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En ayant tout ce passé pour nous prévenir, comment n'avons nous pas vu Musk venir? Certains disaient encore en 2022 que son rachat de Twitter n'était ni grave ni dangereux! Comment laissons-nous faire ses rachats progressifs et la transformation de de chaînes d'information en usines d’opinions essentiellement d'extrême droite? Est-ce que les magnats des médias d’aujourd’hui sont destinés à choisir—ou du moins influencer—les dirigeants de demain? < Back Les Milliardaires, La Politique et Les Médias Anonymous January 31, 2025 En suivant l’actualité, beaucoup d’entre nous observons la montée en puissance d’Elon Musk avec effroi, entrevoyant déjà un monde où sa plateforme X et son pouvoir du haut de ses centaines de milliards de dollars influencent les élections—non seulement aux Etats Unis, avec son soutien affiché à Donald Trump, mais à travers le monde. En effet, en Allemagne il clame haut et fort son appui à l'AfD; aux Royaume Uni il soutient le parti d'extrême droite Reform UK; à travers l'Europe il affiche une sympathie claire pour les partis populistes. Dans ce contexte, il semble donc important de nous remémorer la réalité historique des magnats des médias sous la forme notamment de deux exemples très différents: Randolph Hearst et Alfred Hugenberg. Dans un deuxième temps, il est aussi important de constater les risques que représentent des monopoles médiatiques privés ici en France, spécifiquement ceux qui tournent le dos à la liberté de la presse dès qu’il s'agit de respecter sa pluralité. Je ne vous apprendrais rien en vous parlant de Musk ou de Murdoch, car leurs noms sont omniprésents, mais connaissez-vous William Randolph Hearst? Ce Millionnaire qui a inspiré le personnage de Citizen Kane est en effet l’un des premiers magnats de la presse, ayant assis son emprise sur la fin du 19e et le début du 20e siècle américain. Cet homme a fini par posséder une trentaine de journaux à travers les Etats Unis dont certains des plus importants de l'époque, notamment The Examiner en Californie et The Journal à New York. Il a largement utilisé ces journaux pour promouvoir des idées xénophobes, et est tenu en partie responsable de l'intervention américaine à Cuba par ses efforts en ce sens dans ses publications. Je voudrais ici faire un parallèle avec l’implication d’Elon Musk dans la guerre en Ukraine que ce soit par le rôle critique que joue Starlink , tel qu’on a pu le constater quand il a retiré son soutien à une opération ukrainienne en 2022, ou par sa communication avec les dirigeants Russe et Ukrainien. Hearst a aussi grandement soutenu la candidature de Roosevelt et s’est lui-même investi en politique en tant que représentant puis en tant que candidat à l'investiture démocrate. On remarque ici de clairs parallèles avec les pires prévisions des risques du pouvoir des géants des médias aujourd’hui. En effet, Hearst est reconnu comme l’un des pionniers de la presse à scandale, et surtout du fake news, qu’il a manipulé au long de sa vie pour promouvoir un point de vu xénophobe et interventionniste. Les risques que comportent de telles techniques aujourd’hui sont décuplés à travers des réseaux comme X et ceux de Meta qui peuvent atteindre le monde entier. C'est pourquoi la fin du fact checking de Meta est si grave dans un contexte où nombreux sont les pays « très vulnérables à la désinformation, qui engendre de l’instabilité politique, des ingérences dans les élections, de la violence de masse et même des génocides » selon l’International Fact-Checking Network . Développons donc cette idée de l’impact du soutien médiatique à des candidats extrêmes. Ce qui est peut être le plus effrayant pour bon nombre d’entre nous au sujet de Musk, c’est son ambition de pousser des idées et des candidats d'extrême droite et, au risque de vous sembler pessimiste, il semble important de souligner un parallèle historique qui résonne avec ces peurs. Alfred Hugenberg, grand homme d'affaires Allemand propriétaire de journaux et chef du Parti populaire national allemand a pour un temps prêté main forte à Hitler, au point d'être dans son premier cabinet. Bien que n'étant en rien le seul responsable de la réussite du parti NSDAP, le soutien de l’empire économique et médiatique de Hugenberg a certainement joué un rôle. Il était non seulement un grand propriétaire de média, mais il avait aussi un studio de cinéma et une agence de presse. Son soutien à Hitler n'était pas désintéressé, ayant espéré jusqu'au dernier moment pouvoir se servir d’Hitler. Mais en fin de compte, ce que l’histoire doit retenir de lui c’est qu’il a mis sa fortune et sa notoriété au service d’un politicien d'extrême droite qui est devenu l’un des pires dictateurs. Nous pouvons malheureusement aujourd’hui tracer un fort parallèle avec les 260 millions de dollars et la puissance médiatique que Musk a mis au profit de la campagne de Donald Trump, mais aussi à son ambition politique en tant qu'allié de Trump et membre de son nouveau gouvernement. Ces magnats ne sont pas que des stars internationales de la propagande politique. E n effet, nous avons nos magnats home grown . Les médias français sont largement détenus par quelques milliardaires , notamment Rodolphe Saadé, Bernard Arnault, Xavier Niel et Vincent Bolloré. Ce dernier va nous intéresser tout particulièrement, car son empire médiatique, qui comprend notamment Canal+, CNews, Europe 1 et le JDD a une tendance très notoire à imposer une ligne éditoriale très à droite. Les critiques de son empire médiatique sont multiples. Il s'agit d’une part d’une fragilisation de l'indépendance des médias dans lesquels il investit, faisant ce que certains appellent un ‘nettoyage’ au moment du rachat pour ne garder que ceux qui soutiennent sa vision. En effet, dans le plus récent de ces rachats, celui du JDD en 2023, un agenda politique transparaît à travers le choix de Geoffroy Lejeune en tant que nouveau rédacteur en chef, juste après que le magazine très à droite Valeurs Actuelles le licencie car trop extrême. D’autre part, Bolloré est reconnu comme le plus redoutable magnat français car il s’attaque aussi aux individus et aux organisations qui s’opposent à lui, les traînant en justice et les menaçant selon un reportage mené par RSF System B , qui explore largement les méfaits de l’empire Bolloré. En 2019, ses tentatives pour empêcher la sortie du livre « Vincent tout-puissant » lui ont même valu une condamnatio n pour « procédure abusive ». Il apparaît donc raisonnable de s'alarmer de la situation en France quand nous voyons tous ces fâcheux parallèles plus ou moins lointains. Je voudrais donc finir sur une note non pas conclusive mais plutôt interrogative. En ayant tout ce passé pour nous prévenir, comment n'avons nous pas vu Musk venir? Certains disaient encore en 2022 que son rachat de Twitter n'était ni grave ni dangereux! Comment laissons-nous faire ses rachats progressifs et la transformation de de chaînes d'information en usines d’opinions essentiellement d'extrême droite? Est-ce que les magnats des médias d’aujourd’hui sont destinés à choisir—ou du moins influencer—les dirigeants de demain? Photo credits: DonkeyHotey on Flickr

Unprosecuted massacres have become the record of the international community in the face of the Palestinian struggle, whether by the Israeli state or extremist militias. As negotiations for a ceasefire continue between Israeli forces and Hamas, accountability for the loss of life must be of the utmost priority. < Back Sabra and Shatila: Remembering Unprosecuted Massacres Jenna Ahmed for Students for Justice in Palestine, Menton September 30, 2024 Nearly a year into Israel’s war on Gaza, Palestinians observe the 42nd anniversary of the 1982 massacres of Sabra and Shatila. Several regional crises led to the massacres, including the Nakba of 1948, the fifteen-year-long Lebanese Civil War beginning in 1975, and the re-establishment of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO ) in Beirut in 1970. A driving force of these historic events were the efforts of the Israeli government and its military to maintain a state in a region inimical to its presence. During the Nakba, the Arabic word for “catastrophe,” 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes by Zionist militias and the new Israeli Army following the UN Declaration of the establishment of the Jewish Israeli state and the first Arab-Israeli war. 110,000 of these Palestinains fled to Lebanon. Sabra was originally an impoverished neighborhood in west Beirut; it came to border Shatila, a refugee camp for displaced Palestinians established in 1949. The large influx of Palestinian migrants caused significant demographic shifts in Lebanon, intensifying already precarious dynamics. Leading up to the 1975 civil war, the Lebanese state was grappling with its French colonial legacy and a plethora of sectarian conflict among Marionites, Sunnis and Shias. While religious conflicts and disagreements regarding systems of sectarian rule were considerable factors, class struggle, unequal distributions of power, and deciding who and how different territories would be incorporated into the new state were equally relevant. Undeniably, a significant stressor in the context of the Lebanese Civil War was the question of Palestinian refugees and their independence movements. Throughout the Civil War, as several political and military groups emerged, alliances shifted and international players became increasingly relevant. At home, the Lebanese forces i.e. far-right Christian militias, namely branches of the Phalange or Kataeb , were fighting the Lebanese Arab Army and the PLO. Within this context, several splinter groups and alliances emerged. Abroad, Israel supported militias within the Lebanese forces. Syria entered the conflict on two opposing sides throughout the course of the war. Evidently, allyship within the war surpassed issues of religion or nationality and was the result of constant new developments. The most consequential of these alliances, in the context of the massacres, was between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and a far-right militia within the Lebanese forces. This alliance was strategic and ensured several things, among which included Israel’s access to the Palestinian forces and the establishment of a right-wing, pro-Israeli government in Lebanon. The failure to secure these strategic initiatives instigated the attacks on Sabra and Shatila. In June of 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon for the second time, with the dual mission of protecting Israel’s northern citizens and eliminating the PLO. In accordance with international agreements, PLO forces withdrew. However, on Sept. 14, the president-elect of the Phalange or Kataeb and leader within the Lebanese forces, Bashir Gemayel, who had become increasingly less accommodating to Israel’s proposals, was assassinated. Not only did this put an end to Israel’s attempts to establish a puppet regime in Lebanon, but it provoked uproar among the Christian forces who initially blamed the Palestinian Movement. At the time of the massacre, all multinational forces had withdrawn and an Israeli Blockade was in effect around the camps. On Sept. 16, the IDF’s allied Lebanese militia entered Sabra and Shatila. For 43 hours, the right-wing militia carried out a murderous rampage in which civilians were shot, beaten, raped and bulldozed into unmarked graves. Witnesses reported Israeli military officials watching as the killings continued and providing the militia with food and ammunition. In an interview, Dawood Mohamed Nasser, a Palestinian survivor of the massacre, describes how immediately after news spread of Bashir Gemayel’s death, Israeli warplanes and flares filled the sky. The following day, with Israeli forces blockading the camp, the killing began. In the interview, Dawood states , “What they did to us, no human could be capable of doing so.” In the massacre’s immediate aftermath, as foreign reporters and broadcasters shared the carnage with the world, the Israeli government strictly denied any association with the event, stating gruesome fighting had occurred between the Lebanese militia and so-called Palestinian terrorists. During the following months, audio tapes, intelligence reports and eyewitness accounts began to reveal the extent of Israel’s involvement. Eventually, as the international community gained further insight into the crimes committed that day, attention was turned to Israel’s Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. However, the 1983 Israeli-led Kahan Commission, found that the Phalange acted entirely alone and that Israel played no direct role in the massacres. This ruling came despite the fact that throughout the two days of bloodshed, several communications had passed between the militia and Israeli intelligence, many of which admitted to the fact that no terrorists could be found within the camp and that the majority of victims were civilians . A transcript within the Kahan Commission report recounted the IDF divisional intelligence officer’s statements “that the Phalangists within the camp ‘are wondering what to do with the population they are finding inside. On the one hand, it seems, there are no terrorists there. . . . On the other hand, they have amassed women, children, and apparently also old people, with whom they don’t exactly know what to do.’” The commission declared that Ariel Sharon had indirectly been involved by allowing the Phalange entrance into the camp and not putting a stop to the bloodshed. The commission subsequently asked for his resignation. Although he obliged, Sharon was elected as Prime Minister several years later in 2001. The international community shared several similar condemnations, all of which were ultimately futile. The United Nations condemned the action as an act of genocide but did not pursue further consequence on the matter. Most notably, in 2002, 23 of the massacre survivors brought a case against Sharon in the Belgian court for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The court case was—again—to no avail. Primarily, there were issues of jurisdiction despite Belgium’s ability to prosecute foreigners accused of humanitarian crimes. More significantly, Elie Hobeika, leader within the Kataeb, and liaison to Israel during the massacre, was killed in a bombing of his home soon after agreeing to testify against Sharon. Now, over 40 years later, justice has not been served, nor is it on the horizon. Despite going largely undiscussed in international settings, this was a mass murder of two to three thousand Palestinians and Lebanese. Remembering Sabra and Shatila is increasingly relevant as fighting expands again into Lebanon. In their stated efforts to combat terrorism, Israel is continuously targeting highly concentrated civilian residentials utilized by both Hamas and Hezbollah. The massacres of Sabra and Shatila are a prime example of how regimes and organized political parties have and continue to answer the “Palestinian question." Unprosecuted massacres have become the record of the international community in the face of the Palestinian struggle, whether by the Israeli state or extremist militias. As negotiations for a ceasefire continue between Israeli forces and Hamas, accountability for the loss of life must be of the utmost priority.

< Back Democrats’ Worst Fear: Pro-Life Bill Attempts to Kill Roe By Madeline Wyatt October 31, 2021 When Texas’s Senate Bill 8 (SB8) took effect on September 1, known as the “Texas Heartbeat Act” under section one of the law, most people expected it to reach the Supreme Court for violating Roe v. Wade ’s precedent under which women are entitled to privacy when receiving abortions. It was the Democrats’ worst fears come true: Trump’s heirs on the Supreme Court could finally make good on his campaign promise to overturn the nation’s landmark ruling. A few days before the law was set to go into effect, it went to the Supreme Court in an emergency request to block the law until its constitutionality could be determined, but in a surprisingly convoluted and pedantic motion relying extensively upon the law’s more dubious provisions, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, declined to block its passage. Still, the Court did not rule on the law’s constitutionality— something John Roberts’s dissenting opinion made abundantly clear. The most odious provisions in SB8 were crafted with surgical precision meant to circumvent judicial review, which proved particularly ideal for judges who take an especially textualist approach to ignore the blatant unconstitutionality of SB8— this explains why a court imbued with Scalia apostles allowed the Texas law to proceed into effect. The majority opinion held that while the federal court is not endowed with the ability to block a law in question, it is allowed to block the enforcement of the law. SB8 is not technically enforced by state or local officials, rather it is enforced by deputizing all private citizens; in other words, private citizens are responsible for reporting and suing any persons who are thought to have had, given, or aided in abortions— meaning that patients, doctors, nurses, receptionists, and even Uber drivers can be sued under this law if an ordinary citizen believes an abortion took place. If the courts rule in favor of the private reporting citizen, the citizen is entitled to $10,000 by the state, creating a dystopian bounty-hunting system that insulates the Texas government from being held responsible for its law that it created like a game of legislative hot potato. The majority opinion, being the good and noble textualists they are, argued that because it is instead private citizens who are responsible for enforcing the law, the bill could not prohibit Texas from enforcing the law as it would not technically be Texas enforcing it. Such an argument is absurd, however: if the government shares the will of the people— a necessary reflection of its society— then the laws that are created by the government would be representative of the people, meaning the Supreme Court’s choice to enjoin a law by restricting government enforcement would also mean that it restricts its people; so, it does not matter who enforces the law, it’s only a matter that such an onerous law should exist— especially when the net result should be the same. After the Supreme Court declined to enjoin the law, Biden’s Department of Justice sued the State of Texas challenging the constitutionality of the law, arguing in two parts that it both violated Roe v. Wade ’s legal precedent and required proper judicial review of its dubious enforcement mechanisms. On October 6, Western Texas’s District Court enjoined the law as the judge ruled both that the law itself was unconstitutional and the enforcement mechanism was blatantly unconstitutional as it sought to avoid judicial review. No more than two days later, Texas’s appeal to the 5th Circuit Court was successful, reinstating SB8. The DOJ has not yet appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but is expected to do so within a few weeks. The Supreme Court could choose to decline to hear the constitutionality of the case, but it would be incredibly unlikely as it challenges Roe v Wade as well as the lack of precedent for the enforcement mechanism. SB8 may be the bill to finally kill Roe v. Wade , but its future is far from final. TX SB8 flies under the guise of modern progress for the rights and liberation of the unborn— a frontier of the American left’s immoral and profane agenda. But for the women who will most feel the impacts of this bill, it’s a matter of temporal whiplash as the rugged individualism that the lone star state has promoted since 1836 failed to disclose that only men were given the courtesy of wearing the lone star moniker. Because somehow, nearly 200 years later, the lone star’s liberation is still the woman’s condemnation, leaving us wondering if we ever knew the meaning of progress in the first place.

Since the app’s launch in 2016, TikTok has changed the way people discover, interact with and share music. Thanks to catchy songs, viral challenges and influencer-driven content TikTok has helped upcoming artists gain popularity by changing the way music is promoted and has created new ways for songs to go viral. The algorithm of the app is designed to push content to users based on their interactions, making it possible for even the most niche tracks to achieve widespread attention. < Back Is TikTok changing the way we listen to music? Nil Celik February 28, 2025 TikTok has promptly become one of the most influential social media platforms in developing trends throughout various industries. TikTok’s impact has particularly stood out in shaping the music industry. Since the app’s launch in 2016 , TikTok has changed the way people discover, interact with and share music. Thanks to catchy songs, viral challenges and influencer-driven content TikTok has helped upcoming artists gain popularity by changing the way music is promoted and has created new ways for songs to go viral. TikTok now plays a key role in discovering music as well as being an essential tool for artists to build their careers and fan bases. One of the reasons TikTok’s impact on the music industry is so great is due to its ability to make songs go viral, often in unexpected ways. The algorithm of the app is designed to push content to users based on their interactions, making it possible for even the most niche tracks to achieve widespread attention. This has led to a new era where the Billboard charts are no longer solely determined by radio airplay or streaming numbers but are also heavily influenced by TikTok trends. In fact, many songs that gain popularity on TikTok end up topping the Billboard Hot 100, and some even become cultural phenomena. For example, the success of songs like Old Town Road by Lil Nas X exemplifies TikTok’s power in launching songs to success, demonstrating how TikTok is a platform for listening to music and an influential means for creating viral moments that can make or break a song. His 2019 hit, which initially gained attention as a viral meme on TikTok, quickly climbed the charts and dominated the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-breaking 19 weeks. Additionally, Lil Nas X won two Grammy Awards for Old Town Road (Remix) featuring Billy Ray Cyrus at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020. What started as a joke turned into a chart-topping anthem, with millions of TikTok users participating in the song’s dance challenges. Doja Cat is another artist who got her breakthrough and success through TikTok. Her song Say So went viral thanks to a dance challenge that took over the platform created by the user Haley Sharpe. The challenge led to an overwhelming amount of TikTok content featuring her song, which in turn increased its streaming numbers on platforms like Spotify. As the song continued to gain attention, it helped create Doja Cat’s position as a mainstream artist. Her increasing popularity led to the song being nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2021 Grammy Awards. It’s clearly no longer enough for an artist to release a song and hope for radio play or gradual growth. Today, TikTok has become an essential tool as a promotional strategy for an artist. The rise of independent artists on TikTok is another noteworthy development in the music industry. Before the rise of TikTok, breaking into the music scene oftentimes required signing with a major record label or gaining attention through radio and television shows. However, TikTok has reshaped the music industry, giving unsigned and independent artists the chance to be discovered by a global audience and granting them an unprecedented level of accessibility by fans and other artists. For example, Sabrina Carpenter’s song Nonsense became a viral hit after being used in various TikTok videos. Carpenter, who had been working as an actress and singer for years, saw an increase in popularity when her song went viral on the platform, allowingCarpenter to directly engage with her audience and build a new fanbase from TikTok trends.Similarly, Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso also gained significant attention on TikTok, further showcasing how TikTok continues to integrate artists into the mainstream. The track inspired numerous dance challenges, which led to an increase in streaming numbers and visibility. Carpenter's ability to connect with her audience via the platform helped her achieve massive recognition and resulted in her winning the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance for Espresso . Furthermore, her album Short n' Sweet took home the Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy, becoming a turning point in her career. Chappell Roan, an artist relatively unknown before her viral rise, is another example of how TikTok has transformed the careers of independent musicians. Her song Pink Pony Club became viral and this newfound popularity expanded her fan base. TikTok’s focus on self-expression and individuality resonated with users, hence its popularity. Her rise to fame through TikTok has shown that the platform is not just for mainstream pop music but has opened doors for artists from various genres. TikTok provided her with a space where she could showcase her unique style and musical identity, which might have been harder to achieve in a more traditional music industry setting. The success of TikTok led to her receiving a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 2025 , which she won. Additionally, her 2024 album Good Luck Babe also gained recognition, with some critics praising her ability to combine emotional vulnerability and catchy pop melodies. The track Good Luck Babe inspired many TikTok users to create content, resulting in a boost in streams on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Her song Hot to Go was another outstanding track that gained attention on TikTok through the creation of dance challenges. Another way TikTok has influenced the music industry is through the resurgence of older songs. In recent years, TikTok has brought back songs from previous decades, allowing them to reach new audiences. For example, Dreams by Fleetwood Mac became viral on TikTok in 2020 when user Nathan Apodaca posted a video of himself skateboarding while drinking cranberry juice and lip-syncing to the song. The video went viral, and suddenly Dreams was back on the charts after 40 years since its original release. This phenomenon known as the “TikTok effect,” shows how TikTok has become a powerful means of making older music popular again and introducing it to a new generation of listeners. As TikTok continues to evolve, its influence on the music industry will only become more profound. Whether it’s through the rise of new artists, the promotion of diverse genres or the revival of old hits, TikTok has forever changed the music industry. The app is constantly transforming through the introduction of new features, trends and challenges that keep users engaged and involved. It’s clear that TikTok will play a crucial role in shaping the music world by changing the way we listen to music, discover new artists and engage with our favorite songs in the digital age. Photo credits: Anthony Quintano on Flickr

The Taliban's return to power in 2021 mirrors a troubling lack of change from their previous rule in the 1990s. < Back Afghanistan Two Years Post-Withdrawal: An Assessment By Elian Jorand November 30, 2023 “We have been fighting for this day for the last 20 years: to end this war and attack of foreigners on us and bring our own Islamic government,” declared Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid on Aug. 17, 2021 at Kabul International Airport. The chaotic American withdrawal of Afghanistan signaled the end of an era, and the beginning of a new reality. For the first time in 20 years, the Taliban had seized complete power. One question was on everyone’s mind: what would a second Taliban regime resemble? Would it be one of traditional Islamist rule such as in the 1990s or did 20 years of guerrilla warfare impose a more pragmatic vision of power upon the Taliban? Two years later, the answer is clear: not much has changed. One of the most contentious issues surrounding the Taliban's return is the status of women's rights. International observers anticipated a rollback of progress made over the past two decades since the American invasion. They were right. Reports from NGOs suggest that restrictions on women's attire, mobility, and participation in public life closely mirror the policies implemented during the Taliban's previous rule in the 1990s. A U.N. expert stated that “t he situation of women and girls’ rights in Afghanistan has reverted to that of the pre-2002 era when the Taliban last controlled the country, effectively erasing progress on women’s rights in the intervening 20 years. ” The persistence of discriminatory practices clearly demonstrate the lack of change. This sex-based discrimination has a severe impact on education. Despite assurances from the Taliban leadership about allowing education for all, on-the-ground reports indicate a persistent lack of access to education for girls. Instances of girls being denied education or facing restrictions in certain regions echo the practices seen during the Taliban's earlier rule. The Taliban have implemented over 20 written and verbal decrees restricting girls’ education, on the ‘basis’ of sharia law. This again shows the initial promises of change that the Taliban boasted about to be untrue. In addition to imposing severe restrictions on girls' education, the Taliban has also exploited foreign aid intended for education. The Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar) revealed that the Taliban have taken control of $185 million in U.S. aid earmarked for education. In a country already grappling with poverty, famine, and drought, the Taliban's rule has instituted gender-based apartheid, leading to the departure of 81,000 female teachers out of a total of 226,000 educators. To counteract the educational setback, Afghan and international NGOs, with support from rural communities, have established parallel education systems with foreign funding, including community schools and distance learning programs. However, the Taliban has targeted these initiatives, imposing taxes on teachers' salaries, forcing NGOs to purchase from Taliban-affiliated stores, and diverting school materials for personal gain. The Taliban's exploitation of aid extends beyond education, with reports of forced hiring and the creation of sham NGOs to siphon international assistance. This alarming trend raises concerns about the diversion of funds meant for humanitarian purposes, impacting the already dire situation in Afghanistan. The resurgence of the Taliban has also brought questions regarding their engagement with neighboring countries and international actors. Recent reports reveal that China is discreetly pressing the Taliban to safeguard Chinese interests and investments in Afghanistan, particularly by preventing the country from becoming a refuge for Uighur Muslims critical of the Chinese government. Beijing's lobbying efforts are seen as part of a calculated strategy to secure international recognition for the Taliban-led government. China hosted the third ministerial conference of Afghanistan's neighbouring countries, emphasizing its increasing involvement in Afghan affairs. Diplomatic meetings, including those with Russia and the U.S., have seen China advocate for the inclusion of Afghanistan in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and call for an end to sanctions on the Taliban. This diplomatic maneuvering raises questions about the Taliban's compliance and its potential impact on the broader geopolitical landscape. This marks a departure in the Taliban’s previous strategy of total isolationism seen in the 1990s – presently, they are willing and even eager to interact with certain states. In conclusion, the Taliban's return to power in 2021 mirrors a troubling lack of change from their previous rule in the 1990s. Despite initial hopes that two decades of conflict might have tempered their approach, the reality is starkly different. The status of women's rights, a litmus test for societal progress, has regressed to pre-2001 conditions. The persistent denial of education to girls and the exploitation of foreign aid further illustrate the Taliban's unchanged stance. The group's actions not only undermine the well-being of Afghan citizens but also raise international concerns about their compliance and engagement with the global community. The parallel development of China discreetly pressing the Taliban to protect its interests adds another layer to the complexity of their governance. In this second iteration of Taliban rule, the evident lack of change highlights a disconcerting continuity that demands attention from the global community.

Just as the early 20th century saw an arms race over battleships, today’s world is entering a new era of aerial arms competition, where superiority is not only measured by performance but also by how well systems communicate, adapt and dominate. Ultimately, the effectiveness of these next-generation systems will not be fully known until they are tested—not in simulations, but in war. < Back The Future of Air Warfare: Sixth-Generation Aircraft & the Race for China, Europe & the U.S. Theo Hisherik for Sciences Defense April 30, 2025 During a high-profile announcement on March 21 in the Oval Office, U.S. President Donald Trump revealed that Boeing had been officially selected to develop the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance fighter aircraft. According to Pentagon officials, the F-47 will have stealth and penetration capabilities far exceeding those of the current U.S. fleet, a crucial step in preparations for a potential conflict with China. The F-47 is a nod both to its WWII predecessor and the current president, who is believed to have saved the program for Boeing, and is also symbolic of America’s dedication to air superiority post-WWII. Trump described the aircraft as “the most lethal aircraft ever designed,” though critics note China’s rapid advancements in Sixth-generation fighter technology as a counterbalance to supposed American dominance. For Aviation enthusiasts, the term “Sixth-generation Aircraft” will be familiar. For the uninitiated majority, it refers to the next major leap in jet aircraft technology and the next iteration of a post-WWII classification. The F-47 supposedly usurps the U.S. F-22 and F-35, previously perceived as hegemons in modern air power, as improved radar systems and advanced air defense technologies begin to challenge the heavyweights of the fifth generation. Since the late 2010s, the U.S., China, the UK, Italy, Japan, and Russia—among others—have launched Sixth-generation fighter programs. Despite their promise, doubts persist over these jets' battlefield viability. China Concurrently with the U.S.’ NGAD developments, China has been advancing its own sixth-generation fighter programs. In December 2024, China flew its first next-generation fighter prototype, the J-36. Known as the Baidi, the J-36 was developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry group and was observed conducting test flights on December 26th (interestingly coinciding with the birthday of the infamous Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong); it features a tailless delta wing design. China’s second, Sixth-generation fighter, the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation’s J-50, was spotted undergoing flight testing similarly in December 2025, in footage shared by a Douyin user. These aircraft are part of China's Nantianmen Project, which aims to integrate space-air capabilities and incorporate advanced technologies such as stealth aircraft and laser weaponry. China’s military modernization efforts have been substantial, with defense spending increasing from approximately USD $115 billion in 2010 to USD $246 billion in 2025. This investment reflects China’s strategic objectives, primarily the reunification with Taiwan through military means, a scenario that China expects would involve direct confrontation with U.S. forces, a fight with advanced U.S. aircraft, primarily the F-35, F-22 & B-21. While the exact capabilities of the J-36 and J-50 remain classified, their introduction signals a significant shift in the balance of air power. The USAF leadership believes the J-36 is an air superiority fighter, while analysts from institutions like the Australian Strategic Policy and Royal United Services Institute suggest that both of these aircraft could serve as platforms for long-range missiles, electronic warfare and as command hubs for coordinated operations of both manned and unmanned systems. However, questions persist regarding their performance in high-intensity conflict scenarios, such as a contested Taiwan Strait, where stealth, offensive capabilities and maneuverability against sophisticated air defenses and aircraft would be critical. Regardless of its role or abilities, the emergence of these aircraft has prompted U.S. military leaders, such as General Kenneth Wilsbach of the Air Combat Command, to advocate for the continued development of the NGAD program to counterbalance these advancements. In summary, the advancements in Chinese sixth-generation fighter programs underscore a new era in aerial combat, characterized by rapid technological innovation and possible competition and catch-up for the U.S., Europe and the rest of the world. The United States The United States has embarked on the development of several Sixth-generation aircraft, ranging from strategic bombers to air superiority fighters. Since the 2020s, the U.S. has increasingly pivoted towards combating China’s growing military influence in the Indo-Pacific. In response to Chinese technological advances, programs like NGAD and the B-21 Raider have been developed under strict secrecy since 2020 and 2011, respectively. The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider represents a key asset in the USAF’s future strategic bomber fleet. Although conceptualized over a decade ago, the B-21 only made its maiden flight in November 2023 during a high-profile unveiling. The B-21, developed under the Long Range Strike Bomber program, is built to deliver precision strikes over long distances, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. With a radar cross section smaller than an insect to enemy radars, and with an unrefueled range exceeding 4,000 kilometers, American officials intend to use the aircraft to penetrate deep into heavily defended airspace to target key Chinese assets-ranging from command centers to critical infrastructure and nuclear facilities dotted around China. The aircraft is slated to enter operational service by 2027. However, analysts and critics argue that the U.S. may be displeased by reality. Critics, including Dr. Mel Deaile, a former USAF Colonel and Director of the School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies, warned that by the time the B-21 is fully operational, it may already be obsolete, facing significant threats from rapidly advancing Chinese anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities. In December 2023, Asia Times reported that China had conducted simulated engagements to intercept and destroy B-21 aircraft, using a combination of new stealth aircraft, advanced radar systems and hypersonic missiles. While the validity of such reports is debatable, given the opacity of Chinese military disclosures, it has prompted U.S. defense planners to reassess the long-term viability of the B-21 and, more generally, strategic bombers in high-threat environments. Some analysts now question whether the 21st century could mark the end of manned Strategic Bombers. In contrast, the F-47 is projected to be a true leap forward in aerial combat and ‘superior’ to any Chinese Sixth Generation aircraft. Although many technical details remain classified, the F-47 is expected to have a "significantly longer range, more advanced stealth, be more sustainable, supportable, and have higher availability than our fifth-generation fighters.” It is believed to be able to operate alongside autonomous drone swarms and, in future versions, to be unmanned. The aircraft will likely achieve speeds around Mach 2 and is expected to be cheaper, and aims to resolve the maintenance burdens associated with current fifth-generation fighters like the F-22 and F-35. The F-47 could also be configured with larger fuel tanks, enabling longer-range missions, potentially significant in a large-scale air war with China, where distance and logistical endurance will be decisive. Despite its promise, uncertainty lingers over the aircraft’s battlefield performance due to its projected full-service entry in 2029. With China rapidly progressing in anti-stealth and air defense technologies, there are concerns about whether even the most advanced U.S. fighter can retain air dominance. Still, American officials remain confident. General David Allvin, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, remarked , “We’re going to write the next generation of modern aerial warfare with this (F-47).” That said, historical precedent suggests the F-47, like many U.S. aircraft before, may debut with operational issues but also with considerable technological advantages shaping air combat for decades. Europe In the current global defense landscape, Europe continues to trail behind its competitors, particularly the U.S. and China, in developing next-generation air combat systems. Europe’s most ambitious effort to leap ahead is the Tempest , a Sixth-generation fighter aircraft under development by the UK-led Team Tempest. This team comprises major industry players such as BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo UK, and MBDA. The project forms the centerpiece of the Global Combat Air Programme—a trilateral partnership between the UK, Italy and Japan. The aircraft is designed to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon and is expected to enter service by 2035. Technologically, the Tempest is envisioned as a leap forward. It will incorporate AI and deep learning, the capability to operate swarming drone technology, hypersonic capabilities, directed energy weapons and modular design allowing for mission-specific customization. The UK government has allocated £2 billion for the Tempest program, with the first flights expected by 2027. However, consistent with historical patterns in British defense procurement, there are already worries about the program. The Commons Defence Committee warned that, “All too often, multilateral defence programmes are beset with soaring costs and mounting delays. Tempest must break the mould.” Meanwhile, potential partners such as Australia and Saudi Arabia have expressed interest in joining the program. Elsewhere in Europe, another Sixth-generation project is underway: the Future Combat Air Systems, led by France, Germany and Spain. At the heart of the project is the Next Generation Fighter. It is designed to operate alongside drones, known as “remote effector,” which will carry out missions such as electronic warfare, missile delivery and target designation. This aligns with Europe’s concept of network-centric warfare, integrating the aircraft with satellites, naval ships and AWACS platforms to create a shared real-time environment. A demonstrator flight for the NGF is anticipated around 2027, with full operational capability planned for 2040. However, progress has been marred by delays and internal disagreements. The key dispute lies between Dassault Aviation, the French contractor, and Airbus, representing German and Spanish interests. At times, industrial competition and national pride have slowed technical cooperation and jeopardized timelines. There are greater concerns about the aircraft’s strategic viability by the time of its deployment in the 2030s. Due to the development of Russian advanced air defenses like the S-500, and the rapid development of Sixth-generation aircraft by China, questions therefore linger over whether these European aircraft can outmatch global rivals. Moreover, geopolitical shifts, including America's shifting foreign policy priorities and its announcement that any export version of the F-47 will be significantly downgraded, have driven home the message that Europe must achieve strategic autonomy, particularly in air power. Ultimately, the future of air warfare will be far more complex than in previous generations. In the evolving landscape of military development, having the fastest, stealthiest, or most heavily armed aircraft is no longer the singular advantage it once was. Sixth-generation aircraft are not just standalone weapons platforms; they are components of a broader, integrated multi-domain warfare strategy. These jets are designed to operate in concert with naval forces, ground components, drone swarms and AI, forming part of a larger network defining the modern battlefield. Just as the early 20th century saw an arms race over battleships, today’s world is entering a new era of aerial arms competition, where superiority is not only measured by performance but also by how well systems communicate, adapt and dominate. Ultimately, the effectiveness of these next-generation systems will not be fully known until they are tested—not in simulations, but in war. Photo source: US Air Force on Flickr

< Back Internet Archive Faces Legal Setback, Existential Threat By Yasmin Abbasoy September 27, 2023 The Internet Archive is facing what some call a landmark legal challenge that could result in its own and its contemporaries’ ruin. On March 24, an American federal court delivered a preliminary judgement on the ongoing Hachette vs. Internet Archive case. Ruling against the Internet Archive, Judge John G. Koetl determined that lending that took place under the scope of the short-lived National Emergency Library program constituted an infringement of copyright law, setting a precedent that puts the continued existence of the Archive and those organizations similar to it in jeopardy. The Internet Archive defines itself as an organization built around “providing universal access to all knowledge.” It was founded in 1996 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate and activist Brewster Kahle, who still leads the organization as chairman today. Working with institutions such as libraries and museums, the Archive aims to preserve and facilitate free access to literature, film, music and other forms of media. This mission to democratize knowledge is largely promoted by lending the millions of ebooks hosted on the site to readers worldwide. The importance of ebook lending, in this particular case and more generally, cannot be understated: trial documents highlight an atmospheric rise in demand, with digital checkouts increasing sevenfold from 2007 to 2013, and reveal that the Internet Archive itself currently facilitates over 70,000 ebook checkouts a day. This new frontier has, of course, forced publishing companies, the vanguard of copyright law, to create and maintain new rules and regulations to protect the rights of their creatives. The industry standard is a “one-copy, one-user” model that foresees libraries paying a fee for a single licensed copy of an ebook, which can then be checked out by one person at a time. Such licensing models generate millions upon millions of dollars for publishers, who see them as an indispensable method of protection. On the other hand, the Internet Archive has a different way of doing things: print books are acquired and then scanned, with the resulting ebook being hosted on the archive while the physical copy is kept in storage. Crucially, an ebook is not distributed en masse — the Archive uses “Controlled Digital Lending,” operating very much like a traditional library would: a one-to-one owned-to-loaned ratio, as described by the Controlled Digital Lending website. The Archive maintains that this practice is essential to effectively distribute information, especially to those who may have trouble accessing library collections due to geographical or mobility-based barriers. March 2020 saw the nationwide shuttering of libraries across the United States, which took more than 60 million print books out of circulation instantly. The Archive, seeking to use its unique position to address the problem quickly and efficiently, launched the National Emergency Library on March 24th. The library was distinguished by the fact that the same digital copy of a book could be loaned to up to 10,000 readers simultaneously, a grave breach of the Controlled Digital Lending ethos and eventually, a harbinger of certain doom. Originally planned to run until the end of the national “emergency," the library was shut down after merely 12 weeks in operation due to the aforementioned complaint filed in opposition by Hachette Book Group, one of the largest publishers in the world. Hachette was soon joined by Penguin Random House, HarperCollins and Wiley, forming a group that contained three of the “Big Five” of the publishing world. Replying to the scathing complaint, the Archive asserted that its use of print books was merely a case of fair use, both generally within the scope of Controlled Digital Lending and specifically in the unique case of the emergency library. Publishers disagreed, describing the Archive as a “pirate site” and its business model as “parasitic and illegal,” denigrating Controlled Digital Lending as “an invented paradigm which is well outside copyright law,” “conceived…to cast aside well-established copyright jurisprudence.” The plaintiffs advanced the claim that print and digital books were separate mediums with separate markets, a stance contrary to the one they assigned to the Archive. They reinforced that copyright law had endowed publishing companies with the right to develop and extract the full value of each market with methods appropriate to the medium, a right which would be breached if the Archive were allowed to continue its distribution activities. The Archive on March 17 mounted a defense against an unconvinced Judge Koetl, who has released his opinion of the case where he sides unequivocally with the plaintiffs on almost all points. An important point of contention was the so-called “transformative nature” of a work, which renders usage of it covered under the umbrella of fair-use. Google Books, for example, had previously been protected under this principle because it created a directory of books, rather than simply uploading copies online. The Archive, in contrast, was found by Koetl to have created only “derivative” works, which do not serve a new and different function from the original and are in fact substitutes for it. As such, the opinion asserts that “there is no such right [to make the necessary number of copies of a book to facilitate lending, so long as it is lent out to one person at a time, as claimed by the Archive], which risks eviscerating the rights of authors and publishers to profit from the creation and dissemination of derivative works.” Similar rebuttals are offered to every other assertion defended by the Archive, an unsurprising result from a courtroom distinctly marked by tense exchanges between the defense lawyer and the skeptical judge. Internet Archive founder Kahle responded in a blog post: “Libraries are more than the customer service departments for corporate database products. For democracy to thrive globally, libraries must sustain their historic role in society — owning, preserving, and lending books. This ruling is a blow for libraries, readers, and authors and we plan to appeal it.” The Archive has, in the meantime, been determined to carry on the fight outside the strict parameters of the courtroom. Capitalizing on the “David vs. Goliath” optics of the case, the Archive has cast the case as an attempt to shut down the Archive by bankrupting it. Losing the legal battle could easily lead to billions of dollars in damages, money the Archive Certainly does not have. The Archive has started a donation campaign and created the “Battle For Libraries” movement which held a well-attended rally on the steps of the Archive’s San Francisco headquarters on April 8th. As mentioned on their website, the battle is against “Big publishers” that are “opening new paths for censorship.” The case, which the Archive has universalized into a fight for the right to equitable access to information, has become much bigger than just a court case, involving people and communities across the world. The shower of support from people of all walks of life bears a common refrain: the particular importance of the Internet Archive for university students. Many a laudation has been written about the website which allows students to hunt down that elusive reading the professor has not bothered to put on Google Drive, which provides them with the perfect obscure-yet-respected source that allows something other than a website to be placed in a bibliography… Such comments are reflected across the SciencesPo Menton campus, where students that were asked their thoughts regarding the case in the aftermath of the ruling universally expressed feeling appalled and dismayed, and worried for the future of a website which had been an inescapable part of their academic journey. Indeed, the ruling can drastically shift the bounds of what is considered acceptable in copyright law. Tempting fate by establishing a Controlled Digital Lending-free National Emergency Library, the Archive has brought upon itself a reckoning that has put into question the foundation of its business model, that of contemporaries in the field, and even its own existence. A final ruling that is expected to definitively address whether lending outside the National Emergency Library program is within the scope of the case is expected imminently, but until then, all signs indicate that any and all worrying about the future is well-placed. For now, the Archive insists that the fight continues.

“The streets were paved with jasmine flowers,” recalls Haya, a Syrian refugee, in a UNHCR interview. This poignant image, evoking the former beauty of Damascus, also symbolizes resilience amid Syria’s ruins. The jasmine, blooming despite devastation, reflects the Syrian opposition's endurance—fractured but persistent in its quest for freedom over two decades. As jasmine blossoms through cracks, so does opposition to Assad’s regime, embodying hope amid ongoing struggles. < Back Blooming in Fragments: The Syrian Opposition Camilla Maury for the Centre Étudiant pour la Recherche Stratégique (CERS) December 31, 2024 “The streets were paved with jasmine flowers,” recalls Haya, a Syrian refugee, in a UNHCR interview. This poignant image, evoking the former beauty of Damascus, also symbolizes resilience amid Syria’s ruins. The jasmine, blooming despite devastation, reflects the Syrian opposition's endurance—fractured but persistent in its quest for freedom over two decades. As jasmine blossoms through cracks, so does opposition to Assad’s regime, embodying hope amid ongoing struggles. Syria's geographic significance has long made it a stage for global powers. Regional and international actors like the U.S., Turkey, and Iran vie for influence, making Syria a geopolitical linchpin. This external involvement amplifies domestic turmoil rooted in authoritarian rule, initiated by Hafez Al-Assad in 1970 and perpetuated by his son, Bashar. Opposition movements have risen and fallen under oppressive tactics, yet fragments of resistance endure, striving to reclaim Syria’s future. This analysis explores the evolution of Syria's opposition across three key phases: early movements (1980s–2000s), the Civil War (2011–2016), and the fragmentation that characterized Syria before the recent opposition victory. Part One: Repression Waters The Flowers of War November marks a grim anniversary for Syrians: the start of Assad's hegemony in 1970. Hafez Al-Assad’s regime silenced dissent through mass arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings. By the late 1970s, the Muslim Brotherhood launched armed resistance , including assassinations and urban guerrilla warfare. However, the regime’s brutal responses, culminating in the 1982 Hama Massacre , crushed this movement, leaving tens of thousands dead. Fear and repression stifled significant opposition for decades. In 2000, Bashar Al-Assad’s succession inspired brief hope for reform. Intellectuals initiated the "Damascus Spring," holding forums and publishing manifestos like the “Manifesto of the 99.” Yet, the regime quickly suppressed this movement, arresting activists and silencing dissent. Opposition was pushed into exile , where figures like Radwan Ziadeh advocated internationally for human rights. Despite their efforts, fragmented leadership and limited reach hindered meaningful resistance. Economic hardship compounded repression in the 2010s, with rising unemployment and poverty fueled by drought and inflation. By 2011, inspired by the Arab Spring, Syrians demanded reform. The regime’s violent crackdown transformed peaceful protests into rebellion, plunging Syria into civil war and reshaping the opposition landscape. Part Two: The Blooming The Arab Spring of 2011 ignited new hope for the Syrian opposition. Protestors demanded freedom and reform, but Assad’s violent response escalated into civil war . The Free Syrian Army (FSA), formed by army deserters, became the opposition’s primary armed force, capturing territory and advocating for democracy. At its peak, the FSA controlled significant areas and achieved victories with Turkish support, like the 2016 Operation Euphrates Shield. However, the FSA suffered from fragmentation and inconsistent foreign backing. Divided by regional and international interests, its effectiveness waned. Russian military intervention in 2015, involving extensive airstrikes, decisively shifted power back to Assad, leading to the FSA's retreat and the fall of Aleppo in 2016. Diplomatic efforts also emerged, with the Syrian National Council (SNC) and its successor, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, striving to unify opposition factions and gain international recognition. Yet, these efforts faltered due to fragmented leadership and competing foreign agendas, while rivalries among backers like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey weakened coordination, undermining the opposition’s ability to present a united front against Assad. As the war intensified, extremist groups like ISIS and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) gained prominence. ISIS, with its brutal campaigns, drew global attention but eroded the broader opposition’s credibility. In contrast, the SDF, supported by the U.S., gained legitimacy by combating ISIS and advocating for Kurdish autonomy. However, Turkey deems the SDF a terrorist organization due to its ties to the YPG (People’s Protection Units), which forms the backbone of the SDF, and its affiliation with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), a group responsible for decades of insurgency within Turkey. This designation, combined with Turkish hostility and the power vacuum left by ISIS, limited the SDF’s ability to challenge Assad directly. Part Three: The Withering Russia’s 2015 intervention in Syria decisively shifted the conflict in Assad’s favor. Framed as counterterrorism, it primarily targeted opposition forces like the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rather than ISIS. Deploying advanced jets, artillery, and personnel, Russia’s focus on opposition strongholds like Idlib escalated violence and ensured Assad’s survival. This intervention deepened Assad’s alliances and sidelined opposition forces. Turkey emerged as a key supporter of the opposition, backing Idlib-based resistance to counter Assad’s forces and protect Turkish interests, including managing refugees and combating Kurdish groups. Operations like “Spring Shield” in 2020 demonstrated Turkish resolve but were undermined by clashes with Russian-backed forces, such as the February 2020 airstrikes that killed 34 Turkish soldiers. Fragmented Turkey-backed militias, operating with conflicting agendas, further complicated Ankara’s efforts. A lack of broader international support critically weakened the opposition. As global priorities shifted and NATO remained disengaged, Turkey and the opposition became increasingly isolated. Forced into uneasy cooperation with Russia, Turkey’s ability to counter Assad diminished. Supported by Russia and Iran, Assad reclaimed most of Syria, reducing the opposition to scattered factions confined to the North and Northeast. The Last Fading Petals: Assad’s Final Days In the war’s aftermath, Assad had consolidated power domestically and achieved key diplomatic victories. The Arab League reinstated Syria in 2023 , and nations like Saudi Arabia and the UAE reopened embassies, prioritizing regional stability over isolating Assad. These developments, spurred by crises like the February 2023 earthquake, bolstered Assad’s legitimacy. A unified force was needed to challenge the regime, but the opposition remained fragmented and weakened. The SDF controlled resource-rich Northern areas but faced internal divisions and Turkish aggression. Turkey’s operations, like “Claw Sword,” and Arab tribal dissent hindered the SDF’s effectiveness. Meanwhile, Idlib’s opposition was dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) , a former al-Qaeda affiliate governing through the Syrian Salvation Government. Although Turkey has been financially supporting and training Syrian rebels since the Civil War and has never directly opposed HTS, the group remains isolated, relying on international aid while combating Assad’s forces, internal factionalism, and challenges to its authority. Both the SDF and HTS were thought to have lacked the resources, unity and international backing to meaningfully challenge Assad. Russian and Iranian alliances, coupled with normalization efforts by Arab states, had marginalized the opposition and entrenched Assad’s power. Conclusion: Hope Among the Ruins Damascus, December 12, 2024: After years of brutal conflict, Syrian rebels have succeeded in overthrowing Bashar al-Assad’s regime, marking a seismic shift in the nation’s modern history. The coalition behind this victory is a diverse mix of factions, from remnants of the Free Syrian Army to Islamist groups and newly formed militias. United only by their shared opposition to Assad’s decades-long rule, they overcame deep divisions to wage a relentless campaign, bolstered by support from regional powers. Despite their triumph, the future of Syria under their governance remains uncertain, since the coalition’s ideological diversity and competing priorities pose challenges to achieving a stable, unified leadership. Moving forward, the international community will likely focus on how these groups navigate governance, rebuild the nation and address pressing issues like reconciliation, security and economic recovery. The world will be watching closely as Syria begins the daunting task of rebuilding, reconciling and forging a new political future.

< Back Embedding Sustainability Constitutionally Maria Eirini Liodi January 31, 2025 A new amendment in the Cypriot Constitution has added Article 7A —the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. This comes after a series of important developments in the international legal realm in recent years. Such developments include the landmark case of KlimaSeniorinnen v Switzerland (ECtHR) , otherwise known as the Senior Women for Climate Protection case, where a group of elderly women sued the Swiss government, alleging that its insufficient climate action violated their rights under both the Swiss Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The case was brought forth in 2016, with its final judgment coming in early 2024. The Court found that Switzerland indeed failed to comply with its positive obligations under the Convention concerning climate change, with important shortcomings in implementing a relevant action plan specifically regarding its carbon budget and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limits. This comes with Switzerland’s failures to meet its past GHG emission reduction targets. This case is a fascinating example of the power of climate litigation as a tool allowing individuals or groups to hold governments and corporations accountable for inadequate climate policies. In the meantime, in October 2021 we saw the UN Human Rights Council recognizing the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment after decades of advocacy from relevant civil society groups. The following year the UN General Assembly officially recognized this right, with 161 countries voting in favour and none against. This was another important milestone outlining that states ought to set climate protection and sustainability at the core of their priorities. Going back to the case of Cyprus, I have heard a few people dismissing the amendment as a mere formality in adherence to European standards/international standards. Although that is certainly part of the equation, this amendment goes beyond a formality. The first time I came across the topic was a few years ago with AKTI’s “ AdvocaCY ” project, where I was surprised to realize that the right to a safe and sustainable environment was not in fact recognized by many countries, including Cyprus at the time. I found this shocking, especially given the plethora of climate and sustainability-related issues the country faces. For one, waste management is a serious issue on the island—an issue Cyprus may face serious fines for if adequate actions are not implemented. Additional shortcomings were addressed by lawyer and human rights specialist Mr. Achilleas Demetriades in a discussion of the Senior Women for Climate Protection case last April. Amidst other things, he outlines how landmark cases such as this one, and progress in the recognition of a sustainable healthy environment as a human right, would be important on the topic of accountability in Cyprus. He also notes the hefty taxes and levies the state pays due to exceeding its emissions targets annually. While the exact numbers vary with Demetriades stating an approximation of 1 million euros a day in levies, and more recent articles arguing numbers approximating 165 million annually in 2021, one thing is certain: the consequences of inaction are as economic as they are environmental, and kicking the can down the road is unlikely to be beneficial. Recent Eurostat reports capture the harsh reality in Cyprus : electricity prices rank above the EU average for consumers, while for industry, Cyprus ranks the second most expensive in Europe, largely due to the taxes and levies it is faced with. So, why is this constitutional amendment relevant? As I have explored in previous pieces , the Cypriot government should place environmental protection at the core of its national strategy for several reasons: its location in the south-east Mediterranean, one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, warming 20% faster than the global average; its divided status, which leaves nearly half the island exempt from EU environmental protection and sustainability policies; and its rampant development, which, without adequate sustainability projects, leaves the island increasingly susceptible to impacts of climate change. I will end with this—a constitution can be seen as “an attempt by a political community to express the fundamental rules and values of political life.” Beyond mapping out the legal foundations of the state, it outlines a system of checks and balances that aims to mirror the societal fabric of the country. What is a government saying to its people by enshrining the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment? It marks this right as one that it will prioritize, as “the protection of the natural environment is an obligation of the state.” The difference this amendment brings, alongside pioneering cases in Europe, is that citizens can hold their governments accountable with regard to their actions or inaction. This recognition by the UNGA and the domestic integration in our Constitution reinforces citizens’ ability to defend their rights and the environment and opens new opportunities for legal activism where it is required. Photo credits: European Parliament, Flickr .

How does watching strangers fall in love on national television reflect the most complicated parts of our emotional lives – dating? The transition from heartful romcoms to dating shows such as Love Island, Love is Blind or Too Hot to Handle perhaps indicate romance has died. < Back Is Romance Dead?: How Reality TV Shows Reflect Modern Dating Nil Celik October 5, 2025 How does watching strangers fall in love on national television reflect the most complicated parts of our emotional lives – dating? The transition from heartful romcoms to dating shows such as Love Island , Love is Blind or Too Hot to Handle perhaps indicate romance has died. Yet, for others, it could show that the idea of “romance” has shifted from a sacred concept to a performance which lacks sincerity. “Romance” now could be designed to entertain rather than inspire. Most of the time, reality dating shows reduce love to a competition where shocking twists and viral moments are preferred over genuine connections. This shift continues to reshape how we view romance by framing intimacy as a competition in which there is a winner and a loser. Such reality shows normalize performative relationships, quick judgement and constant surveillance as typical parts of modern dating culture. Love is seen as transactional and subject to public approval instead of being a genuine connection. Romantic comedies used to dominate pop culture and they offered a very specific, ideal view of love. Movies like “ When Harry Met Sally ” , “ Notting Hill ” or “ 10 Things I Hate About You ” made us feel like romance was magical, sometimes messy, but always worth it in the end. The characters were awkward, funny and flawed, but the message was the same. Love had the power to transform them for the better. These stories usually ended with a big romantic gesture such as a kiss, a reunion, or a heartfelt confession, reminding us to keep believing in happy endings. Love, according to these movies, was meant to inspire us. Reality dating shows changed that idea completely. Instead of two people slowly figuring each other out, we now watch entire casts of strangers thrown into intense situations where they have to couple up, compete and entertain. Whether it’s “ The Bachelor ” handing out roses, or “ Love Island” forcing contestants to “re-couple” every week, or “ Too Hot to Handle ” penalizing contestants for kissing, these shows turn romance into a game. There’s always a prize. From proposals, to money, to followers, always ending with someone who “wins” and someone who goes home heartbroken. These actions make love feel less like a natural connection and more like a challenge you can either pass or fail. Of course, reality dating shows thrive on drama. Shocking twists, betrayals and viral arguments are what keep people watching. The editing is designed to create cliffhangers and amplify conflict, so that we can’t wait to see what happens next. Genuine connection often takes a backseat to the wildest moments. Contestants know that being dramatic gets more screen time, and more screen time means more fame after the show. Viewers, meanwhile, get used to seeing love as something that’s big, loud and full of drama which can make real-life dating feel boring by comparison. Another huge part of these shows is surveillance. On “ Love Island ”, cameras are everywhere, even in the bedrooms and nothing stays private. Every kiss, every argument, every tear is filmed and shown to millions of viewers. Contestants aren’t just thinking about who they like – they’re thinking about how they look on camera and what the audience will think of them. Romance becomes something to manage carefully, like a brand. That also changes how we, as viewers, think about dating. It trains us to see relationships as something public, something that needs constant outside validation which changes this genuine connection from being about two people to a whole community. It also makes love feel transactional. On “ The Bachelor ”, contestants compete for one person’s attention, hoping to get a rose and stay another week. On “ Too Hot to Handle ”, the contestants literally lose money if they kiss or get too close physically. Love becomes part of the strategy, not just a feeling, but a move in the game. When you think about it, this isn’t that different from dating apps, where swipes and matches turn romance into a numbers game. Reality shows just take that idea to the extreme and put it on display for everyone to watch. Some might say this is just being honest about what dating is really like. In the end, when we go on a first date, we put on a performance – we dress up, we choose our words carefully, we try to make a good impression. But these shows make that performance the main event. The actual impressive work of getting to know someone, including the funny awkward silences, the boring parts, the little private moments, they all get cut out and what we are left with is a performance full of tweaks and adaptation. So that might make us forget that real relationships are built in those ordinary moments, not just the dramatic ones. These shows also shape what we think is “normal” in dating. They often reinforce old-fashioned ideas about who gets to choose and who gets chosen, or what kinds of people are seen as desirable. Even when they include more diverse casting or same-sex couples, the basic idea stays the same, which is that love is a contest and someone has to win. That message sticks with us and can make real-life dating feel like a competition too. This can lead to us always having to prove ourselves worthy of being picked. And yet, people keep watching. I’m guilty as well, it wouldn’t be a lie if I told you that I spend hours in front of the TV rooting for my favorite couple. There’s something addictive about seeing love play out in real time, even if it’s messy and over-the-top. Maybe it’s because we see a bit of ourselves in the contestants such as their jealousy, their insecurities, their excitement. We tend to root for the people who mirror ourselves or the people who we aspire to be. These shows might be exaggerated, but they still capture something true about how vulnerable dating makes us feel. They let us root for happy endings and feel the thrill of drama without having to live through it ourselves. However, we have to ask what these shows are teaching us about love. If we start to think that love should always be dramatic, public and exciting, we might miss out on the more genuine side of romance such as the part that isn’t made for TV which is usually cut or tweaked. The most meaningful moments in a relationship are the ones no one else sees. However, that wouldn’t make for good television, since people like to see drama, not a wholesome reaction. Watching strangers fall in love on national television tells us a lot about where we are as a culture. It shows that romance hasn’t disappeared, but its shape has changed. It has become something we watch, something we judge and something that has to entertain us. Reality dating shows are fun, but they also make us see love as a competition, a performance and a public event. Whether that’s good or bad depends on how much we let it shape the way we approach our own relationships. What’s evident is that these shows have changed the way we think about romance and maybe even the way we experience it. Pavels Dunaicevs, Flickr

The French National Assembly passed the long-awaited, controversial French immigration bill on Dec. 20, 2023. < Back French Immigration Bill: Sciences Pistes’ Perspectives By Jad Toufic Toutinji January 24, 2024 The French National Assembly passed the long-awaited, controversial French immigration bill on Dec. 20, 2023. It seems that the only thing that everyone agreed on was that something had to be done, yet disagreed on what that (something) had to be. The bill in both its early and final version split the French public as much as the French Conseil d’état (i.e., Council of the State). While, regarding Sciences Pistes, even if the left is more outspoken, the right also has their strong opinion. In its final version, the bill focuses on strengthening data collection on immigrants’ acceptance, deportation and rejection. It constitutes longer waiting time to access welfare benefits and to call for family reunification. Furthermore, the controversial law pushes for easier access to residency permits for professionals working in labor areas undergoing shortage. It also postpones the “jus soli,” which allows citizenship at birth till the age of 16. Concurrently it validates citizenship withdrawal from dual nationals who commit severe crimes towards the police. Concerning foreign students, they will have to pay a deposit at the start of their education in France to be recuperated later on. The law leaves space for several criticisms from both the left and the right. The left among the Sciences Pistes have unequivocally expressed their dissatisfaction for the bill passed. Many believe it to be a National Rally’s ploy to enact a strict immigration policy that negates fundamental rights in the name of security. “It is totally unjust to see at what point a country which has the means to help others but which does not in the name of spreading security defended by the racist extreme right,” said one respondent identifying with La France Insoumise. Another respondent, affiliated with the Place Publique, remarked with regards to fundamental rights that “Everyone, including the interior minister, knew that it (the bill) contained unconstitutional content.” On the subject of foreign students, many showed their concerns over the new required deposit. “It is a racist law aiming at criminalizing immigration and will only serve to promote access for wealthier foreign students to universities,” angrily expressed one respondent. “This law targets students in a general manner,” said another respondent who also doubts the motives behind the bill, “it looks like it benefits no one except that it satisfies political interests.” With eyes on the future, several responses reflected fear for the growing migration crisis, “if we are incapable of integrating migrants in France right now, it will be impossible to integrate future ones, especially environmental migrants.” At the same time, others show doubt in the efficiency of the law, “I firmly believe that the law’s efficiency is debatable … We must not neglect the consequences of preventing vulnerable people from access to essential services.” On the other hand, the right, even if less expressed in Sciences Po, has strong opinions on the issue. Tackling the restrictions on the aides personnalisées au logement (APL), one of the housing assistance services offered, a respondent identifying with the right described it as “a measure of full common sense,” praising that “France is not an NGO that distributes funds. The measure would help reduce the assistance culture that has been developing, urging immigrants to add to the richness of the nation.” This is a common criticism by the right as to how much government aid goes to unemployed immigrants each year, thus creating a burden on government services without fiscal returns. The right claims that this undeserved aid incentivizes immigrants to avoid working in order to continue receiving it. Meanwhile, the same respondent was skeptical of the refundable deposit put in place on foreign students, seeing that “in face of the decline of France as an attractive education spot globally, it is necessary to preserve those students who are the future ambassadors of French values in their home countries.” Not to forget is the CVEC payment which, among others, students have to contribute annually to without ever feeling its value in developing student life. In addition, this new deposit comes after the controversial significant increase in tuition fees on foreign students from 2019 in public universities. On the European scene, a strong pro-European student strongly doubts the bill, “Overall, I think this law is absolutely inadequate to solve the problem of migration in France.” When asked about his opinion on the rise of anti-migration trends in Europe, the student tackled the French situation, while noting its exact replica in other European countries, “The approbation of the new (discriminatory) law on migration in France is the outcome of a society incapable of adapting to the rapid changes of modernity. To keep the electorate ‘happy’ they vote for laws against the very own principles of the EU.” Finally, with regards to the implication of the bill on neighboring European countries, the student pointed out that it will surely worsen the living conditions of migrants on neighboring borders, especially in Ventimiglia, and that it will affect equal distribution of migrants in the EU. In conclusion, as one respondent posits: “the question posed right now is: will France stay silent at this moment?”

Agree or disagree: “Most refugees who come to my country will successfully integrate into their new society”? If, on a global average, half of the people believe this to be true, the people of Europe seem less optimistic. < Back Borders after Borders: How Europe is Falling Short in the Integration of People on the Move Maria Francisca R. Costa for SPRH October 31, 2024 Agree or disagree: “Most refugees who come to my country will successfully integrate into their new society”? If, on a global average, half of the people believe this to be true, the people of Europe seem less optimistic. Under 40% of people seem to have faith in the integration of refugees in their societies—with France, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Belgium, and Hungary, among the countries where this share of the population is one of 35% or below. These countries are also among the ones ranking the lowest in the percentage of population believing that refugees are likely to have either a positive or neutral impact in their country’s culture or way of life; in Germany and in the Netherlands, the share of people believing that they will have a negative impact in this field almost reaches 50%. A study conducted to examine the impact of local populations’ perspectives on refugees on their social integration in Germany found that negative natives’ attitudes do, in fact, reduce the chances of a successful social integration. This last term is defined by whether refugees “feel welcomed in their municipality”, “how much they trust others”, “how often they feel disadvantaged due to their heritage” and “social ties” assessed through “how much time they spend with Germans in general” and in particular “time spent with their German neighbours.” Locals’ attitudes towards refugee populations appear therefore to generate a vicious cycle: more discrimination, less integration and vice versa. Two factors have been found to influence the attitudes of acculturation from locals to refugees: “perceived value, similarity and threat”. Those who are perceived as more similar to the host community—and thus perceived as having greater “value”—have a greater chance of a successful integration. On the other hand, cultural minorities are frequently perceived as threatening, leading local communities to adopt an exclusionary attitude, “ endorsing more ethnocentric forms of acculturation,” towards these groups of refugees. These attitudes perpetuate other obstacles to integration, such as “in the face of hostility and prejudice, refugees’ disengagement front the host society may function as a self-protective mechanism to avoid further rejection.” In the EU, many non-institutional and institutional factors play a significant role in the difficulties faced by refugees in integrating their host societies. A comparative study between France, Germany, and Switzerland, found frequent discrimination of refugees in accessing employment: “a refugee with higher education and proper training in France described submitting 30 applications for jobs at local pharmacies and all of them being rejected” and “women who wear hijabs were routinely rejected for employment.” Additionally, governmental institutions make the recognition of refugees’ qualifications difficult by demanding “coursework, examinations, and lengthy times of supervision.” These issues generate frequent underemployment within these groups. Accessing the job market is a crucial means for refugee integration, as “it allows them to learn the language, build a future, regain confidence, and establish status.” Focusing on the relevance of the value perceived of a refugee by the host community, we can easily deduce that such obstacles to achieve status through employment only serves to generate greater stereotyping and discrimination against refugees. Furthermore, the lack of a stable income hinders refugees’ ability to attend community events which reduces the opportunity to establish links within their host societies. These obstacles generate a distance between refugee communities and locals that is likely to further perpetuate misperception and discrimination against refugees. The most frequent forms of discrimination encompass the “overgeneralization of stereotypes and religion.” As the same study notes, “masses of refugees from the same population” were pictured as “backward, inferior, terrorists or supporters of the Islamic State ISIS, lazy, job-stealing, criminals, and religiously radical”. Together with their institutions, many European societies struggle to make the successful integration of refugees a reality. The institutional obstacles posed to the economic and social establishment of these groups are those which contribute to perpetuating a devaluation of their position in host societies. Refugees are impeded access to mechanisms of cultural participation and their chances of acculturation and social integration are reduced due to further discrimination. European policies must be redesigned so the reception of people on the move is not thought of as a process to obtain asylum—but one where the acquisition of a refugee status is but the first border to be crossed.

Sports Recap — January 2023 < Back January Sports Recap By Hugo Lagergren January 31, 2023 Football The January player transfer window has now closed. Some teams splashed the cash, while some were more restrained in their approach and waiting for the summer window to do most of their serious business. Perhaps the most significant news to come out of the January window was Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr FC following his departure from Manchester United, where he had a falling out with several management figures, including manager Erik Ten Haag. Ronaldo has signed for two and a half years, extending his playing career until June 2025. The contract is reportedly worth a whopping 150 million USD per season. Ronaldo returned to the field as Al Nassr lost 4-5 to Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), reuniting him with his old rival. The Telegraph described the match as “the sordid final chapter of our era’s greatest football rivalry.” Questions have been asked of Chelsea FC and their possible violation of Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) Financial Fair Play regulation. Since U.S. billionaire Todd Boehly acquired the team last May, Chelsea have spent nearly half a million GBP on transfers. FIFA caps club spending at 105m GBP per season, and Chelsea have spent over four times that amount in the last six months. However, transfer fees are spread across the length of their contract. Chelsea recently signed Ukraine’s Mykhailo Mudryk for an eight-and-a-half-year contract and a hefty price of 88.5 million GBP, with other contracts ranging from five to six years. Arsenal have continued their impressive run at the top of the Premier League table by beating Manchester United 3-2 after a scintillating performance by Bukayo Saka. Fans are increasingly confident that this season will end their 19-year wait for a Premier League title. RC Lens closed the gap to current league leaders PSG by three points as PSG lost 1-0 to Rennes. OGC Nice are looking for a replacement for veteran Dante, who is likely to retire at the end of the season. Nice, who have had a poor start to the season, are looking to bolster their team in hopes of stronger performance. Tennis Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the 2023 Australian Open, equaling Rafael Nadal's all-time record of 22 Grand Slam titles. The title marks his 10th Australian Open win, the most of any tennis player. Speaking after the match, Djokovic stated that it had “been one of the most challenging tournaments I’ve ever played in my life”. At the age of 35, Djokovic has shown no sign of slowing down in recent years, as he remains one of the most difficult players to play for the new generation of tennis players. Formula 1 Teams have started to announce the launch dates to showcase their cars for the 2023 season, with Red Bull being the first to launch their car on the third of February. The rest of the launches will follow in the next fortnight. Steve Nielsen has been appointed as Sporting Director of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. This job switch from a high-ranking Formula 1 job requires him to oversee race-control operations, which have been at the heart of recent controversies, including during Max Verstappen’s first title-winning season. Boxing Youtuber/boxer/rapper KSI announced his ambition for Misfits Boxing, his promotional company, and their partnership with DAZN boxing to become a serious fighting arena. KSI defeated Faze Temperrr only a minute into the first round, after which he spoke passionately about his event's potential to compete with major fighting institutions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His fight reportedly accumulated an impressive 300,000 pay-per-view buys. Rugby With the Six Nations tournament approaching, England Rugby fans will have been relieved to hear that Captain Owen Farrell has been cleared to play. He was handed a four-match ban after a high tackle during a league match against Gloucester.

< Back Climate Headaches: Dispatches from Wales By Gruffudd ab Owain March 30, 2024 Prior to the election of Vaughan Gething as new First Minister in March, the first black leader of any country in Europe, the political sphere in Wales has been hit by a turbulent period, with two major issues regarding climate change. The first was the fierce opposition to the Welsh government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS). Its parliament, the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, saw the biggest turnout to a protest on its steps since its inauguration in 1999 on Feb. 28, 2024. The devolved parliament holds powers over a select number of policies, including agriculture, while the UK Government in London reserves responsibility over policy areas such as justice, policing, and defense. The Labour Party has been in government for the entirety of the Welsh parliament’s 25-year existence. The Senedd didn’t garner law-making powers until 2011, owing to a referendum in which 63.49% voted in favor, yet only reached the height of public awareness following its Covid lockdown policies, which differed significantly from those of the Johnson administration in London. In another referendum, the Brexit referendum, Wales voted with England to leave, in contrast to Scotland and Northern Ireland, by a margin of 52% to 48%. Oxford University research attests that this swing towards leaving was due to retired people who moved over the border from England. ‘Genuinely Welsh’ areas, as described by the researcher Daniel Dorling, voted firmly to remain; areas where agriculture is prominent, albeit not exclusively. It is worth noting that Wales benefitted hugely from the EU’s Rural Development Funding, and the SFS is partly a replacement for that scheme and partly a response to the fact that agriculture accounts for 12-14% of overall emissions in Wales. It requires farmers to plant trees on 10% of their land, a policy which the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) claims will cost 5,000 jobs nationally. The thousands present were also voicing concerns regarding the spread of bovine TB in cattle, and policies pertaining to preventing river pollution. The situation has prompted a rare and unexpected, if modest, boost to the Conservative Party’s fortunes in the country, a party who hasn't been at the top of the political tree there since the 19 th century. They have been accused of hypocrisy, however, in claiming to be the voice of farmers after leading Wales out of the EU and its funding scheme. Their young Welsh-speaking MS Samuel Kurtz led the party’s presence in what he described as ‘the proudest moment of my life’ , later quoting from the patriotic song ‘Safwn yn y Bwlch’ and its lyrics “together we will stand” on his X account. The Tories’ leader in Wales, Andrew R.T. Davies, who doesn’t speak Welsh, proudly shared a video of himself shaking hands with protesters while ‘Yma o Hyd’ was playing in the background, a song which, ironically, has explicitly anti-Tory lyrics. A recent poll projected that the Tories would only hold on to two border constituencies at the next General Election, after winning an historic 14 Welsh seats at the 2019 General Election. It must be said that changes to constituency boundaries will see Wales lose 8 of its 40 MPs at Westminster; nevertheless, this collapse in support is certainly reflective of a broader UK-wide mood. After months taking up the mantle of criticizing the Welsh government’s 20mph rollout, they have finally been handed a different policy to attack. They have been more vocal on the issue than the third biggest party, the left-leaning nationalist Plaid Cymru, who find themselves in a somewhat awkward position, rather clumsily described by previous leader Adam Price as ‘co-opposition’, of cooperating with the government on a select number of policy areas, nonetheless excluding the SFS. This will come as a partial relief for the Tory Party, amid turmoil in the rest of the UK in an election year, not least due to a series of historic by-election defeats. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak finds himself grappling with challenge after challenge, attempting to appease the right of the party to avoid losing votes to the resurgent Reform Party, without facing backlash from those to the center. He was forced to remove the whip of MP Lee Anderson in February, who said that “Islamists” have “control” over London and its mayor Sadiq Khan, calling his comments “wrong” but not Islamophobic nor racist. Sunak himself was seen posing with some farmers and Welsh farming personality Gareth Wyn Jones on a rare visit to the north, alongside protesters holding bright yellow ‘No Farmers No Food’ placards. These posters have appeared widely in the country, even in schools, with their simple message. Less well-known, however, is the NFNF campaign’s connections with anti-net zero stances, including extreme conspiracy theories. Wyn Jones compared the potential job losses to those of the miners under Margaret Thatcher exactly 40 years ago, comments that Plaid Cymru’s Llŷr Gruffudd later echoed at the protest. That said, some sympathize with farmers and are indeed disgruntled by climate change policies, with comments appearing on social media platforms along the lines of ‘Wales is too small a country, it cannot make a difference in tackling climate change’. One protestor told The Guardian that “a more pressing thing than climate change is Mr Putin. We’re teetering on the edge of world war three. This is about food security. We should be self-sufficient.” The quality of political debate in Wales is often poor, succumbing to simplicity. Some farmers have even demanded to eradicate the Welsh parliament altogether, with graphics saying ‘we can live without politicians, we can’t live without farmers’ doing the rounds on Facebook. However, farmers risk losing broader public support in Wales for cozying up to unpopular anti-net zero and anti-Senedd stances, along with the equally unpopular Conservative Party. It seems all rationality has been too easily lost in the debate regarding the SFS. Anthony Slaughter, leader of the Wales Green Party, who have no representation in parliament, implied on the Sunday Supplement radio programme that the government’s demands were not unreasonable, given that trees already cover 6-7% of Welsh farmland. He sympathized with farmers, however, for the policy’s ‘top-down’ implementation and lack of consultation, echoing similar comments by fellow independence-supporting Plaid Cymru. Consultation was open up to March 7, 2024, with the government pledging to seek compromise. A consultative vote in the Senedd on scrapping the SFS saw 26 votes in favor by Labour MSs and 26 votes against by opposition parties. This triggered a rule forcing the deputy presiding officer to vote, and his vote with the government meant that the proposal didn’t pass. As this saga rolled on, so did the election for the leadership of the Welsh Labour Party, and thus of the next First Minister. Incumbent Mark Drakeford announced in December that he would step down after the election of a new leader in March. Only two candidates, Vaughan Gething (Minister for Economy, was Minister of Health during the pandemic) and Jeremy Miles (Minister for Education and the Welsh language), were up for election. The former, who succeeded with 51.7% of the vote, became the first First Minister from an ethnic minority, while the latter would have been the first openly gay First Minister. The election was criticized for lacking a female candidate, given that the Welsh parliament became the world’s first legislative body to achieve 50:50 gender parity in 2003 . Miles is the only Welsh speaker among the two, and his firm pro-devolution stance and willingness to “always fight Wales’ corner” [my translation] would have made him a headache for Plaid Cymru in opposition. Gething was seen as the candidate closest to UK party leader Keir Starmer. He also garnered support from prominent members skeptical of devolution, such as Neil Kinnock. The election, which balances members’ votes and trade union nominations, was hit by turmoil in this sense as an unknown rule change by the influential trade union Unite, deemed Miles ineligible for the union’s nomination. Furthermore, it became obvious that there was no mechanism within the party’s One Member One Vote system to prevent members from voting more than once. It then emanated that Gething’s campaign for election had received an unprecedented and eye-watering £200,000 donation by the Dauson Environmental Group; for context, Mark Drakeford only raised £25,000 for his successful campaign for election in 2018. It arose later that the group was awaiting Welsh government approval for a solar farm on a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Likewise in 2018, Dauson Environmental Group’s director, David Neal, received a suspended prison sentence for illegally dumping waste on a conservation site. Wales is already significantly behind its climate targets, and with February bringing criticisms of Welsh Labour’s nevertheless flawed SFS and UK Labour reversing their £28bn green investment pledge if they were elected to Westminster, the obstacles to climate policy are surmounting. And for as long as the almost proverbial phrase that you could stick a red Labour rosette on a donkey in Wales and it would still win, it seems that the pace required for meaningful, lasting change is rapidly becoming unmatchable.

Aujourd’hui encore, l’art, parce qu’il est un instrument de contestation pacifique qui revêt une efficacité prouvée, est un objet soumis à une menace de musèlement que la population algérienne n’a de cesse de défier. < Back L’Expansion de l’Art Engagé en Algérie By Raja Madani April 29, 2022 “C’est pourquoi il faut que les artistes, les écrivains et les savants, qui ont en dépôt certains des acquis les plus rares de l’histoire humaine, apprennent à se servir contre l’État de la liberté que leur assure l’État” - Pierre Bourdieu À l’occasion de la Semaine des Arts ayant récemment eue lieu à Sciences Po, cet article s’intéresse à l’utilisation de l’art comme moyen d’engagement politique, en prenant pour angle d’étude la place prépondérante occupée par l’art engagé en Algérie, dans la quête de liberté et dans la manifestation des espoirs. Trois ans maintenant. En un vendredi ensoleillé de la fin du mois de février 2019, la jeunesse algérienne avait gagné les rues des villes principales du pays pour protester contre l’éternelle reproduction d’un système politique qui l’étouffe. Ce moment de symbiose qui a progressivement réuni les multiples spécificités de la population a donné lieu , par sa répétition chaque mardi et vendredi, à celle que l’on qualifie aujourd’hui de « révolution du sourire », ou autrement dit: de Hirak. La population algérienne, encore très marquée par la violence extrême qui l’a touchée au plus près lors de l’épisode de la décennie noire des années 90, a dû s’armer d’outils lui permettant de faire circuler en puissance ses revendications, tout en plaçant la paix en véritable maître mot du mouvement. L’art est alors apparu comme le moyen de combiner ces objectifs. L’art et la dénonciation, des éléments qui s’auto-génèrent Paroles extraites du chant de supporters, devenu chant de manifestants algériens, lui-même inspiré de la chanson de lutte des ouvrières des rizières de la Vallée du Pô Bella ciao : « La Casa Del Mouradia » , Ouled El Bahja. نقولوا جازت، حشاوهانلا بالعشرية » « Le premier {mandat}, on dira qu’il est passé. Ils nous ont eu avec la décennie {noire} فالثانية الحكاية بانت "La Casa Del Mouradia » Au deuxième, l’histoire est devenue claire, La Casa d’El Mouradia {= commune à Alger} فالثالثة البلاد شيانت مالمصالح الشخصية Au troisième, le pays s’est amaigri. À cause des intérêts personnels « فالرابعة البوبية ماتت، ومازالت القضية Au quatrième, la poupée est morte… Mais l’affaire suit son cours ». Via le mouvement de protestation du Hirak sont nés au sein de la société algérienne des artistes qui ont su puiser dans leur inspiration de quoi servir la cause de la dénonciation. Le mouvement s’est présenté pour chaque algérienne et chaque algérien comme une véritable occasion de développer une fibre artistique jusque-là peu encouragée. C’est par exemple le cas de Liasmine Fodil, habitante de la ville de Tizi Ouzou, qui a vu dans le mouvement du Hirak l’occasion de se reconvertir en photographe, afin d’être d’une utilité à la communauté des insurgés. Elle expliquait il y a quelques mois son choix au média Web Arts Résistances par un devoir d’information et de mémoire envers les futures générations : « Je sentais que c’était urgent de dire que ça se passait partout et pas seulement dans la capitale. {…} Dans quelques années nos photos seront des archives, elles montreront comment des citoyens anonymes se sont mobilisés » . Parmi les talents méconnus révélés par le Hirak, on retrouve également Mohamed Kechacha, chanteur de chaâbi: un genre musical algérois. Ce dernier s’est fait connaître par son vidéo-clip intitulé 1000 milliards , en référence aux rentes pétrolières du pays. Enfin, et surtout, la foule en elle-même a constitué un corps d’artistes à l’unicité foisonnante. Par la création de chants et de slogans, de pancartes, de danses, ou encore de peintures : de semaine en semaine, l’expression artistique a su se développer au fur et à mesure que le mouvement évoluait. En parallèle à ce foisonnement de nouvelles voix artistiques du Hirak, des artistes algériens affirmés de plus longue date ont su faire de leur art un instrument en faveur de la lutte pour la liberté et la démocratie en Algérie. C’est ainsi qu’en 2019, dans son célèbre titre intitulé « Liberté », le rappeur Soolking chantait le ras-le-bol des algériens envers le caractère sans issue de leur système politique. Il a fait de son morceau une véritable ode à la liberté, à laquelle il aspire pour l’Algérie. Mais impossible d’évoquer la combinaison du mouvement de contestation du Hirak avec l’art sans avoir une pensée particulière pour les caricaturistes. Sous le ton de l’humour, ces derniers ne manquent jamais d’exposer leur point de vue et de partager avec les Algériens des dessins de presse toujours plus engagés. De cette manière, des dessinateurs de presse comme Le Hic, Nime, Dilem ou encore Slim, en n’ayant de cesse de mêler art, humour, et conscience politique, se sont érigés en véritables symboles d’une autodérision voilant à peine un sens profond. Un phénomène enraciné Bien qu’il ait connu un essoufflement particulièrement important avec l’épisode sanglant de la décennie noire, il serait erroné de croire que l’art engagé était inexistant avant sa montée en puissance au moment du Hirak. On a en effet tendance à oublier que ce dernier a joué un rôle considérable dans la construction et la consolidation de l’identité nationale algérienne dans la période 1952-1970. Face à ce constat, l’historienne Anissa Bouayed, dans son ouvrage L’art et l’Algérie insurgée. Les traces de l’épreuve : 1954-1962, s’est donné pour mission de traiter la Guerre d’Algérie à partir des productions artistiques de peintres internationaux et algériens. De Issiakhem, à Khadda tout en passant par Fares, l’autrice de ce livre d’art particulièrement novateur tend à expliquer que «l’’œuvre est sans doute au-delà de toute catégorie englobante. Elle rend compte dans un condensé fulgurant, des positions critiques majeures contre la guerre, et des aspirations à la liberté, à la fois en dénonçant la torture dans plusieurs tableaux et en représentant les manifestations algériennes » . Une menace de censure qui demeure Le 16 décembre 2019, l’artiste bédéiste Nime a été condamné à un an d’emprisonnement pour ses dessins politiques. Le 10 août 2020, c’est le journaliste et activiste Khaled Drareni qui a été condamné à trois années de prison ferme pour des activités liées à son métier. Plus récemment, le 4 janvier 2021, le jeune artiste Walid Kechida a été à son tour condamné à trois ans de prison ferme. Pas plus tard que dans son rapport annuel 2021-2022, l’organisation de défense des droits de l’Homme Amnesty International dénonçait l’arrestation et la détention de « centaines de militants politiques et de la société civile, ainsi que des journalistes, simplement parce qu’ils avaient exprimé leur opinion ou fait leur travail » . La liberté d’expression se voit alors particulièrement menacée en Algérie ces dernières années et les artistes n’en sont pas moins épargnés. Aujourd’hui encore, l’art, parce qu’il est un instrument de contestation pacifique qui revêt une efficacité prouvée, est un objet soumis à une menace de musèlement que la population algérienne n’a de cesse de défier.

< Back Double Earthquakes Devastate Turkey and Syria: What You Can Do To Help By Ecesu Basara February 28, 2023 On the morning of Monday, February 6, at around four a.m. local time, the ground shook in Turkey. It shook so hard that even residents of Israel, Lebanon and Cyprus claimed to have felt the trembling. Authorities determined that the quake’s magnitude was 7.7, and its depth was 10 kilometers, which made its impact much more intense. The following day, another earthquake of a 7.6 magnitude struck at 11 a.m. and added to the ruin. As of Monday, February 13, the death toll stands at over 35,000, and it, unfortunately, keeps rising every day. When the initial earthquake rocked Turkey in the early morning, most people slept in their homes. Since many of these structures were not built to withstand such powerful earthquakes and collapsed, trapping people within, the extent of destruction and loss of life was tremendous. Search and rescue efforts are still being conducted in the Kahramanmaraş cities that were most impacted by the two earthquakes. As of now, more than 80,000 people have been injured, and it is estimated that 70,000 more are out on the streets for fear of their homes’ infrastructure. The Minister of National Education, Mahmut Özer, announced that classes in the earthquake zone will not resume until March 1 and decided to close all universities in Turkey until the next academic year to use dormitories as temporary housing for survivors. Since this last decision, university students and academic personnel have expressed their anger about the shutdown; one petition signed by over 76,000 people on the Change.org website states: “We can find different solutions for the people affected by the earthquake, do not distract us from our education, do not limit our opportunities. The number of university students enrolled is 8,196,959, while the number of students using the state dormitory is 678,763. Since there are many accommodation opportunities for earthquake survivors, we DO NOT ACCEPT the deprivation of more than seven million students!” Many are suggesting that the nationwide university closures serve to minimize reactionary research efforts into the role of government neglect in the post-earthquake destruction of Turkey. Because of government carelessness before the natural disaster, contractors were allowed to utilize inappropriate materials and disregard fundamental seismic guidelines when determining how to build homes. As temperatures reach a chilling -10°C in some affected areas, international organizations and the Turkish government scramble to aid those in need. However, the first response effort in Syria remains much more complicated; the country, ravaged by war, is not receiving equal help as Turkey. They do not have appropriate equipment or search and rescue teams, and civilians often find themselves alone in rescue efforts. In the West, most are hesitant to donate to Syria as they do not trust that their donations will reach the people in need. If you would like to help, you can either donate through the Thracian and Anatolian Student Association (TASA) (all information is on their Instagram @tasamenton) or donate directly to the “Ahbap” organization, which is not affiliated with any political or religious groups and publishes their financial reports. TASA in Menton recently held a fundraising bake sale and has been collecting donations since the earthquake hit Turkey and Syria. When faced with a situation this severe, it is imperative to remain cognizant of our chosen course of study. Our specialization in the Middle East entails a collective duty — we must band together to support this region in which we are all so invested.

Society that carries out capital punishment must think very carefully about the policy’s potential consequences. Taking an innocent person’s life is a grave enough reason to put someone to death, but shouldn’t there be accountability for those who sentence innocent people to the death penalty? < Back Execution in Missouri and the Death Penalty Ema Nevřelová October 31, 2024 My mother grew up in communist Czechoslovakia. She would often tell me the story of her first official act of free will. During the first months of 1990, Amnesty International was collecting signatures to petition for the abolition of the death penalty in the former Czechoslovakia and, at the age of 18, my mother signed it. For my mother, freedom lies in the ability to act and to stand up for what you believe in. In her view, the value of a person’s life is too high to risk the possibility of executing someone innocent—she would feel partially complicit if she did not protest. Three months later, in May 1990, former Czechoslovak President Václav Havel pressured the government and the death penalty was abolished. U.S. citizens have not unilaterally pushed the abolishment of the death penalty; support for capital punishment has historically fluctuated. A recent Gallup poll demonstrated that only 53% of Americans favor the death penalty. In Gallup’s research from 2022, there is an even greater disparity between Democrat and Republican party members: 35% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans were in favor of the death penalty. Unsurprisingly, typically “red” states such as Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, Idaho and many more have the death penalty, although it is not exclusive to states supporting Republicans. Meanwhile, California, a “Blue” state, still has not abolished it. But the current Governor of California, Gavin Newsom has put a hold on executions. There is no federal mandate on the capital punishment, meaning that the employment of the death penalty in the U.S. is determined at the state level. The State Attorney General has the final say, and if a prisoner wants to appeal outside of state, their only option is the U.S. Supreme Court of Justice—which does not review many death penalty cases. The death penalty also is also influenced by the forces at the federal level; it became infamous during Donald Trump’s presidency, during which a total of 13 executions were carried out—the highest number since 1896. However, apart from Trump’s presidency the federal death penalty is rarely carried out. The Gallup research helps to step out of the narrative that the supporters of the death penalty have some inherent characteristics or evil traits. While there is a trend among different political parties, there is no consistent definition of a person favoring the death penalty. However, the indisputable fact of procedural and systematic issues make scrutiny over the death penalty all the more important, especially given the irreversibility in case of wrongful conviction. Recent news about executions of Travis Mullis, Emmanuel Littlejohn, Alan Miller, Freddie Owens and Marcellus “Khalifah” Williams in the span of a week brought such discussions to the forefront of the U.S. social media discourse. Being Czech, I was surprised that 5 executions in one week are in fact not the everyday reality of the U.S., as it last happened in 2003. The execution of Marcellus “Khalifah” Williams was publicly opposed, as some people believed him to be innocent in the murder of Felicia Gayle, for which he was convicted. His case highlights two key issues with the death penalty: the closure myth and systemic racism. The closure myth is a commonly held belief that by executing the murderer, the family of the victim will get a closure. Surely, some families do, however the process of a murderer receiving a death sentence is lengthy and there is a lack of mental health and financial support. Often, it leaves the families of the victims struggling even after the execution, delaying the process of closure. In this case, Governor of Missouri Michael L. Parson, who appealed on certainty, indirectly used the closure myth by stating : “Withdrawing the order allows the process to proceed within the judicial system, and, once the due process of law has been exhausted, everyone will receive certainty.” Given the external factors influencing the family (financial and health issues) it is not surprising that a study by Eaton and Christensen from 2014 concluded that co-victims (family members of the victim) “expressed their views on closure in various ways’’ and those “who did mention closure were evenly divided on whether they felt the execution provided closure or not.’’ This deconstructs the narrative that execution is the only way to provide closure for co-victims and while it can put their minds to rest there are more usually aspects preventing them from doing so. However, the family of Felicia Gayle, the murder victim, approved , together with the court, for Williams to enter an Alford plea , a plea where a defendant can maintain innocence while accepting a plea bargain and allowing Williams to be re-sentenced to life in prison. However, the state attorney general’s office opposed and blocked the decision by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. Presumably, when it comes to closure and justice for the family, it is not the family who decides, but rather the system does it for them without even taking the family’s position into account. The second issue arising during Williams’ process of appealing the death penalty was the selection of a jury. In an emergency appeal made to the U.S. Supreme Court before the execution of Williams, his attorney declared : “Of the seven Black venirepersons (out of 131 in total), the trial prosecutor [St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office] used peremptory strikes against six of them. His reasoning for excluding one of those venirepersons, Venireperson 64, was that he “reminded” him of Mr. Williams. He thought the men looked similar and that boy had ‘piercing eyes’ (App. 89a).” Later, the Supreme Court of Missouri found this reasoning to be race-neutral. A parallel can be drawn between the reasoning given by the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office of “piercing eyes”and of some white people complimenting black women’s hair while touching them without consent. On the surface it may seem innocent and “race-neutral,” but upon the addition of astriking imbalance of power, it becomes awfully clear that there are not many things in life that are race, gender or otherwise neutral . The selection process of jury pools is often based on registered voter lists or on driving licence holders, although other factors may apply. There is, however, no obligation to adapt mechanisms to achieve an equal representation of the community that the jury represents. Looking at the American justice system and racism in general, a 1990 study on Death Penalty Sentencing concluded that a “synthesis of the 28 studies shows a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing, and imposition of the death penalty […].” Furthermore, this study suggests that if a victim is white, the likelihood of the defendant receiving the death penalty is higher. This is disturbing on several levels including the fact that it implies the lives of Black people have lesser value when it comes to the severity of the penalty. The Innocence database is run by the Death Penalty Information Center, which records cases of people who have been sentenced to death but have been exonerated before the execution. Out of the 200 recorded cases, 108 wrongfully convicted people were Black, 21 were either Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Latinos or Asians. But these people are far away from being just numbers. This becomes evident in the case of Timothy Howard and Gary James, who spent 26 years in prison for bank robbery and murder as they were convicted in 1976 and freed only in 2003. On average, there is at least one person wrongfully convicted every year. It is true that the list of wrongful convictions ends in 2014, but it would be naïve to expect that it is because judges suddenly became infallible from then on. The Innocent database does not include people who have already been executed but could potentially be innocent. The Death Penalty Information Center provides a list of people who were executed and are now believed to be innocent, although according to the Center: “Courts do not generally entertain claims of innocence when the defendant is dead.” These statistics and the real human beings behind them tell heart-wrenching stories of a system failure that is irreparable. Even if we look at the cases of people who have been convicted because they were truly guilty, there are still aspects to the death penalty that make it morally questionable. Firstly, in the U.S., it is illegal to sentence a person with intellectual disabilities to death, yet mental illness is not included even though the American Bar Association states the following: “In short, the ABA finds that individuals with severe mental illnesses or disabilities present at the time of the crime should not be subject to capital punishment.” This is an unsurprising reflection of how U.S. society still views mental health. Mental health issues are weaponized when convenient—in the U.S. context, young school shooters are often portrayed as anomalies to a perfectly functioning system of gun control, without considering or acknowledging the dire situation of mental health struggles among young people. There is also this narrow-minded approach leading some to believe that mental illness is only used as an excuse, where in reality living with mental illness can be challenging to a level that people who have never experienced it can hardly imagine. The second problem is with the execution itself, as the preferred method of execution in the U.S. is death by lethal injection. There are recorded instances where the needle was administered incorrectly or the person executed was struggling to breath for tens of minutes to an hour before dying. Coming from the Czech Republic, a country which abolished capital punishment almost 35 years ago, the faulty procedures seem as vengeance, close to torture. Should society’s goal be to follow Hammurabi’s law “eye for an eye,” or should we let murderers sit with the horrors of their actions while not risking an execution of innocent people? Williams’s case should be a reminder that the death penalty is not a punishment standing on its own, rather there are external factors such as racism, lack of focus on mental health and the potential for false conviction. Society that carries out capital punishment must think very carefully about the policy’s potential consequences. Taking an innocent person’s life is a grave enough reason to put someone to death, but shouldn’t there be accountability for those who sentence innocent people to the death penalty? The answer is not simple and even if the U.S. were to abolish capital punishment, it does not put an end to the debate about it. Circling back to the example of the Czech Republic, although capital punishment has been abolished, we have only recently (in 2023) gotten to a point where the percentage of people opposing capital punishment is higher than that of its supporters. Yet, support for the death penalty is at 42 % and had we not had the constellation in which the capital punishment was abolished, Czech people might have had to face the same moral dilemma the Americans are facing today. And while my mother does live in a society without capital punishment and does not have to battle her conscience, the polarization on the topic has not vanished.

“If you want to eliminate values from past societies, you have to eliminate the artists.”, reflects Prince Norodom Sirivudh of Cambodia, in the 2014 documentary “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll”, recounting the systematic erasure of music from Cambodian society under the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. < Back “When They Tell You to Sing, You Just Sing.”: The Khmer Rouge’s Musical Manipulation of Cambodian Society Loowit Morrison November 10, 2025 “If you want to eliminate values from past societies, you have to eliminate the artists.”, reflects Prince Norodom Sirivudh of Cambodia, in the 2014 documentary “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll”, recounting the systematic erasure of music from Cambodian society under the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. “[A]rtists are influential. Artists are close to the people,” says Sirivudh. Music is inherently political, used for centuries as a mechanism of control and mobilization. Throughout history, music has shaped public opinion and regime legitimacy by both producing and limiting access to music. From 1955 until 1975, Cambodia’s music experienced what is known as its “Golden Era.” Thanks to increasing global communication, the rise of clubs, bars and nightclubs, and the United States’ Armed Forces’ radio , Cambodian music became infused with Western, Latin and Afro-Cuban pop influences, creating a distinct style of modern music. Traditional Cambodian styles were electrified; garage and surf rock took root in Cambodia’s art scene. Stars such as Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Sereysothea and Pan Ron gained massive popularity. Cambodia’s musical backbone was not only thriving — it was vital to the nation’s social life. A mere 17 years after gaining independence from France, Cambodia entered into a period of civil war. In 1970, an American-backed coup ousted Prince Norodom Sihanouk’s regime as part of their larger war against communism. Sihanouk fled to Beijing, becoming a figurehead for the rising Khmer Rouge, a group of communist insurgents. The years that followed were marked by tensions between communist guerrilla fighters and Lon Nol’s anti-communist government. 1973 saw massive devastation at the hands of U.S. bombardment. The civil war came to an end in April 1975, when Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge toppled Lon Nol’s government and seized the capital, Phnom Penh. 1975 was declared “Year Zero” by Pol Pot’s regime and the country was renamed “Democratic Kampuchea”. The regime, stretching from 1975–1979, was marked by a radical strategy of agrarian communism and strict isolation. Civil and property rights, religious practice and Western influence were completely eradicated, and urban citizens were forced into the countryside to labor in agricultural projects. Any intellectuals, artists or elites were sent to work or killed. Cambodian society was effectively “decapitated.” As part of the eradication of artists, musicians were among the first targets of the Khmer Rouge. All music, other than propaganda of the Khmer Rouge, was banned in an effort to eliminate “old” identities linked to Western culture. At the time, Cambodian musical culture was deeply influenced by the French colonial period, beginning in the 19th century. French colonizers brought Western instruments and genres to Cambodia, infusing Cambodian music with Western designs. The Khmer Rouge, in opposition to anything Western, sought to destroy this Westernized musical identity and create a “new,” yet staunchly traditional, Khmer identity. Although the majority of existing music and musicians were destroyed by Pol Pot’s regime, part of the strategy to mobilize the new Khmer identity was through music. The Khmer Rouge’s re-education program rearranged traditional hymns and melodies, such as basak and mohori , to serve their ideologies and push forth the new agrarian society. Despite the fact that most musicians were targeted in the regime’s early days, others were recruited by the Khmer Rouge to serve as regime musicians. Touch Chhatta recounts that the only “reason I survived was because I knew how to play music.” Chhatta was enlisted by the Khmer Rouge to serve in a band that played at meetings, at which music was played with only traditional instruments, including the khim , tro , and takhe . Chhatta describes that at the beginning of the regime, he purposefully memorized the propaganda music, maximizing his utility to the regime and thus his chances of survival. Children were also recruited by the Khmer Rouge as musicians. “We were like a blank piece of paper. When they tell you to sing, you just sing,” describes Chhom Charvin, who was a child singer under the regime. Easily persuaded and indoctrinated, children were the perfect candidates for the Khmer Rouge’s new musical strategy. “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll” presents footage of the Khmer Rouge’s child singers in a performance, reenacting farmers, chanting “the day is hot and dry / smoke is coming from the earth / but we can take it / we are resilient / we serve Angkar until results are produced.” Undying loyalty to serving the new, agricultural and communist state is conveyed curtly through lyrics, fashioning a new emblem for the nation of the laboring and nationalistic child. Music was also used as a mobilizing tool. Thida Buth, who was a child during the regime, remembers that in the work camps, the national anthem would blare over the speakers each morning, at 4am. The first lyrics are “the bright red blood spilled in the lands of kampuchea / our motherland / the blood of our good workers and farmers / of our revolutionary soldiers / of both men and women / we will make our Motherland / the most prosperous, magnificent, wonderful!”. Every day in the Democratic Kampuchea began with music -– propaganda music. Music which was manufactured specifically to promote the idea of a new nation. The musical construction of Democratic Kampuchea contains a dual nature: one of radical return to tradition yet a complete transformation of society. The Khmer Rouge attempted to erase the existing musical culture in Cambodia while simultaneously promoting a musical culture that was ‘traditional’, thus blurring the line between “new” and “old”. This phenomenon highlights the contradictory nature of the Khmer Rouge regime, which attempted to use old, traditional Khmer music to promote a new, revolutionized identity, which in and of itself reflected a traditional past. Whether restoring an “old” or creating a “new” identity, it is clear that music was a critical tool employed by the Khmer Rouge to carry out their transformation of society. Despite the supposed “eradication” of music in Democratic Kampuchea, it was frequently mobilized by the Khmer Rouge to legitimize their regime and build the foundation of a new national identity. Music, as any form of art, is fundamental to the skeleton of society. Music transmits values, histories and identities; its mobilization by elites in society has the power to structurally, radically reshape what a country is, how it functions and what it stands for. Despite the weaponization of music by Pol Pot’s regime, when the Khmer Rouge fell on January 7, 1979, music was what revived Cambodian society. Sieng Vanthy, a Cambodian singer, was one of the first to return to the capital city of Phnom Penh, which had been emptied at the start of the regime. With much of the nation hesitant to return to the city, Vanthy describes that she sang “Oh, Phnom Penh” on the radio, in an attempt to reassure the displaced that it was safe to return. “Oh, Phnom Penh” seeps with yearning, nostalgia and memories of a place once called home. The first lyrics state, “Oh, Phnom Penh / For three years / I never stopped missing you / We were separated / and my heart was broken.”, and later, the song says, “the Cambodian soul lives on / Oh, Phnom Penh / I meet you again.” While music may have been a tool of manipulation in the Khmer Rouge regime, it was also a unifying factor. Music is what brought Cambodians back together to collectively rebuild their nation physically and culturally. In spite of their efforts, the Khmer Rouge was not able to abolish the musical roots that run through Cambodia. Music continues to flourish, decades after the country was musically sanitized. Dengue Fever, a band formed in the U.S. in 2001, brought Cambodian music back to the global forefront. Lauren Yee’s 2016 play, “Cambodian Rock Band,” recounts the story of a Cambodian American woman and her father, a survivor of the genocide, exploring a history of music and memory. The revival of music in Cambodia is a testament to the nation’s ability to overcome a difficult past and to their cultural resilience. Photo Source: Emile Gsell, Picryl

< Back Chemical Weapons Used on Pro-Palestine Students at Columbia University By Selin Elif Kose February 29, 2024 On Jan. 19, students from Columbia University assembled in front of Low Library for a “divestment now” rally. The pro-Palestine protest was organized by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which is a coalition of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Howev er, after the protest, multiple students reported a putrid smell on their clothes, followed by physical symptoms including nausea, headache, and burning eyes for ten students, three of whom later sought medical care. Yet, the administration stayed silent which was quite unusual as Columbia sends alert emails for even small crimes like robberies around campus. Lacking administrative support, the Columbia University Apartheid Divest took the matter into its own hands and started an internal investigation into the incident by collecting testimonies, photographs, and videos from the students at the protest. According to the results of this inquiry and medical reports from hospitals, protestors were sprayed with skunk water, which is known to be a chemical that smells like “sewage mixed with rotting corpses,” and has been used by Israeli soldiers on Palestinians. This chemical was developed by the Israeli company Odortec and is marketed as non-lethal and non-toxic, yet high doses of this can produce severe physical symptoms and, at worst, may even prove lethal. The attackers were students from the School of General Studies who were also former Israel Defense Force soldiers dressed in fake keffiyehs to mix with the crowd. It was later revealed that one of the attackers also had been previously reported as calling Palestinian and pro-Palestine students “terrorists” and “Jew killers” but was not sanctioned. After four days of silence, on Jan. 23, Interim Provost Dennis A. Mitchell issued a statement saying “After the Department of Public Safety received an initial complaint late Friday night, the University immediately initiated steps to investigate the incident, and has since been actively working with local and federal authorities. The New York City Police Department is taking the lead role in investigating what appear to have been serious crimes, possibly hate crimes.” This vague statement faced serious criticism as it lacked transparency and simply did not identify the details and the sides in this incident while also not proposing any alternative safety measures for students. However, this is not the first time the Columbia and Barnard administrations failed to protect the pro-Palestine students on campus and their rights. Notably, three weeks after the Oct. 7 attack, the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Barnard College released a statement on their official website declaring their stance on the conflict and said, “We support the Palestinian people who have resisted settler colonial war, occupation, and apartheid for over 75 years while deploring Hamas’s recent killing of Israeli civilians.” Just two days later, this statement was removed from the website by the Barnard administration without prior notice. This violation of academic freedom and freedom of expression in Barnard sparked protests in other American universities. Yet, Barnard refused to take a step back and altered their policies on political activity, website governance, and campus events, expanding their power to decide what is and isn’t considered permitted political speech and gaining the final say on everything published on the Barnard website. The censorship and limitations on freedom of speech were further followed by the banning of student organizations, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) by University Director Minouche Shafik in November. This was the reason why Columbia University's Apartheid Divest was created in the first place. The New York Civil Liberties Union has publicly announced that they will be suing Columbia if they will not lift the suspension of SJP and JVP by March 1. The investigation by the NYPD still is ongoing but the victims are still frustrated by the lack of response from their university. The students who were hospitalized because of skunk spray shared that the Columbia administration refuses to reimburse their medical bills. This whole situation remains highly concerning both for student safety and the future of freedom of expression on campus.

Dès le premier jour où j’ai pris mes fonctions de “Head of logistics”, j’ai tenté à maintes reprises de m’esquisser une image du portrait de ce voyage tant attendu. Pourtant, me voilà une semaine revenue sur les rives de la côte d’Azur, et je peux me permettre d’affirmer avec certitude que les petits moments où je m’autorisais à rêvasser de ce voyage étaient encore loin de ce qui m’attendait. < Back Babel Initiative 2022 ou la Découverte du Pays du Jasmin By Morgane Abbas March 31, 2022 Dès le premier jour où j’ai pris mes fonctions de “ Head of logistics ”, j’ai tenté à maintes reprises de m’esquisser une image du portrait de ce voyage tant attendu. Plus les jours passaient, plus mon imagination était nourrie. Plus les jours passaient, plus l’angoisse de la préparation laissait place à l’excitation du départ. Finalement, plus les jours passaient, plus ce qui n’était qu’un lointain mais ambitieux projet devenait réalité. Pourtant, me voilà une semaine revenue sur les rives de la côte d’Azur, et je peux me permettre d’affirmer avec certitude que les petits moments où je m’autorisais à rêvasser de ce voyage étaient encore loin de ce qui m’attendait. En effet, est-il réellement possible de s’imprégner d’un pays sans avoir touché son sol, respiré son air, goûté à ses délices ? Sans avoir senti son parfum, parlé à sa population et découvert ses paysages ? Pas vraiment. Et puis, ce qui fait sûrement la beauté d’un tel voyage, c’est qu’en réalité, même avec toute l’exactitude avec laquelle mes chers camarades de Babel Initiative et moi-même avons pu l’organiser, c’est peut-être les petits et grands imprévus, les activités décidées sur le tas, les bouts de conversation volés avec les chauffeurs de taxi, les passants, les enfants, les marchands du souk, les serveurs qui on en fait la beauté. En somme, voyager de telle sorte, c’est suivre son programme tout en se laissant guider par les surprises que le vent voyageur a à offrir… Lundi 28 février: Après une arrivée plutôt musclée à l'aéroport de Tunis-Carthage, il était temps pour ce premier jour de laisser place à la découverte de la belle capitale tunisienne. Ainsi, s’est d’abord naturellement organisée la visite de l’imposante avenue “حبيب بورقيبة ” (“Habib Bourguiba”), d’ailleurs au croisement avec l’avenue «محمد الخامس» (“Mohamed V”), elle aussi grandiose. L’avenue émane de la place du 14 janvier 2011, rebaptisée en hommage à la révolution des printemps arabes (bien que le terme ne fasse pas consensus). Elle est marquée par sa grande horloge et la statue du leader Habiba Bourguiba. Cette rue en elle-même permet d’avoir un important aperçu historique et culturel de la ville. De par son son majestueux théâtre municipal construit au début du siècle dernier et marqué par la forme de ses courbes, ses incalculables cafés et restaurants, ses magasins, ses luxueux hôtels, ses banques et ses arbres alignés qui rappellent dans une certaine mesure l’avenue des Champs-Elysées, cette avenue est un dynamique centre de vie. Plus intéressant encore, elle amène directement sur «ساحة الاستقلال» (“la place de l'indépendance"). Une place pas spécialement grande en superficie, mais qui ne l’empêche pas d’être un concentré de monuments historico-culturels et un passage obligatoire pour quiconque s’affirmant touriste à Tunis. Ainsi, en son plein centre s’érige la statue d’une des plus grandes figures qui fait la fierté du peuple tunisien depuis le quatorzième siècle : le sociologue, philosophe et historien Ibn Khaldoun. On retrouve à ses deux extrémités d’un côté l’ambassade de France en Tunisie, de l’autre, la majestueuse cathédrale Saint Vincent de Paul. Puis, en continuant un peu, nous sommes finalement arrivés sur les souks de la fameuse «مدينة» (“la vieille ville”). C’est donc la que notre balade s’est naturellement poursuivie, et nous avons déniché parmi les petites ruelles un magnifique restaurant, «فندق العطارين» (“funduq al attarin") où nous avons pu goûter pour la première fois aux délices de la cuisine tunisienne. L’après-midi, il s’agissait d'assister à une conférence organisée en partenariat avec le Global Institute 4 transitions avec quatre invités d’honneur: l’historienne Sophie Bessis, le philosophe et anthropologue Youssef Seddik, la journaliste Myriam Belkadhi ainsi que l’écrivain, acteur, réalisateur et metteur en scène Raja Farhat. Cette dernière a eu lieu au sein du magnifique palais «دار الأصرم» (“dar alasram”), absolument époustouflant de par ses luxueuses pièces et ses décorations. Il s’agissait alors, notamment dans le cadre des projets menés par les chercheurs, d’écouter ces quatre invités sur des sujets aussi larges que la place du dialecte tunisien dans la sphère publique et la politique, la pertinence de la notion de “tunisianité” ou encore l’évolution de la place du religieux à travers les générations… Mardi 1 mars: À une vingtaine de kilomètres de Tunis, nous voilà maintenant à Sidi bou Saïd, un village qui ne laisse aucun voyageur indifférent. En tout cas, c’était sûrement l’un de mes endroits préférés. Malgré le temps qui n’était pas au rendez-vous, il est difficile de ne pas être séduit par cet endroit que l’on surnomme “le petit paradis blanc et bleu”, qui m’a d’ailleurs rappelé dans une certaine mesure la ville montagneuse marocaine de Chefchaouen qui porte les mêmes couleurs. Sidi bou Saïd se situe néanmoins au bord de la mer, et on confondrait presque la couleur des vagues avec celle des murs des habitations, des cafés et des restaurants. Le village offre une dualité de couleurs réellement agréable pour les yeux. Nous avons donc passé une bonne partie de la journée à visiter la demeure du baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger, peintre franco-britannique de renom ayant vécu entre la fin du XIX ème et la première moitié du XXème siècle. Cette dernière est un joyau luxueux qui regroupe des jardins magnifiquement conçus et ornementés, des pièces réhabilitées pour exposer les travaux du peintre, orientaliste et musicologue ainsi qu’une série de salle dédiées à l’exposition d’éléments culturels à l’instar d’une myriade d’instruments de musique issus du monde oriental, certains étant d’une rareté et d’une ancienneté remarquables. Cet impressionnant palais porte finalement le nom de «النجمة الزهرة» (“l’étoile de Vénus") et il fait désormais office de Centre des Musiques Arabes et Méditerranéennes (CMAM). Également, je peux facilement affirmer que ce mardi fut la journée de découverte gastronomique par excellence. Deux noms s’érigent alors: le «لبلابي» ou “lebalbi” d’un côté, et le «بمبلوني» ou “bambalouni” de l’autre. Le premier est composé principalement de pois-chiches, de pain, de thon et d’épices diverses lorsque le second est un beignet frit et saupoudré de sucre. Je dois avouer avoir eu une petite préférence pour le sucré, car bien que le “leblabi” soit délicieux, je n'étais pas encore habituée au goût très prononcé de la harissa. Pour finir, quoi de mieux que d’apprécier un bon «شاي بالنعنع», un thé à la menthe sur les hauteurs du “café des délices” qui offre à celui qui s’y rend une vue panoramique sur la mer. Mercredi 2 mars: Les équipes de Babel ainsi que celles de “Shadow Babel (sciencespistes ne faisant pas partie de l’association mais ayant effectué le voyage avec nous) se sont rendues sur le site archéologique de Carthage, qui figure au patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO depuis une quarantaine d’années maintenant. Cependant, je n’aurais pas la prétention d’affirmer que nous avons visité l’ensemble du site tant celui-ci est vaste et dispersé. Ainsi, parmi les endroits notables à visiter, on retrouve notamment le quartier Magon, le musée Paléochrétien, les thermes d’Antonin, le Tophet de Salambo, les Villas romaines, le théâtre romain ainsi que l’amphithéâtre. Nous nous sommes principalement attardés sur deux d’entre eux. D’abord, ce que l’on appelle «المنازل الروماني» ou “les villas romaines”: un ensemble de vestiges d’habitations romaines situées aux alentours de la colline de l’Odéon, dont la plus célèbre et la mieux conservée demeure sans hésitation “ la villa de la volière ”. J’ai trouvé cette partie du site archéologique de Carthage agréable à visiter pour se ressourcer. Cet endroit est un mélange de vestiges, de ruines, de végétations dont une présence remarquable de fleurs jaunes qui semble lui donner une dimension hors du temps et de l’espace. C’est également un endroit qui réserve quelques surprises. Quel fut alors mon étonnement lorsqu’en m'éloignant du groupe quelques minutes et en m’embourbant dans quelques passages étroits, par simple curiosité, je suis tombée par hasard sur une magnifique construction architecturale: la mosquée «مالك ابن أنس» ou la mosquée “Malik Ibn Anas”. Dans un second temps, l’équipe s’est dirigée vers «حمامات أنطونيوس» ou “les thermes d’Antonin” qui constituent un ensemble thermal remarquable de par sa superficie et sa conception, le plus grand du continent africain. Ces thermes, qui datent du IIème siècle après Jésus-Christ, sont le résultat des actions de deux grands empereurs romains : Hadrien et évidemment l'empereur Antonin le Pieux qui a donné son nom au site. Pour finir, les activités sur le tas dont je parlais en introduction, c’est précisément ce que nous avons expérimenté ce mercredi soir. Amira, notre camarade qui a aussi fait office de guide et traductrice pendant le séjour avec Nour, nous informe que l’orchestre national de Carthage donne dans la soirée un concert de musique de films dans le fameux théâtre de l’avenue “Habib Bourguiba” évoqué quelques lignes auparavant. Nous avons donc sauté sur l’occasion et la majorité d’entre nous a passé une soirée fantastique bercée par le son des violons, violoncelles, flûtes, percussions et autres merveilles musicales. L’orchestre, dont j’ai été frappé par la dimension intergénérationnelle, nous a fait voyager au cours de la soirée au sein d’une myriade d’univers tous différents les uns des autres: de Marvel à Harry Potter en passant par Pirate des Caraïbes ou Inspecteur Gadget, il y en avait pour tous les goûts ! Finalement, un moment totalement improvisé qui s’est avéré être l’un des plus savoureux. Jeudi 3 mars: Si je puis me permettre d’utiliser un mot du jargon des jeunes, la journée du jeudi fut plus “ chill” et je n’aurais donc pas autant de contenu à exposer. Bien que le groupe fut plus dispersé, chacun vacant aux occupations qui lui plaisait, une bonne partie d’entre nous n’a pas résisté à la tentation de retourner une seconde fois à Sidi Bou Saïd. Nous nous sommes donc retrouvés au bord de la mer et à notre agréable surprise, nous avons passé l’après-midi à discuter, du moins à essayer de communiquer avec un groupe d’enfants tunisiens qui s’avéraient être présents au même endroit et en même temps. Sans Nour et Amira, la communication fut plus compliquée mais nous avons pu nous immiscer complètement dans le dialecte tunisien sous le rire amusé de la bande de copains. Ensuite, nous nous sommes livrés à une partie géante de volley-ball et je dois dire que l’on s’est bien amusés, même si le niveau de l’écrasante majorité reste à déplorer (camarades, vous pardonnerez mon réalisme parfois cru). Vendredi 4 mars: Moment unique du voyage: qui dit vendredi dit “Day-trip” avec un guide présent exprès pour nous ! Journée physiquement fatigante certes, mais de loin l’une des plus enrichissantes, puisqu’elle nous a permis de traverser en quelques heures plusieurs endroits iconiques de la Tunisie. Et bien que le bus qui nous attendait 7 heures pétantes ait pu se dresser comme une épreuve infranchissable pour certains au vu des soirées arrosées de la veille, l’expérience n’était pas regrettable. Premier arrêt: la ville de Testour, un exemple flagrant de la manière dont la trajectoire des pays du Maghreb et de l’Espagne ont été intrinsèquement liés au cours de l’histoire. En effet, Testour est une ville andalouse par excellence puisque la ville, telle qu’on la connaît aujourd’hui, a été fondée peu de temps après la Reconquista qui toucha le Sud de l'Espagne au XVème siècle, par une partie des populations musulmane et juive chassée de cette région. C’est donc réellement au XVIIème siècle que la ville a pris forme. Cet héritage andalou et judéo-musulman est clairement visible, notamment via l’unique Grande Mosquée de Testour. Unique pour deux raisons: d’abord, ses aiguilles tournent dans le sens inverse, et ses chiffres sont aussi positionnés dans le sens inverse des horloges classiques. Encore plus surprenant, on y observe clairement deux étoiles de David qui incarne le judaïsme. La symbolique est donc forte et rappelle que les deux religions arrivaient à coexister de manière pacifique et unie. Deuxième moment fort à Testour: la visite de la maison de «حبيبة مسيكة» (“Habiba Msika”), diva tunisienne morte assassinée à 27 ans par son amant Eliahou Mimouni pour des motifs qui demeurent encore flous. Sa maison est maintenant convertie en centre culturel, on y revient notamment sur sa vie, son parcours et sa fin tragique. Après un passage assez bref au souk de Testour, l’activité physique était au rendez-vous puisque nous avons effectué une randonnée improvisée dans la nature au sein de paysages montagneux à quelques dizaines de kilomètres. Il s’agissait principalement de profiter de la verdure que la nature avait à offrir et du déjeuner en plein air que l’agence de voyage nous avait préparé. Puis, dernière activité de la journée mais pas des moindres: la visite de l’époustouflant site archéologique de Dougga. Ce fut ma visite préférée du voyage. Joyau du patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO depuis 1997, il se veut à lui tout seul être un mélange harmonieux des héritages civilisationnels carthaginois, numide, romains, libyco-puniques et byzantins. Il est important de souligner que c’est le site archéologique romain le mieux conservé d’Afrique du Nord. Nous étions donc en capacité d’observer les ruines du capitole, des habitations, des bains publics, de l'impressionnant théâtre où se déroulaient les activités culturelles… Cette visite m’a marquée parce que personnellement, je ne pouvais pas m’empêcher d’imaginer toutes ces populations qui se sont succédées, influencées mutuellement, et qui étaient présentes sur ce même territoire où je me trouvais des milliers d’années auparavant, en train de construire l’histoire de la Tunisie. Cet article ne saurait être complet sans y inclure le retour d’autres membres ayant pris part au voyage… Lilinaz Hakimi (présidente de Babel Initiative): “Being president of Babel Initiative 2021/2022 was a mix of terrifying , exciting, fascinating, learning on the job and compromising experience. It has been a wonderful year with the team. I think that first of all, on a general basis, the work we did as a board was incredible and exceeded my expectations. As a president, I was a bit unprepared because our previous leaders didn't leave behind much, because of Covid and other restrictions, we didn't really get the association intact. It was kind of dying out and it was our job and our year to fight this association that is the oldest one in Menton campus and history. At first, it was a bit difficult because I think that struggling off with some of the unknown, but having a partner as Leon as a vice-president did make it all better and made it all feel much more manageable. Then, having a team as amazing as the one that we had as a board revived it. The passion, dedication and drive brought by every single member of Babel is what made this year’s trip and this years’ initiative so wonderful. It would not have happened without this. On the other hand, we have our researchers who have been nothing but dedicated to their research. They were here to do on-the-ground research and they took this opportunity seriously. They did a wonderful job while we were in Tunis. For me as a president, I could watch the board take the benefits of being in Tunis after all their hard work and on the other hand, see the researchers exceeding my expectations in the level of dedication and drive. They were committed to what they were doing and they weren’t here just to mess around. Even though I knew the board was amazing, the way that the trip came out, the events we didn't plan, the free day-trip, dinner, the conference… I couldn't have imagined how it would look like until I actually experienced it. It was the work of 30 board members who worked during the whole year. Even during the roughest times having such a team was almost like having a small family, it made it all worth it. I am excited to see what this association does next year and where Babel is going to be taken !” Amira Zargouni (pôle culturel): “C’était fantastique. Déjà, c’est très rare de faire des voyages universitaires où personne ne se fait cambrioler, où personne ne tombe malade la première semaine. C’était juste des moments magnifiques mais surtout successifs, ce que j’ai adoré. C’est difficile de choisir un moment préféré, mais j’ai adoré voir les yeux de chacun en découvrant une nouvelle nourriture ou un nouveau street-food. Également, un de mes moments préférés était lorsque l'on a tous mangé du “leblabi” à Ould el Bey, au cœur de la Marsa. Tout le monde venait entre deux heures de boulot, et nous nous étions là, tous ensemble en train de manger, c’était incroyable. J’ai été très chanceuse parce que beaucoup de personnes de l’équipe parlent arabe, même s’ils sont encore en train d’apprendre. Je n'étais pas toute seule, il y avait également Nour et ça s'est très bien passé. Cela m’a fait bizarre car d’habitude c’est le vol que je fais toute seule, ou je ne connais personne dans l'avion, alors que là j'étais hyper-bien entourée. Pareil chez moi, cela m’a amusée d’avoir des gens dans ma chambre. Aussi beaucoup de fierté, parce que c’est l’occasion d’être la mini-ambassadrice pour le coup, je vous ai fait faire ce que je fais en un mois, en une semaine.” Ishan Nathaini (pôle logistique) : “Tunis was more than a research trip to me. It was about interacting with locals, imbibing myself into the tunisian culture (getting a tunisian haircut done), and most importantly creating new bonds with some Mentonese people I had never spoken to on campus. Tunisia is a country which felt just like my home country, India, except the signs were in Arabic. Everyone we spoke to was so welcoming, providing us with some really tasty Makloub (a Tunisian specialty) for free as tourists. In summation, it was an experience worth remembering. I can’t wait to go back to Tunisia again, but this time fully immersing into the culture and learning Arabic!” Virginia Barchiesi (pôle des chercheurs) : “Traveling to Tunisia with Babel as a member of the Board has been an extremely enriching and exciting experience. I have been able to learn more about the heritage and the culture of this amazing country through the eyes of our Tunisian board members as well as thanks to the incredible on the ground work of our dedicated team of researchers. From the enchanting ruins of Carthage, to the rooftop sunsets at the Medina and the sweetness of Bambalouni, Tunisia has been a whirlwind of memorable delights. A top highlight for me has been immersing in the local Friday market of Testour. Hearing a language we mostly wouldn’t understand, sharing a glimpse of a daily life so different from what we are used to, yet so similar, a whirlwind of different sensations made me feel completely and fully in that moment in time and place, present. A trip we surely won’t forget.” Celeste Abourjeili (membre de Shadow babel) : “What Babel was doing was super cool and the research projects seemed really interesting. I really appreciated the effort of Babel to include Shadow Babel into the events. Going to the theater was fun and free, which is cool and I think it was nice to be able to join the big group while being able to have a smaller group. Overall, I really loved the experience of Shadow Babel.” Voilà, je crois avoir déjà beaucoup bavarder. Je rajouterais simplement ces quelques mots. Existerait-il finalement une meilleure sensation que celle de voir se réunir de manière si harmonieuse les efforts, émis pendant plusieurs mois, d’un ensemble d’individualités, qui s’expriment de la manière la plus flagrante et surtout naturelle, au cours d’une semaine petite par la durée mais pourtant si grande par l’expérience ? Parce que oui, je reste intimement persuadée que voyager est l’une des plus belles opportunités que la vie a à offrir, parce que c’est la façon la plus parfaite d’appréhender l’autre comme son parfait égal tout en mettant en valeur sa différence. Voyager, c’est enfreindre la loi de la distance pour embrasser celle de l’humanité. Voyager, c’est aussi apprendre à connaître ses camarades de travail sous un autre angle, en nous rappelant par la même occasion que notre perception de nous-même et des autres est si partielle et petite. En tout cas, si Ibn Battûta disait lui-même que “ voyager vous laisse d’abord sans voix, avant de vous transformer en conteu r”, j’espère alors avoir pu être à la hauteur de cette maxime. Je souhaite finalement adresser mes chaleureux remerciements à la présidente de Babel Initiative pour l’année 2021/2022, Lilinaz Hakimi, ainsi qu’au vice-président Leon Oberreiter, qui ont fourni un travail acharné de longue haleine remarquable pour que ce voyage ait lieu ainsi que tous mes autres camarades du board: Nour Chérif, Amira Zargouni, Ecem Olanca, Garance Cointepas, Lucile Bourrin, Nikola Avramovic, Virginia Barchiesi, Ishan Naithani, Wang Di ainsi que Frida Hellen. Ces remerciements s’adressent également à l’ensemble des chercheurs qui se sont investis dans ce projet qui ont rendu cette expérience unique : Aya Abdoh el Marrakchi, Zineb Bel Mahjoubi, Anis Karrakchou, Nadine Zaki, Bianca Carrera Espriu, Ella Mae, Viktoria Iskina, Vasco Queiro, Stanislaw Naklicki, Sienna Bertamini, Markus Vaher, Luca Utterwulghe, Lenora Dsouza, Kareena Maniyar, Benjamin Vitenson, et Alicia Barker Astrom.