Thinking Federalist

Language:
Sub-sections

Federalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Balkan region has been neglected by most federal scholars. While experts in conflict resolution and democratisation have been examining the countries of the former Yugoslavia in many ways, federal scholars have not been able to apply their theory to those countries. There are many reasons to (…)

Thursday 16 November 2006

Pick your favorite federalism

Federalism is a fiction: -isms don’t translate into reality all that easily. The fallacy generally is this: invent an ingenious principle of government, and go on to claim it’s a catch-all solution. Being friends of Europe, federal-ism is our most beloved designer drug. But what’s the kick (…)

Tuesday 14 November 2006

Towards the Union of 27: the sooner, the better

Whether ready or not, the European Union should take Bulgaria and Romania onboard in January 2007 as planned - for its own benefit. Apart from talks on whether transitional measures restricting the access of workers to labour markets should be imposed on Romania and Bulgaria no other major (…)

Wednesday 18 October 2006

Romania - the Challenges for EU’s New (Eastern) Frontier

The report of the European Commission released on September 26th signals not only that the beginning of 2007 will find the EU family strengthened by two new states - Romania and Bulgaria - it also establishes a new Eastern frontier for the EU. In the light of the Dublin Convention, asylum (…)

Friday 6 October 2006

EMI, UEF and JEF request an EU Foreign Minister

This Friday the Union of European Federalists (UEF), together with the European Movement International (EMI) and the Young European Federalists (JEF) handed over a statement in which three organisations express the urgent need for an EU Foreign Minister. The statement was handed over to (…)

Saturday 30 September 2006

JEF on Peace Day: Time for Europe to act for peace!

Europe is the world biggest peace project and indeed the creation of lasting peace was what motivated federalists after the Second World War to fight for the removal of European borders. But despite the success of the European peace project, the Balkan wars and the numerous armed conflicts (…)

Friday 29 September 2006

The Bilateral Way: Opportunism and “Rosinenpickerei”

Whilst Swiss people appreciate and celebrate the achievements of federalism within the country, they totally forget about it when acting internationally. There seem to be other principles ruling Switzerland’s European policy, more opportunist ones. Distrust and reluctance towards (…)

Monday 25 September 2006

FC Barcelona - more than a club, a new global hope for vulnerable children

How can a Football team foster World Federalism? Unexpectedly, the current Champion’s League winner the Futbol Club Barcelona has come up with an idea to link sports, solidarity and support to a supranational institution such as United Nations. Instead of using the historic maroon-and-blue (…)

Sunday 10 September 2006

Constitution, Social Europe, and the Failed Peace Project

The unhappiness about social security aspects of Europe have been pinpointed as the reason for turning down the Constitution. The real reasons behind the rejection to Constitution can be debated, and different opinions still remain. This article looks at the interconnectivity of the social (…)

Sunday 27 August 2006

Regime critique classified as extremism in Russia

Quite unnoticed President Vladimir Putin has once again strengthened his grip of power in Russia, exemplifying how democracy and the respect of human rights in Russia are losing ground. Introducing a law that classifies any action, which poses danger to the society as extremism, Putin has (…)

Sunday 13 August 2006

UN reform: Where is the EU ?

The UN structure is an acronym of the immediate post-WW2 period. It has very little to do with the realities of today’s world. The need for a change has been evident for quite some while, and is even more visible today with the Security Council loosing its role as the prime arbiter at the (…)

Monday 24 July 2006

A pan-European Referendum for the European Constitution

The Movimento Federalista Europeo (MFE), the Italian branch of the Union of European Federalists (UEF), has recently launched a new political campaign under the slogan “A pan-European referendum for the European Constitution”. Its aim is that the European Constitution, eventually amended, should (…)

Saturday 22 July 2006
Pages: