Safe Democracy Foundation - Safe Democracy

An assertion invoking the (re)definitions of the political spectrum and sovereignty

Ricardo Israel Z. explains why Europe can be content and very satisfied with what they have accomplished in 50 years, but nothing indicates that she is ready for a European Army. A common army is a complicated assertion involving political definitions and a different view of sovereignty as well as strategic, economic and logistical elements. Israel Z. believes that without its own military force, the European Union will have a difficult time being taken seriously as a world power.

From California to Vladivostok

Rafael Calduch analyzes the dispute surrounding Turkey’s membership to the European Union, drawing parallels to the expansion of NATO. In Calduch Cervera’s opinion, while both are drawing upon the need to consolidate the geopolitical borders of Europe, the EU’s growth tends towards restrictive criteria, while NATO’s is based upon expansionist criteria. Calduch Cervera reflects on the changing energy market, the EU’s need to juggle both Washington and Moscow, and the changing nature of Europe’s security borders.

National interest on the wayside

Piero Ignazi writes on the divisive nature of foreign policy within the Italian government. Despite the appearance of unity that Italy’s rhetorical tradition of active participation in NATO and the EU might suggest, the center-right and center-left have been fiercely divided over Italian involvement in Lebanon and Afghanistan over recent months. The center-left has seen the rise of radical pacifism within its ranks, while the center-right has instituted highly contradictory policies of military intervention, ignoring risks in some cases and not in others. In Ignazi’s opinion, foreign policy should be based on a country’s national interests and not on internal political conflict.

The last survivor of the Cold War

Augusto Zamora R. says that even though no government will admit it, there are two things that continue maintaining the life of NATO: one, to serve the strategic interests of Washington in Europe, and two, to continue existing as the vehicle to combat the Russian enemy. In this context, the European Union presents a divide between the pro-European Europe and pro-NATO Europe. The Soviet Union disappeared as did the Warsaw Pact, thus it would be logical for NATO to do the same. But the opposite happened. The question is: What purpose can the Atlantic Organization have today?

Kosovo and the politics of recognition

Carlos Taibo discusses the controversy surrounding the UN plan for Kosovo, and points out the arbitrary nature of the Western recognition of independent, self-determining states. Up until now, the criterion for Western recognition of the legitimacy of an independent State has been whether that region, before its independence, enjoyed self-determination under the political and legal framework of the original state to which it belonged. Kosovo presents an exception to the rule, which, in Taibo’s opinion, means that the West must begin to reexamine its preconceptions about legitimate statehood.

Will women leaders cause a shift in the political agenda?

Per Persson writes on the recent rise of women to the highest-ranking positions of government and business in Scandinavia. As women begin to assume lofty leadership roles, the question begs to be asked whether they will cause a shift in the political agenda to deal with issues of women and child rights, social inequality, and poverty, or whether they will perform in much the same way as their male counterparts. In Persson’s opinion, Scandinavia’s future is in the hands of its rising women.

Spain, Two Antiterrorist Policies

Javier Ortiz explains how the different antiterrorist policies of the two main political parties in Spain, the PP and the PSOE, diverge on more than simple tactical discrepancies, but are two fundamentally incompatible positions. For the PSOE, it is not ETA’s separatist ideology, rather its tactics of extortion, violence and chaos that are unacceptable. The PP, on the other hand, considers Basque nationalism itself to be inherently exclusionary, intolerant, and prone to terrorism. In Ortiz‘ opinion, one of the parties needs to renounce its diehard convictions, or the peace agreement will fail.

The European Union: from idleness to German action

Miguel