southeastern europe

Η προκλητική επίθεση των ακροδεξιών με τη συμμετοχή βουλευτών του γνωστού χώρου κατά της Θάλειας Δραγώνα, χρειάζεται την έντονη καταδίκη μας. Όσοι θέλετε να υπογράψετε το παρακάτω κείμενο, που διακινεί ο καθηγητής Ν. Αλιβιζάτος, μπορείτε να το κάνετε ηλεκτρονικά (μέχρι αύριο) στην διεύθυνση: val12law@otenet.gr Όχι στο νέο κυνήγι μαγισσών Τις τελευταίες βδομάδες, η συνάδελφος Θάλεια Δραγώνα, καθηγήτρια του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών και πρώην βουλευτής, αποτελεί στόχο επαναλαμβανόμενων οξύτατων επιθέσεων εκ μέρους της άκρας δεξιάς, με αφορμή τον διορισμό της ως Ειδικής Γραμματέως του Υπουργείου Παιδείας. Το περασμένο Σάββατο μάλιστα (19.12.2009), έξω από το γραφείο της στη λεωφόρο Συγγρού, τέσσερις βουλευτές του ως άνω χώρου, σε ένα εθνικιστικό παραλήρημα, αξίωσαν την άμεση απομάκρυνσή της, για δήθεν έλλειψη πατριωτισμού. Οι επιθέσεις κατά της Θάλειας Δραγώνα ξεχωρίζουν από άλλες ανάλογες, που εξαπολύονται όλο και πιο συχνά  κατά πανεπιστημιακών, γιατί είναι η πρώτη φορά που στοχ...

Visiting the centre of Athens in the run-up to Christmas can be a harrowing experience and my visit to my favourite bookshops confirmed this. At this time of the year browsing through their bookshelves is a very crowded affair but sometimes can reward you with the unexpected discovery of fascinating finds. This is exactly what happened to me when I came across the review Κωπηλάτες (περιοδικό συζήτησης και προβληματισμού). The 3d issue of the review boasts seven articles examining the relationship between the Greek society and its neighbours. As the introductory note by its editor, Petros Markaris, indicates, this issue is intended to challenge the ignorance and oblivion that provides nationalist entrepreneurs of all hues with the opportunity to cultivate chauvinism and a state of fear and xenophobia. Articles on Greece and its relationship with its neighbours by Alexis Iraklidis, two decades of disastrous Greek policy on the Macedonian issue by Sifis Fitsanakis and on the Balkans and ...

The Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew has been critical of the stance of the Turkish government towards the Patriarchate and the country's remnants of its once large and vibrant Christian Orthodox community in an interview with CBS television. Watch CBS News Videos Online Patriarch Bartholomew said Turkey’s Greek Orthodox community does not feel that they enjoy full freedoms as Turkish citizens and that they are treated as “second-class citizens.” Referring to circles within the Turkish establishment, the Patriarch said “[They] would be happy to see the patriarchate extinguished or moving abroad, but our belief is that it will never happen”. “I have visited the prime minister, many ministers, submitting our problems … asking [them] to help us,” with no success. The European Union and the US have frequently criticized Turkey for not reopening the Halki Greek Orthodox seminary closed in 1971 and not taking measures to pr...

Following a lawsuit filed by Chief Public Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya on November 16, 2007, the Turkish Constitutional Court has decided yesterday to shut down the Demokratik Toplum Partisi (Democratic Society Party) due to the party’s alleged links with the  PKK. Following 9-hour deliberations on the fourth day of the case, Constitutional Court President Haşim Kılıç said that its members voted unanimously to close down the DTP as it became a focal point of acts against the indivisible integrity of the state . The result of this controversial decision is that, yet again, voices advocating human rights protection for Turkish Kurds are stifled, and the largest pro-Kurdish political force that had made considerable inroads in the Turkish political system by wining in nine provinces in the 2009 local elections is now seriously impaired. Thirty seven DTP members, including DTP Chairman Ahmet Türk and MP Aysel Tuğluk were banned from politics for five years. The rump pa...

In the long shadow of Europe: Greeks and Turks in the era of Postnationalism Edited by Othon Anastasakis, Kalypso Aude Nicolaidis, Kerem Oktem, St Antony's College, University of Oxford Can the European Union transform Greek-Turkish relations? The contributors to In the Long shadow of Europe examine the ambiguities of Europe’s historical role in its Southeastern corner to shed light on the possible paths lying ahead. From their various an-gles, they highlight the paradoxes of a relationship between intimate adversaries, marred by tormented histories, nationalist narratives and bilateral disputes but strengthened by historical familiarity, geographic vicinity, and the imperative for cooperation. And beyond this face à face, the authors show how, as Greece and Turkey developed into independent nation-states in the shadow of Europe, their intertwined trajectories also contributed to defining this same Europe “at the edges.” Beyond the Greek - Turkish relationship, th...