Europe
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Fifth anniversary of the JCPOA
Saving the Iran nuclear deal
Five years after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was concluded, it is on life support, following the US's reinstatement of sanctions and Iran's return to enrichment activities. Before two decades of diplomacy are squandered, all parties involved must step back from the precipice, says Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
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Muslim racism and imperialism
Power and exclusion
The outpouring of solidarity worldwide following the violent death of George Floyd should prompt us to step back and fundamentally question racist structures and privileges based on injustice – wherever they exist in the world. An essay by Tayfun Guttstadt
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Interview with Olivier Roy on the conversion of Hagia Sophia
"Islamising stones is easier than Islamising souls"
The photos of the first Friday prayers in Hagia Sofia in 86 years triggered passionate and diverse responses around the world. Surrounded by a coterie of ministers, Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, led worshippers in prayer at the recently rededicated mosque. Eren Güvercin spoke to the renowned French political scientist Olivier Roy and asked him about the significance of the controversial reconversion
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Tangiers, Morocco
Of myths and modernity
It was American literary figures who propagated the myth of the city of Tangiers in north-western Morocco as a den of permissiveness and danger. Notwithstanding this Western view of the city, Tangier is to this day a city that belongs to no specific culture or continent. Claudia Mende takes us on a literary tour
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The grim legacy of the Yugoslav Wars
Reflecting on Srebrenica – genocide denial concerns us all
Protecting the truth from deniers and serving justice for victims of the Srebrenica genocide is our best bet to prevent genocides from occurring again, writes Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic
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Fourth Brussels Syria Conference
After nine years of war, who is helping the Syrians?
Twelve million Syrians are dependent on humanitarian aid, a sombre figure that conceals much suffering and high costs, of which Europe bears 80%. With an aid shortfall looming, the EU is mobilising donations and counting on civil society. Christian Hanelt argues that Brussels must take a stronger stance politically if the suffering is to stop
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Non-fiction: Mikhal Dekel's "Tehran Children"
The Jews who fled Nazi Germany to finally end up in Iran
Mikhal Dekel’s father was part of a contingent of Jewish children who went on an odyssey from Poland to Iran as a result of the Holocaust. Dekel has now written a book exploring the story of the "Tehran Children". By Daniel Walter
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Interview with racism researcher Mark Terkessidis
What does Black Lives Matter have to do with Germany?
The protests against police violence in the USA have triggered a discussion in Germany about discrimination, immigration and the country's image of itself. Why are people who do not look German considered foreign even if they hold citizenship? And how could we all live together better? A conversation with racism researcher Mark Terkessidis
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Mask diplomacy and power politics
Erdogan's foreign policy in the shadow of coronavirus
In the age of corona, Ankara's regional power strategy is twofold: on the one hand, Turkey is engaged in a charm offensive to revamp its political image, which has suffered lately in certain quarters. On the other, President Erdogan is pursuing a tough policy of interests backed up by military force. By Ronald Meinardus
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Germany hosts the Sudan Partnership Conference
A historic opportunity to move Sudan's transition along
The Sudan Partnership Conference on 25 June is seeking funding commitments to rebuild Sudan’s desolate economy. As Annette Weber argues, the crucial point will be aligning financial assistance with a successful transition process
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A truly international conflict
How can Europe help prevent the carving-up of Libya?
Having forfeited any real influence in Libya, Europe needs to look to the judicial use of sanctions. Curbing Russian influence and drawing support away from Haftar is essential if the unity of the country is to be preserved, writes Wolfram Lacher
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The death of George Floyd and endemic discrimination
It's time to replace "race" in the German constitution
At a time of widespread international protests against racism, triggered by the killing of George Floyd in the United States, there are calls to remove the term race from the German constitution. But not everyone agrees. By Volker Witting