettes and Bastion beaches in their training positions, although the organized events themselves are characterized as “spontaneous” and “impromptu” by Naclicki. The open and integrative team offers ample competition for those to perfect their sport, while simultaneously instilling the inspiration to learn in many by assisting and encouraging perfection and accuracy. As the name suggests, the goal of stone skipping is twofold: for the rock to skip the most number of times while simultaneously achieving the farthest distance. Sound simple? Not at all. The precision of the sport comes down to the choice of the right flat rock, core strength and balance, and muscular endurance to throw with aim and dexterity. All of these skills are targeted during the society’s trainings. Video evidence and inspiration can be found on the society’s Instagram page, @stone_skipping_society. Unfortunately, no tell-all article on the issue of stone skipping can be complete without the discussion of its status as a sport. The controversy is at best baseless and harmful to the many people that dedicate their time, energy, and hopes into the sport. Naklicki defends his position with a simple statement: “Stone skipping is a sport at least to the same extent as tennis is a sport. It involves a motion and movement giving a round object projectile motion. They both involve handsome gentlemen and ladies partaking in the activity.” Furthermore, how would established organizations like the North American Stone Skipping Association respond to unfounded accusations towards their legitimacy? Or legends in the game, like Kurt Steiner, Christina Bowen-Bravery or Peter Szep? Christina Bowen-Bravery further nuances the discussion of stone-skipping with a sad fact: the sport is very male-dominated. Especially for a campus with a female majority population, shattering gender stereotypes should be at the core of all associations. Vitenson commented on the sad reality of gender imbalance in the game: “I think if we had more women role models in the sport we would see a surge in participation, but we are looking to tear down that gender wall of stone skipping and have everyone participate.” As the sport becomes accepted and embraced on campus, the real question becomes, why does the serious sport of stone skipping get continually excluded from the mini-crit competition? Vitenson, appalled at the lack of stone skipping at such a well-rounded, inter-campus competition, calls for action on the student and administrative level to fix the wrongdoing. Whether it be your first time looking at a rock, or your final practice before the next World Stone Skimming Championship, the new society has “expanded into everyday life of students,” according to Vitenson, and is dedicated to continuing this legacy and cultural tradition. Who will stand in the way of such a “noble activity” and the interest therein among the student population? The official incorporation of this sport into campus life is changing how the campus views athletics and actively pushes for change in the professional sport. The time has come to end unproductive debates regarding the activity and instead focus the energy of the campus on embracing an integral aspect of culture: stone skipping.

Le Vagina Show est revenu faire rayonner notre campus mentonnais le temps d’une soirée pour une quatrième année consécutive ! < Back Vagina Show: La Création d’un Espace Libre pour les Femmes… mais Également pour les Hommes! By Aicha Yahaya April 30, 2022 Si la journée du 8 mars est officiellement et internationalement reconnue comme la journée des droits des femmes, au sein de la Feminist Union, chaque jour est une bonne occasion pour représenter et célébrer l’expression de la féminité. C’est pourquoi nous vous avons retrouvés le 15 mars dernier pour une soirée exceptionnelle mêlant art et genre, durant laquelle tous les tabous ont été laissés au pas-de-porte. Vous l’aurez compris, le Vagina Show est revenu faire rayonner notre campus mentonnais le temps d’une soirée pour une quatrième année consécutive ! Pourquoi un Vagina Show? Inspiré de la pièce de théâtre “Les Monologues du vagin” de l’auteure new-yorkaise Eve Ensler, le Vagina Show a pour but principal la création d’un espace libre pour les femmes, mais également pour les hommes ! A l’image de cette référence du féminisme contemporain, l’idée est avant tout de prôner la libération de la parole, et ce, par divers moyens. En effet, si le monologue occupe une place centrale, le Vagina Show n’en est pas moins resté ouvert à des formes d’arts diverses et variées entre danse, notamment menée par le club de Belly Dance, des chants spécialement préparés le Bureau des Arts, des poèmes et autres performances en tout genre laissant à chacun l’opportunité de faire ressortir sa créativité et ses talents cachés. De quoi parle-t- on ? Le choix du sujet est tout aussi libre ! Il existe mille et une façons d’exprimer sa féminité/masculinité et la question du genre et de la sexualité de manière générale. Cette année, nos participant.e.s ont fait preuve d’inventivité et de toujours plus d’originalité dans leurs choix d'interprétation. Se réapproprier un monologue, créer un poème ou encore reprendre une chanson: tous les moyens étaient bons pour prendre la parole. Les thèmes furent tout aussi multiples, traiter de l’intersectionnalité, de la condition des femmes selon les pays et/ou parler de leurs corps, tout cela en suivant un même principe : au diable le politiquement correct ! Parce qu’évoquer ces différents sujets dans tout ce qu’ils ont de plus réel, et parfois de brutal, ne devrait pas être un tabou, le Vagina Show se veut être la scène qui offre à chacun et chacune le droit de porter sa voix à plus grande échelle, devenant ainsi le théâtre d’une ode à la liberté d’expression. Plus qu’un moyen de s’exprimer, un moyen de partager Si exprimer sa pensée a pu être libérateur pour nos artistes, du côté du public, l’expérience fut davantage instructive et enrichissante. Cette promenade artistique proposée par nos intervenants a en effet pu nous ouvrir à de nouvelles formes d’expression et à de nouvelles facettes de la féminité. Le Vagina Show, c’est donc aussi un événement d’échange et de découverte pour chacun et chacune, toujours dans une ambiance chaleureuse et vivante propre à la Feminist Union ! Ce qu’il faut donc retenir Cette année, le Vagina Show a pu se tenir en présentiel pour la première fois depuis 2019, nous offrant ainsi un grand moment de de partage dynamique, vivant et marqué par la sororité inhérente à cet évènement unique sur notre campus. Liberté, art et femmes formaient les maîtres-mots de cette soirée si spéciale, ne laissant aucune place à la gêne et la honte, prônant au contraire la parole libérée de toute censure et de tout blâme. Il apparaît tout naturellement important de remercier dans un premier temps toutes nos participant.e.s pour leurs présentations plus que remarquables ayant fait de cette soirée un événement inoubliable pour plus d’un. La vivacité et l’enthousiasme dont le public a fait preuve tout au long de la soirée ont aussi contribué à rendre le Vagina Show si agréable et en faire un véritable succès cette année encore.

< Back Sea, Sun and Surveillance: Menton’s Fete du Citron Introduces New Security Measures By Catarina Vita March 30, 2024 From the beginning to late February, the Cote D’Azur — more specifically the city of Menton — transforms from an abandoned summer paradise into an epicenter of tourism. Businesses of every kind come to life with Menton’s Fete du Citron, better known as the Lemon Festival. The city of Menton, currently harboring one of the most significant migrant crises globally, gathers tourists from all over the world around the city’s humble 14.05 kilometers squared area to admire statues made almost entirely out of lemons at the Jardins Biovès, delve into the orchid exposition right across the street in the Palais d’Europe, and walk straight and up the stairs to visit the iconic Basilique de Saint Michel Archange. Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons, however, hold the true gist of the Lemon Festival: the parades. Including everything from cheerleaders to a Trojan Horse, everyone gathers around Avenue Felix Faure to celebrate the parades, rain or sunshine. This year’s theme was the Paris Olympics, and all statues revolved around that, with Olympic swimmers and wrestlers welcoming tourists that arrive from the train station into Menton. According to France3 , Menton was expected to receive 30,000 people for the festival, doubling the city’s population. Similarly to the Olympics itself, the Menton government reinforced security measures during the period of the Lemon Festival. Yearly, the government installs smaller lemon-made sculptures around the city, which usually find themselves empty after a few days of their installation. With the large influx of people in a small city, pickpockets surge. This year, the Menton government aimed to reinforce its security and surveillance measures, both through manpower and security cameras. France3 reported that 150 national police officers were dedicated to the event, as well as 50 municipal police officers. Surveillance cameras were placed in various locations of the city, especially in the lemon-made statues around the Old Town. Near the Basilique, where such a statue was placed, a big, red sign with white letters contrasted the yellow of the lemons: cette zone est surveillée. Another technology-based effort recently implemented is drone surveillance, also reaffirmed by France3. To access the traditional festival parades, an intricate security check is mandatory. The new metal-detecting device Evolv , similar to ones in airports and museums, was implemented for the attendees of the parade. The official Menton Préfecture website recommended arriving two hours before the parade due to intricate security checks, including bag search. In an interview for BFM Cote d’Azur , Aurélien Froger, a police officer placed in Menton for the Lemon Festival, recounts the dangers posed during this period, specifically during the parades. He describes two main ones, those caused by crowds and those caused by individuals. The crowds, according to Froger, can cause panic and instability, while the officer was concerned about knife violence with regard to the security threats posed by individuals. “When there is a crowd, there is always a concern,” says Froger. Another police officer described that the security team examined the parade areas before people arrived to ensure that “nothing dangerous” was placed on these premises. The collective local and national efforts for the Lemon Festival’s success reveal the importance of this period on a macro and micro scale. Evidently, the festival turns the lemons of the Mentonese economy during the winter season into lemonade, reviving chain hotels and small businesses. A small carelessness on the part of security during the festival could cause its collapse and with it, the collapse of Menton and the Cote d’Azur during winter. Thankfully for businesses and tourism, the 2024 edition of the Fete du Citron, also being the 90th edition of the festival, had surprising numbers. The Menton Préfecture website recorded almost 100,000 spectators to all four parades, 74,000 people in the orchid exposition at Palais d’Europe, and over a million accessors to the official Fete du Citron website. One of the smallest cities in the Cote d’Azur suddenly becomes overcrowded in February, which could lead to a security catastrophe. With security efforts like the ones imposed in this year’s edition of the Lemon Festival, a catastrophe like that could be considered successfully prevented from the lack of reports of serious security threats. Nonetheless, the enjoyment of the Fete du Citron also relies on the integrity of the police force and no police violence, which is not in place in the current migration crisis scenario in the Cote d’Azur. While tourists from all over the world are being protected by the police, for migrants at the Franco-Italian border, French law enforcement can come to threaten their life. Police brutality against migrants are rampant, besides neglect on proper reception and human rights.For years to come, security efforts would best be combined with actions to lower police brutality, at the Italian border and Mentonese streets, so that the city and the festival can be properly appreciated.

Syria’s road to recovery will likely be a tumultuous one—economic frailty, sectarian violence and external pressures weigh upon the government’s next steps. But for the first time in over a decade, the possibility of Syrian-led reconstruction can be seen as within reach. < Back Syria Today: Post-Assad Turmoil and Efforts to Rebuild Maria Eirini Liodi for Sciences Defense April 30, 2025 The fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 marked the end of a dictatorship, leaving Syria free from Assad family rule after 50 years. Surely that’s a cause for celebration... However, Syria finds itself at a new crossroads. It is tasked with establishing stability and security in a nation on the brink of collapse. Today, the landscape remains bleak: 90% of Syrians in the country live below the poverty line. Bread prices have skyrocketed since the new regime lifted subsidies, electricity is available for just a few hours a day, the public sector remains largely unpaid, and banknotes are scarce, leaving the cash-reliant economy in a stranglehold. Adding to its financial constraints, the country remains one of the most heavily sanctioned in the world, second only to Russia and Iran. While the United States has paused its proposed 41% tariffs on Syrian goods, within the general 90-day sanctions pause, the future remains uncertain. Sanctions relief has been alluded to by both the EU and Washington, however, policy ambiguity persists, trapping the country in a precarious limbo. Where does that leave Syria in terms of safety? The country is facing both internal and external threats. Internally, local security has been jeopardized by sectarian violence in recent months, especially from March onwards. Alawites, an ethnoreligious group and Shiite sect living predominantly in Syria, have increasingly been the target of attacks by armed groups supporting the Sunni-Islamist government, who are thought to be carrying out ‘revenge killings’ against those associated with the previous regime. The reasons behind these attacks can be attributed to the Assad regime's legacy, given that Bashar al-Assad himself was an Alawite, and the sect made up a central part of the Shabbiha, an Assad-loyalist paramilitary force that carried out deadly attacks against Sunni civilians during the civil war. Aside from the historical origins of the grievances, an immediate trigger occurred on March 6 when Assad loyalists attacked a local patrol of security forces in the Latakia province, killing at least thirteen people and prompting consequent anti-Alawite attacks and revenge killings. In early March alone, at least 1,000-2,000 civilian casualties, mostly Alawites, were reported by monitoring groups in the regions of Latakia, Tartus, Hama and Homs. More recently, in late April of this year, fourteen Alawites were reportedly abducted and killed in the Homs region. As noted by UN Envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, “every step towards establishing the rule of law—and moving on transitional justice—will help reassure all components of the Syrian society.” Grievances persist amidst both the Assad loyalists and those in support of the new regime. Additionally, external threats continue to compromise security, as Syria finds itself at the heart of growing Israeli-Turkish tensions. Since December 2024, Israel has carried out repeated airstrikes on Syrian bases, incurring several casualties, while also deploying troops in a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights. The true target of these attacks is Turkey, with Israel’s foreign minister raising concerns of Turkey playing an increasingly “negative role” in Syria. Turkey’s vested interests in Syria are multifaceted. For one, Turkey has been hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees since the start of the civil war. Aiding in the establishment of stability in the country would allow for the repatriation of some Syrian refugees, alleviating pressure on Turkey from hosting 3.2 million Syrian refugees. Turkey’s primary interest, however, lies in sustaining a ‘security corridor’ in northern Syria, tackling counterterrorism linked with Kurdish insurgency on its home grounds, and expanding its soft power through a growing military presence. This comes at a time when Turkey is preparing to deploy air defense systems in Syria’s T4 air base, concurrent with negotiations with the new government for a defense pact . This would increase Turkish presence in the country and bolster Syria’s military. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response has been clear : Turkish bases in Syria would pose a “danger to Israel.” According to Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s new government would “pay a very heavy price” for allowing Turkey to further establish itself in the country. Given the various conflicting external pressures, President Sharaa is called to tread carefully in navigating Syria’s next steps. Despite the turmoil taking Syria by storm, there are some glimmers of hope on the horizon. The new Syrian leadership is taking a cautious stance diplomatically, committed to balancing ties between competing regional powers and positioning itself strategically. Experts suggest that Syria’s transitional government has a rare window of opportunity to reclaim its agency and stability. As such, the government’s next steps are of special importance, especially if sanctions relief is contingent upon counterterrorism cooperation and minority protections. If Syria can leverage its current relative freedom from Irania n dominance and can secure support from international actors and allies, the country may be en route to a sustainable transition away from its years of violence. Syria’s road to recovery will likely be a tumultuous one—economic frailty, sectarian violence and external pressures weigh upon the government’s next steps. But for the first time in over a decade, the possibility of Syrian-led reconstruction can be seen as within reach. Photo source: upyernoz on Flickr

Joy is evident everywhere. It is woven into the fabric of the robust youth culture. It is painted into the murals that decorate almost every street. It mingles with the smoke in the jam packed shisha bar. < Back Amman Travel Review: What I Lost in Egypt, I Found in Jordan Lara-Nour Walton March 30, 2022 I spent my early childhood draped on couches in Heliopolis, spitting sunflower seed shells into ashtrays, curling up with cousins under the glow of Pixar movies. My fingers were perpetually sticky with mango. I sat on everybody’s lap, kissed everybody’s cheek. I slept in intergenerational apartments – blood relations on each story. I once knew Cairo by heart. I traced its corners, memorized its streets from balconies and car windows. But my great grandmother’s death marked a definitive shift in the Egypt that I had grown up with. Her passing preceded several more uprooting family losses. Without our Cairo-based matriarch, remaining relatives began to leave downtown for satellite cities. With the ascendance of Al-Sisi, bridges and highways diced up the metropolis, defacing its once recognizable figure. My relations scattered. Cairo lost all its unity, diminished to a blur of billboards and bustle, on my way from the airport to Sheikh Zayed. I wondered if the Egypt of my girlhood was gone forever. But, what I lost in Egypt, I found in Jordan. Jordan does not look like Egypt. Amman, the capital, is a sprawling city– boxy, and entirely limestone according to the Kingdom’s strict building code. Amman is uniform and retains very little of Cairo’s chaos. Jordan does not sound like Egypt. Shamy Arabic is sweeter– less guttural than its Egyptian counterpart. Fewer car horns are heard in the streets. The muezzin is more inconspicuous. Jordan does not smell like Egypt. The molokhia is spiced differently, the pollution hangs lighter in the air. But the sense of community, family, liveliness, that had vanished from my Egypt, it lives on in Jordan. When I landed in Amman this spring break, I was brimming with anticipation. My conception of the SWANA region was limited to my childhood experiences. I wondered how Jordan would stack up. My excitement was timidly matched by my traveling companion/tour guide, English Track 1A, Sami Omaish. Much like me, Omaish grew up between the Middle East and states. His Jordanian family magnanimously agreed to open their home to us for the vacation. Omaish’s palpable nervousness in Queen Alia Airport was familiar to me. Every time I return to Egypt, I too have airport crises– panicking about whether I will spontaneously lose the ability to interact with my relatives or, worse, forget how many bises are required for standard greetings (two). I suspected that his anxiety, just like mine always is, would soon be quelled by the open arms of family. When we arrived at the Omaish household, my hunch was confirmed. We were welcomed with guffaws, embraces, and a piping hot lunch in the dining room. Omaish’s grandparents are the epitome of Arab elders. His grandfather, Sami Omaish Sr., bellows on the phone and is acquainted with everyone in the neighborhood. His grandmother dotes on every guest and knits her eyebrows when there isn’t enough khobs on the table. His family was the veritable backbone of our trip: uncle Ziad organized our transportation from Petra, to Wadi Rum, to the Dead Sea; great aunt Samira, a downstairs neighbor to Omaish’s grandparents, gave me and English Track 1A Basak Üstün a bed to sleep in; cousin Laith led us to one of the best meals of the trip, Jordanian mezze – hummus, falafel, pita bread, pickled carrots, and baked cheese. Amman felt like a homecoming to me – the bevy of children, the animated conversation, the unwavering warmth – was reminiscent of my early years in Egypt. But there was an unknown face of SWANA, one that I never witnessed in Egypt, that I delighted in during my stay in Jordan. The youth scene in Amman is positively effervescent. Although spending bountiful time with young adults in Cairo, I never truly strayed from the sphere of domesticity. But, in the capital’s trendy locales, I experienced SWANA for the first time without familial restraint. It was in the Jabal Amman and Weibdeh neighborhoods where I was exposed to a cafe culture rivaling both Paris’ and Vienna’s. Rumi Cafe operates to a soundtrack of English and Arabic. They do cafe favorites with an Arab twist – saffron hot chocolates and cardamom cakes grace the tables of patrons. Down the street, Wild Jordan offers an array of coffees and smoothies that would make Starbucks quake in its boots. Snacks like apple pie and lentil soup were fan favorites among my travel partners. And if the menu was not enticing enough, the windows offer panoramic views of the Amman – the ancient citadel in direct eyeshot. But, Books@Cafe was my favorite establishment. Although boasting the title of “the Middle East’s first ever internet cafe”, it had the most unreliable wifi of all the ones we visited. This, however, could be overlooked. Books@Cafe is the type of business that, I believe, should be in every SWANA city. On the ground floor, local art is sold, creating a vibrant market for young Jordanian artists. Stacked up against kaleidoscopic wallpaper are shelves upon shelves of books in both Arabic and English. Stooped over laptops and books are school age people – the 50% off student discount presenting reason enough to frequent the coffee house. A hub for the Jordanian artistic, literary, and youth scenes, Books@Cafe also doubles as a haven for Amman’s queer community. This cafe represents joy. It is accessible and tolerant – a space where people of all backgrounds are encouraged to create, to learn, to share some delicious food and drink. And joy is not only relegated to Books@Cafe. It is evident everywhere. It is woven into the fabric of the robust youth culture. It is painted into the murals that decorate almost every street. It mingles with the smoke in the jam packed shisha bar. Jordan is the renewal of my Cairene glory days, but it is also unlike anywhere else I’ve been before.

The truth is this: Egypt has never ruled merely by sword or throne. Its empire was always one of imagination, where a pen could be sharper than steel, a song louder than artillery, and a camera brighter than any spotlight. The world may forget armies, but it remembers stories. And Egypt has always known how to tell them. < Back The Pen, the Camera, and the Microphone: The Egyptian Kit of Soft Power Amena Elkayal September 27, 2025 Whether it is “ Huna al-Qahira ’ (Here is Cairo) echoing from radios in the beginning of every radio program, “ Cairo writes, the world reads ” proclaiming the Egyptian pen’s might, or Om Kulthum – known as Kawkab al-Sharq (the Star of the East) – mesmerizing hearts with her voice, Egypt has always spoken to the world through culture. Its soft power has always been a timeless symphony of word, image, and sound. In order to grasp the true reach of this subtle weapon of soft power, we must journey backward in time. Not to the recent golden age of cinema or the era of Nasser’s radio, but much farther into the fertile soil of the Nile and the texture of the papyrus, to Ancient Egypt—seven millennia ago. From tender love songs in hieroglyphs in temples in the Egyptian city of Aswan to tales like the Eloquent Peasant , Egypt's stories reached the farthest points of the earth and gave the scribe’s pen the power of a sword: they gave the nation its own legitimacy, unique persona, and influential cultural heritage. Centuries later, in Alexandria, the greatest library of the ancient world was the headquarters of literature, poetry, arts, and sciences, giving birth to some of the world’s greatest poems, epics, and scientific discoveries. What united these eras was not the might of armies but the sway of ideas–the ability to move nations through fascination and respect for its heritage and legacy rather than fear. It is this very idea that Joseph Nye would much later name soft power , defined as “the ability to affect other’s behavior by coercion, inducement or attraction.” The main sources of soft power are diplomacy but also culture, including music, media, literature, science, and cinema; thus, states achieve desired outcomes through attraction rather than coercion. As Janice Bially Martin later observed , this attraction Nye referred to in his definition of soft power is " constructed through communicative exchange" which emphasizes that soft power lives and dies in the art of storytelling: whether it's through the pages of a book, the melodies of a song, the flash of a camera, or the strength of the spoken word. By this measure, Egypt has long been a maestro of attraction. In 2025, Business Insider Africa announced Egypt 1st in leading soft power in Africa and 38th globally. Its score, 47.8 points out of 100, rested on pillars varying from trade, international relations, culture and heritage, media and communication to people and values. Under Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Egyptian call for justice and unity through its media thundered across the Arab world. Nasser believed that his revolution should not be carried only by soldiers but by soundwaves. The radio broadcasting station Sawt al-Arab (The Voice of the Arabs) was launched in 1953 as Egypt’s revolutionary radio station. It played a huge role in spreading Nasser’s ideas of Pan-Arabism, nationalism, socialism, and anti-colonialism across the region. Through radio waves, Cairo became the capital of Arab and African unity broadcasting the spirit of independence to Algeria, Kenya, and beyond. When Algerian revolutionaries spoke from Cairo in both Arabic and French: “The Voice of the National Liberation Front Speaks to You from Cairo”, this was proof that Egypt’s microphone was as mighty as any arsenal. On the other hand, while the radio spread words, music touched souls. Om Kulthum’s voice was an ocean of tarab (as the Guardian described : “ a state of rapturous enchantment, where time and self dissolve in the music”) in which millions willingly drowned. Her reach extended far beyond the region, as Western artists like Bob Dylan and Maria Callas confessed that Kawkab al-Sharq is like no other. Before Om Kulthum, Sayed Darwish had already proven that music could shake empires, rallying Egyptians during the 1919 Revolution until even the British felt threatened by his melodies. The pen, too, carved Egypt’s name into the cultural map. From Abbas Mahmoud Al-Aakkad’s pioneering contributions to the world of play-writing and philosophical essays to Naguib Mahfouz’ labyrinthine novels introducing the Arab world to the art of novel-writing; Cairo strongly embodied the saying “Cairo writes, Beirut publishes, Baghdad reads” . Mahfouz, the Arab world’s only Nobel laureate in literature, actually introduced the modern novel to the Arab world, turning Cairo’s alleyways into characters in their own right, therefore vividly capturing and conveying the essence of the Egyptian spirit to the world. And then came the camera. Egypt, producing 75% of Arab films in the 20th century was called the Hollywood of the East . This did not only shape stories, but a wide range of Arab identities; dialects, fashions, ideals, jokes, morals, and general taste. Stars like Omar Sharif who conquered Hollywood with Lawrence of Arabia and Faten Hamama who bewitched Arab audiences with her grace, made Cairo both stage and spotlight. To this day, Ramadan dramas and Eid films keep Egyptian screens flickering in living rooms from Baghdad to Rabat. Yet, brilliance is never eternal. In recent decades, Egypt’s cultural production has drifted into shallow waters; its once-vast sea of creativity and influence now narrowed by profit-driven media chasing sensation over substance. Increasing censorship and the tightening grip of centralized control have been among the major currents dragging this deterioration. Before the revolutions of 2011 and 2013, there was more freedom given to Egyptian drama to weave political references and to mirror, however imperfectly, the pulse of the nation and its people. However, when such reflections began to rattle the system, more state control over media led to the retreat into safer terrain of content leaning more towards ‘social’ dramas. In an article by The Arab Weekly, Nader Khalifa, a critic and scriptwriter, lamented “the age of Egyptian drama is over”. That is, according to him, resulting from the trend of mediocre serial dramas that absolutely lack representation of the Egyptian people, their pulse, their truth. Instead of what was once a means of cultural influence, representation, and genuine portrayal has taken a turn now into being a commodity measured only by financial return rather than its artistic and cultural worth. The trend is unmistakable. Today’s Egyptian drama leans almost entirely toward depoliticized social stories, detached from the nation’s lived realities. Despite the rise of inflation and the economic crisis, no discussion or portrayal of these realities seems to ever be present in current shows. An essay published by Mohamed El Aswany, Egyptian journalist and critic specialized in Arab arts and entertainment industry and its relationship to society, discussed the reality of the class stratification currently present in Egyptian Ramadan shows and how producers split the content into 3 class categories: Class A, B, and C. Class A shows are completely detached from the harsh reality the Egyptians are living in, while the so called “shaabi drama”, popular drama of Class C, is by far the most produced, however unfortunately misrepresenting Egypt's lower social classes rather than being a voice for the voiceless. Violence, drug dealing, mistreatment of women, gangs, and vulgarity: caricatures that misrepresent the very people they intended to capture, gradually erasing a hundreds-of-years legacy. But not all is lost. Even though Egyptians themselves might blame the government’s shift to private sector and building new cities and festivals, yet it is undeniable that this is one of the things keeping the country’s splendour alive: El Gouna Film Festival , the cultural vibrancy of Alamein , Cultural and historical Events like Pharaoh's golden parade , and the Sahel (Egypt's North coast) scene keep Egypt in conversation with the world. The truth is this: Egypt has never ruled merely by sword or throne. Its empire was always one of imagination, where a pen could be sharper than steel, a song louder than artillery, and a camera brighter than any spotlight. The world may forget armies, but it remembers stories. And Egypt has always known how to tell them. So for all Egyptians out there, keep in your bag a pen, a camera, and a mini microphone and… rise to power! Photo Source: Aldas Kirvaitis, Flickr

< Back How Many Lives Will Be Lost Before the Ethiopian Government and the Oromo Liberation Army Settle a Peace Agreement? By Vanja Lerch Eriksson December 31, 2023 The conflicts in Ethiopia’s Oromiya region have been ongoing for decades, with several armed groups carrying out attacks towards the public and government authorities simultaneously. Only a few weeks ago, one of the more organised militia groups, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), sat down at the negotiation table with the Ethiopian government. The outcome was unfortunately as disappointing as many expected it to be. The OLA and Ethiopian government have not managed to reach a consensus, thus continuing to put thousands of civilians at risk every day. The OLA is an established militia – they have previously posed as the military wing of the once-banned political opposition group, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). The OLF fought for self-determination for the Oromo people for decades until 2018, when they reached an agreement with the Ethiopian government to lay down arms and reintegrate. However, as these negotiations later broke down in 2019, the OLA also broke ties with the OLF and continued to conduct armed operations under their own leadership. From this point, the Ethiopian federal and regional forces started a counterinsurgency towards the OLA, resulting in serious human rights abuses from both parties. Human Rights Watch has reported that the OLA has carried out killings of several government officials as well as attacked non-military government offices. However, the OLA does not contain their violence to the Ethiopian authorities but also targets the ethnic Amhara minority in the region. There have for decades been conflicts and disagreements in the region between the different ethnic groups living there, and the OLA has on several occasions specifically targeted the Amharan communities. Residents who survived the attacks by the OLA witnessed how the armed men surrounded entire villages and forced their inhabitants to gather in the town centre for mass executions. At the same time as the OLA carries out attacks on civilians, they are also having an armed conflict with the Ethiopian government in the Western parts of Oromiya. Though there are established government forces in the region, they usually take hours to respond to emergency calls from civilians being ambushed by the local militias. There have also been reports of arbitrary arrest and detention of Oromos, as well as summary executions by government authorities. The Ethiopian authorities have killed and injured hundreds of civilians over the last few years, using violence towards peaceful protestors and large gatherings of people which did not pose a security threat on several occasions. For example, this was the case as hundreds of people gathered to honor the killed Oromo singer, Hachalu, at his home in 2020. The gathered group did not carry weapons and did not behave violently, yet, the police and armed forces opened fire and shot several individuals. Thus, it is clear that the government authorities are also perpetrators of human rights abuses. In addition to the mentioned abuses, the Ethiopian security forces have instrumentalized the arrest of Oromos as a way of limiting the group's influence and their ability to exercise freedom of speech. Thousands of Oromos have over the last couple of years been arrested, and many are kept in prison for years without facing trial. The huge amount of arrests could seemingly also be a way of covering up the dozens of arrested opposition politicians. In addition, the Ethiopian government has failed tremendously in providing housing and support for the thousands of displaced people in the region, as many are fleeing more violent areas It is therefore clear that the civilians in the area are the ones suffering the most, as they are attacked both by militias such as the OLA and at times even government authorities. The thousands of people who have been killed so far do thus not make up too big of a cost for either party to yet consider a peace agreement. There are at the moment no further planned negotiations like the ones held in September, making the future unsure for the thousands of civilians living in limbo. At the moment, both parties refuse to acknowledge the other's demands and worries. The Ethiopian National Security Adviser, Redwan Hussein, said that the OLA currently had an obstructive approach and unrealistic demands after the September negotiations. In turn, the OLA accused the government of not dealing with the structural issues regarding the marginalisation of the Oromo people in Oromiya. Thus, the two parties are stuck in this stalemate until further ado, as something needs to change before any party would consider a different path. Organisations like the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), also called the East African Trade Block, have however made efforts to support future negotiations. At the moment there are no signs that their effort is paying off, as both parties continue to engage in violence, both towards each other and the already suffering Ethiopian population.

Will our hands remember how to take up a pen to write without the assistance of a keyboard and Grammarly? Will our eyes be able to adjust to words on paper rather than illuminated on a computer? Will we ever create an outline again without the assistance of ChatGPT? The words of my cousin’s “gyatt” echo into eternity, a siren call of the society we’ve become. < Back The End of Culture as We Know It Maia Zasler November 30, 2024 I will never forget the day my 10-year-old cousin shouted “gyatt” over FaceTime. Her text message rendition manifested in “gyattoose.” When I sit on the train, stand in extended airport security lines, or futilely try to pay attention during lectures, I can see those around me engage in the never-ending consumption of internet content: manufactured, tailored, pixelated images and videos that please the synapses in our brains (re: something more scientifically accurate). I too have fallen victim. My vocabulary seems feeble, easily influenceable. I am ashamed to say I am entertained by some of the most ludicrous content produced in the name of “pop culture,” a means of garnering views. Why did I watch that video of Nara Smith in what can only be described as a ball gown making gum from scratch for her husband? I, along with countless others, consider what is mainstream to be normalized; beyond the beauty standards and gender gap implications that have been heavily critiqued and theorized, respectively, I have to wonder, is the culmination of human intellectual and artistic achievement really the streaming of Keeping up with the Kardashians ? Is it staring at TikTok or Instagram reels for hours on end? In the social media realm, or performative virtual world, we are all audience members and performers. Can we, the masses, be trusted to spearhead culture creation? I would posit, after observing the consequences of the last decade, that the answer is an unequivocal no. A quick Google search will provide a rudimentary definition of “culture”: the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society. So, what has gone deeply wrong in the broader, global society in terms of the deterioration of our ideas, customs and social behavior? I fear that the first catalyst has been a descent into digital absurdity. I have no defense for the two hours I spent (wasted?) watching Amadeus on TikTok. The laughter of young Mozart will forever haunt me. Or perhaps, more embarrassingly, I can refer to the videos displayed side-by-side, staying online to view clips of shows I’ve never even watched as in the parallel window somebody randomly unboxes miniatures or makes slime. I share this because I know mine are not singular experiences. The internet lingo that has encroached on our daily lives pervades beyond our phone screens, a product of oppressive collectivity. And that is part of the issue; we are eroding individualism. We are becoming our greatest obstacles in the production of quality content. We repost and remake existing trends, regurgitating that which we’ve heard too much of and seen too much of (arguably taking away from the voices of individuals who are pioneering culture development and sharing stories worth listening to). The linguistic evolution (or rather, devolution) of the “new generation” is yet another element of concern, a battlefront in this war to safeguard culture. The domination of nothing-words such as “skibidi” or “fanum tax,” or even worse, when combined to form nothing-phrases such as “skibidi Ohio rizz,” render centuries worth of linguistic maturation mute. We are inching closer and closer to a reality in which communication occurs solely through emoticons and TikTok dances. As Sciences Po students, we must ask ourselves: what if the future of diplomacy hinges on the mastery of the “Renegade”? You may think it extreme (it is), but at such an elevated rate of change and international exchange, it is a possibility. We engage more with content creators than Nobel prize winners; Mr. Beast videos supersede poetry and eloquent prose. We constantly have audio playing in the background—“Get Ready with Me” videos roll while we pick out outfits for the day. Our lives are played back to us on Instagram and Snapchat stories. Perhaps we may not all want to go viral, but we are making a conscious decision to give our attention (a valuable thing!!) to actors and general content that is not worthy. Maybe we should consider exploring the idea of a “Cultural Detox Camp;” we’ll read Dostoyevsky and listen to symphonies until we’re cleansed and inspired. Or are we too far gone? Can we reform that which has already been unleashed? Will our hands remember how to take up a pen to write without the assistance of a keyboard and Grammarly? Will our eyes be able to adjust to words on paper rather than illuminated on a computer? Will we ever create an outline again without the assistance of ChatGPT? The words of my cousin’s “gyatt” echo into eternity, a siren call of the society we’ve become.

The International Organization on Migration (IOM) defines the Central Mediterranean route, which passes through Libyan waters, as the “world’s deadliest migratory sea crossing” due to its dangerous waters and the scarce number of search and rescue operations. In 2022 alone, 1,417 people departing from Libya died along the route, while an additional 56,515 people were intercepted and returned to Libya. < Back Renewal of the Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding Rose Harrill December 5, 2025 On Nov. 2, the 2017 Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on migration cooperation automatically renewed for three more years, despite heavy pushback from various human rights organizations. The agreement is between the Italian government and the United Nations (U.N.)-backed Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU), one of two rival authorities competing for control of the country. It is sponsored by the European Union (E.U.) and aims to strengthen Europe’s borders by preventing the arrival of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers via the Mediterranean Sea. The memorandum requires Italy and the E.U. to provide technical and financial support to Libya in order to strengthen its Coast Guard; in return, the Libyan Coast Guard must intercept anyone embarking on trips across the Mediterranean Sea to prevent them from reaching Europe. In practice, the memorandum has disastrous effects for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers attempting to cross the Mediterranean. The International Organization on Migration (IOM) defines the Central Mediterranean route, which passes through Libyan waters, as the “world’s deadliest migratory sea crossing” due to its dangerous waters and the scarce number of search and rescue operations. In 2022 alone, 1,417 people departing from Libya died along the route, while an additional 56,515 people were intercepted and returned to Libya. Migrants detained and brought to Libya face blatant human rights violations and horrifying conditions in detention centers for indefinite periods of time. The centers are often controlled and managed by unaccountable local non-state actors and armed militia groups, making them almost impossible to effectively monitor. In these centers, migrants are often arbitrarily detained , exploited, abused and even tortured to the point of death. Migrants can face dehumanizing treatment, sexual and physical violence, and forced labor. The living conditions in these detention centers are also extremely degrading. Often overcrowded, migrants are packed into tiny spaces, deprived of food and water, denied access to medical care, as well as the right to legal counsel. Despite clear evidence of the disturbing abuse faced by migrants and inhumane conditions in these detention centers, the E.U. and Italy continue to support the Libyan Coast Guard in its efforts to detain migrants. The E.U. and Italy have both provided the Libyan Coast Guard with millions of euros dedicated to migration control since 2015, along with vessels and aerial surveillance used across the E.U. border. This mistreatment of migrants explicitly violates international human rights law. Although Libya is the state directly committing these atrocities, Italy is complicit and should also be held accountable. According to the International Law Commission and its Draft Articles on State Responsibility, Italy is responsible for Libya’s maritime seizures and human rights violations in detention centers, as Italy “ aids or assists” Libya in committing these crimes. Under the 1976 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Libya violates Articles 6 and 7, which prohibit subjecting any person to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Article 2 in the 1987 Convention against Torture and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights also forbid the practice of torture, meaning that Libya infringes upon these statutes as well. Furthermore, Libya breaches Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which defines rape, forced prostitution, sexual slavery, forced sterilization, or other acts of sexual violence of that nature, as crimes against humanity. The U.N. has found evidence of collusion between the Libyan Coast Guard and trafficking networks. Thereby demonstrating that Libyan state forces and armed militias have likely committed crimes against humanity including sexual slavery and rape against the migrants brought to Libya. Libya also violates the Common European Asylum System, which establishes guidelines on the proper procedure for processing asylum seekers and ensures their personal rights are protected, as the Coast Guard is intercepting people at sea and returning them without following the correct processing measures. While not perpetrating these crimes or transgressing these international human rights laws directly, Italy can be held accountable for Libya’s illegal actions in the Mediterranean because of its financial backing of the Libyan Coast Guard. The horrific abuses and violations of human rights by the Italian and Libyan governments have received backlash from various human rights organizations. Human Rights Watch has called for the end of the memorandum between Italy and Libya. Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, declared that Italy’s “continued support for abusive, unaccountable forces in Libya is indefensible” and called for the E.U. to stop “financing and legitimizing violence against migrants” and to “fundamentally reorient its Mediterranean policies to prioritize rescue at sea and safe and legal pathways for migration.” The human rights organization “Refugees in Libya,” founded by migrants who survived abuse in detention centers in Libya, is also mobilizing against the memorandum. They have requested that the E.U. suspend all migration cooperation with Libya. Despite worldwide condemnation, Italy and the E.U. continue to ignore these blatant human rights violations committed by Libya in the Mediterranean. When asked about their continued support for the Libyan Coast Guard, the European Commission insisted that it would continue to aid and assist the Libyan authorities. This was after an incident on Aug. 24 where a Libyan Coast Guard patrol boat opened fire on an SOS Mediterranee rescue ship. They claimed that “to improve the situation, we need to remain engaged.” The E.U. and Italy consistently choose to protect their own interests in securing their borders by providing Libya with more funding, vessels and aerial surveillance, rather than prioritizing the protection and safety of people whose biggest crime is seeking a better life abroad. Libya’s control over the Central Mediterranean route, combined with its own internal political instability and corruption that allows for the mistreatment of migrants to persist unchecked, has made this stretch of sea one of the deadliest migration paths in the world. If allowed to renew, the memorandum will only result in more deaths, more torture, more trafficking. The continued cooperation of Italy and the E.U. with the Libyan Coast Guard only makes it easier for them to commit these heinous violations of human rights. To ensure the protection of human rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, it is clear that the Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding must be revoked. The E.U. prides itself on promoting justice and defending the human rights of those around the world, and yet it continues to work with the Libyan Coast Guard. The E.U. has a moral duty to protect those attempting to cross the Mediterranean, and should therefore no longer promote, fund and enforce an agreement that results in such a blatant violation of human rights. Photo Source: Tim Luddemann, flickr