Journal

Contents

• Essays

• • European Parliament Elections: Ambivalent Results for the Left

  • By Lothar Bisky

  • Interview with the President of the Party of the European Left, Prof. Dr Lothar Bisky, for transform!europe

• • Honduras: Anatomy of a Coup d’État

  • By Leo Gabriel

  • Afflicted by epidemics and floods, Honduras has been, since the days of Francisco Morazán1 not only one of the poorest countries of the region, but also the hidden battlefield between conservatives...

• Global Crisis

• • The State and the Economic Crisis of 2008

  • By George Stathakis

  • The state in the neoliberal era...
• • A Critical Report on the Crisis in Romania

  • By Petre Damo

  • Introduction: crisis upon crises...
• • The Speculative Real-Estate Bubble and the Securitisation Scandal in Italy

  • By Walter De Cesaris

  • In the explosion of the most serious economic crisis since 1929, international real-estate speculation has played a fundamental role. This holds true for Italy as well....
• • Greek banks in the Balkans. Effects of the crisis and the internationalist deficit

  • By Haris Golemis , Elena Papadopoulou

  • Introduction Since the demise of actually existing socialism in the ‘90’s, a process of reforms was put forward in the Balkan countries  with the aim of preparing these countries’ transition into...
• • Europe in the Crisis - On the Road to Breakup?

  • By Joachim Bischoff , Richard Detje

  • In the current economic crisis, the character of the European Union as a “project of the elites” is clearly revealed. Now it comes back to haunt us that “… at the turning points of the unification...
• • The Crisis of Capitalism and Post-Capitalist Horizons

  • By Pedro Páez Pérez

  • Introduction...
• • Present and Future Impact of the Crisis

  • By François Houtart

  • United Nations Conference on the Financial Crisis and its Impact on Development – New York, June 24-26 2009...

• Labour and Precarisation

• • The Precarisation of Life and Work and Alternatives from the Biblical Perspective

  • By Barbara Rauchwarter

  • “The labourer’s Appetite Works for Him” (Proverbs 16, 26)...
• • “Seeing Things Their Way”: The Contemporary Immigrant Experience in Europe

  • By Dimitris Christopoulos

  • Seeing things their way” is Quentin Skinner’s fundamental methodological exhortation. Skinner advances interpretations of specific political or moral beliefs by placing them in the context of other...
• • A Journey to the Centre of the Transition

  • By Ljubomir Bratić

  • The event...
• • The Portuguese State’s Promotion of Precarious Labour Relations in Public Services

  • By João Romão

  • The latest figures show that unemployment in Portugal exceeded 9% for the first time. Short-term labour contracts increased by over 50% in the last ten years. The state itself is exploiting precarious...
• • Precarisation and Financialisation

  • By Marina Grzinic

  • I would like to develop two theses suggested by Rosa Reitsamer – precarisation and financialisation – in order to examine their consequences for the way we act, work and – last but not least – live. ...

• Proposals and Exit Strategies

• • DIY Feminist Networks in Europe: Personal and Collective Acts of Resistance

  • By Red Chidgey

  • Whether you speak about individual acts of resistance, about organised struggles, about art projects, about self-managed social experiments, even about the invisible day and night dreaming that expand...
• • Economic Democracy: A Crisis Alternative

  • By Dominique Crozat

  • On June 22, 2009, at the initiative of Espaces Marx (transform!) and the regional government of the Île de France, labour leaders, elected officials, scholars and representatives of civil society met...
• • Facing Reality – Strategies to Increase Power from Below in an Era of Neoliberal Globalisation

  • By Frances Fox Piven

  • Early in the rise of industrial capitalism in the mid-19th century, a set of ideas emerged and came to grip the imagination of the new working class that was being created by industrial capitalism....
• • Regional Integration as an Alternative Strategy?

  • By Véronique Sandoval

  • The Social Forum on Regional Integration...

• Chronicles

• • News from the European Networks

  • By Chantal Delmas

  • A Joint Social Conference took place in Brussels on September 14 and 15. It gathered together 20 countries with 22 trade-union confederations and 22 networks, social movements or NGOs, all interested...
• • Who and What is “Left” Today? Contours of a Left-aligned Milieu in Germany

  • By Frank Kleemann , Uwe Krähnke , Ingo Matuschek

  • Based on survey data, it has often been postulated in the past few years that Germans lean towards the left in their basic political views. Setting aside entirely appropriate methodological...
• • Losing the “Left” in Hungary?

  • By Emilia Palonen

  • The European elections demonstrated and further contributed to a deep disillusionment on the left in Hungary. The equilibrium between the two main parties in Hungary was shaken for the first time. The...
• • The Political Centre and the European Construction

  • By Fernando Rosas

  • The ritual which we are experiencing here in 2008 within the process of European construction in 2008 – the ritual of distributing the report and extensive documentation to groups at the last minute -...
• • Towards Building a New Left Alternative - The Crisis of the Left and the Case of the Left Alliance in Finland

  • By Laura Tuominen

  • The European Parliament election results have been disappointing for the left around Europe. One of the countries where the left suffered heavy defeat was Finland. According to the Nice Treaty, the...
• • The Post-Election Uprisings in Iran and the State’s Loss of Legitimacy

  • By Maral Jefroudi

  • It was a restless summer for Iran this year. The controversial results of the June 21 presidential elections engendered such anger that it became impossible for the streets to keep their years-long...