Europe went through its own year of democratic revolutions in 1989, yet its reaction to events in north Africa has lacked passion and purpose. European leaders meeting for a summit in Brussels must seize the opportunity to commit themselves to a strategy that puts them firmly on the side of democracy in the Middle East.
EU member states worry too much about speaking with one voice. But endless unified expressions of 'interest and concern' about the situation in Tunisia and Egypt show that the problem is that others aren't listening because we often have little to say.
The announcement of cuts to BBC World Service language sections in the wider european neighbourhood is very bad news for strong, independent journalism in the region. But the development of new media technologies mean good journalism should no longer have to rely upon organisations like the BBC.
It is easy to resign oneself to the idea that 'Chinese democracy' is an oxymoron. Yet the potential implications of democratisation in China are so huge that the possiblity of it happening is worth imagining. Lu Xiaobo allows us to do so, if only for a few hours.
The first round of Egypt’s elections suffered from irregularities and unfair competition, yet this received little coverage abroad. This must change, especially if Egypt is to be thought of as a benchmark for political progress in the wider Middle East.
The EU-Africa summit is taking place in Libya. The country’s lengthy history of human rights abuses put EU leaders in a difficult position over simple questions such as whether to attend. EU leaders should now put pressure on Colonel Gaddafi by posing difficult questions and backing this up with meaningful sanctions rather than just lip service.
Rampant defence cuts throughout the EU will probably spell the end of European countries’ little-known but important interventions in African conflicts. This invites humanitarian disasters on parts of the map that increasingly small numbers of European citizens could identify.
Europe’s pathetic reaction to Liu Xiaobo’s Nobel peace prize showed an urge by EU leaders to not only render themselves internationally irrelevant, but also a determination to cover the EU itself in ridicule. Europe must decide whether it wants to play a role in the new world order, or bend like reeds in whichever direction the wind is blowing.
Obama’s increased use of drone attacks has left many people on both sides of the Atlantic unsure how to react. A new approach, based on human rights principles, is needed to assess their permissibility.
China’s anger over the award of the Nobel peace prize to Liu Xiaobo leaves the EU with a hard question to answer: Should it stick to its human rights principles or should it look to compromise on its values in pursuit of the world’s most important rising power?