Editorial
- With the current issue 13 of our journal we are, after seven years of continuous publication in at least four languages, introducing a change of our production strategy. Instead of a journal published at intervals of half a year, transform! europe will from next year on present a year-book the volume of which will be corresponding to the two issues of the journal.
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Essays
Critical Reflections on a Historic Crossroads
- Globalisation is a historically constituted phenomenon, a stage in capitalism’s becoming the world. It cannot be reduced to the simple connecting of national markets. On the economic level it indicates the creation of a true world market that is de-segmented and decompartmentalised, transmitting goods, services, capital’s factors of production, people, ideas and values.
Elements of a Concept of Socialist Transformation
- For the last few years the term transformation has been in the ascendant once again. About a hundred years ago it was used by Nikolai Bukharin to describe the transition to soviet socialism/communism (Bukharin 1990).
On the Eve of the European Elections
Some Strategic Reflections on How to Change Europe
- The May 2014 European elections require us to state publicly and clearly how we would like the European Union to change. Euro-scepticism and declining popular support for the EU may have antagonistic political consequences: A simple rejection of the EU without offering political alternatives has the risk of leaving the field open to the extreme right, which is exploiting the wave of discontent and is today running before the wind.
Political Polarisation on the Eve of the 2014 European Elections
- The elections to the European Parliament (EP) in May 2014 will be marked by the capitalist crisis and its – regionally quite differentiated – political impact. By contrast to 2009 when the elections evidenced a shift to the right, this time they may result in a polarisation between a new bloc of right-wing populist parties and the left wing of the left.
Different Roads to a Different Europe?
- With closer EU integration leading to more neoliberalism and authoritarianism, European radical left parties and activists, including components of the Party of the European Left (EL), are increasingly asking themselves whether a reform of the EU is possible.
What SYRIZA Will Propose to Europe
- Europe is presently threatened by a dangerous social and political time bomb rooted deep in its foundations – a time bomb which we can and must defuse.
The European Elections: A Landmark in the Struggle Against Austerity
- Never since the creation of the European Union has a crisis had so many repercussions for itscomponent populations. Never before has the collusion of interests between the world of finance, the Commission and the governments of the 28 been so visible.
The Radical Left in Europe: An Outline
- Where does the radical left come from? To understand what unites the organisations of this new left and the nature of its radicalism we must go back to the years following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Ways Out of the Crisis
Innovation – The Alter-Summit
- For a long time discussions in European conferences, social forums and other assemblies have been either about the analysis of (European) conditions or the development of alternative proposals. In the...
The European Citizens’ Initiative on Water and ‘Austeritarian’ Post-Democracy
- In times of savage austerity, strategies to privatise public services are multiplying.
The Vital Importance of Action and Lateral Power in Transforming Europe
- In recent years, the Indignados and Occupy movements attracted previously unengaged, unorganised and de-politicised sections of the population and garnered significant attention in the media.
‘Sailing Against the Tide’
- Interview with Bernadette Ségol (Secretary General of ETUC)*
An Industrial Policy for Europe
- A new departure for industrial policy in Europe is needed for five major reasons. The first is rooted in macroeconomics; exiting the current depression requires a substantial increase in demand, which could come from a Europe-wide public investment plan.
Euro-Exit to the Left?
- It is a well-known fact that the German right is divided over its attitude to the Euro. In the parliamentary elections of September 2013, a party of so-called ‘Euro-sceptics’ almost reached the 5 % threshold for entering parliament.
The Left and Immigration
- After the latest drama in Lampedusa, where more than 350 immigrants, mostly Eritreans, perished 600 metres from the Italian coast, the immigration policies of the European Union and its member states are more than ever under scrutiny.
The Struggle Against the Memoranda
- A recent IMF paper recognises that the austerity policies imposed on some European countries have been unbalanced, ineffective and biased1.
Conservatives on the Rise – Women’s Rights in Jeopardy!
- It’s been a while since a report has last caused so much uproar in the European Parliament as Edite Estrela’s on sexual and reproductive health and rights did (A7-0306/2013).1
Building a European Food and Agriculture Policy for the 21st Century
- Today, agriculture is facing a crisis – it is being undermined by capitalism. Although everyone in the world could be fed by current agricultural production, one person in seven suffers from hunger.
Chronicles
Spain – The Left and the Crisis of the Regime
- The crisis we are witnessing in Spain transcends mere economic and political factors;
A Political Earthquake in Germany
- With a vote of 41.5 % for the CDU/CSU, the election results in Germany reflect a broad acceptance of Angela Merkel’s policies.
Between Postsocialist Normalisation and Political Crisis?
- The evolution of Czech society over nearly 25 years in the transformation from socialism to capitalism has not been a simple process, and in many respects it has produced new impulses and neoliberal experiments.
São Paulo Forum: The Experience of a United Left and a Changed Latin America
- For almost a quarter of a century the Latin American left has stood as an unprecedented example of collaboration, reflection and debate.
Croatia After EU Accession
- From the perspective of economic policy initiatives, one of most notable developments since Croatia’s entry into the EU on 1 July 2013 is an intensified drive towards completing the privatisation process of the remaining publicly owned assets.
A Vademecum of France’s Left Front: Alliance, Social Force, Political Responsibility
- Since the sequence of presidential and legislative elections in 2012, the Left Front (Front de gauche) has been riven by a series of serious disputes that have kept it from recovering the unity of action that it once had.
Culture and Arts
‘Transformance’ as a New Genre of Political Theatre
- What is popular theatre? – There are two theatre perspectives. Theatre is for the people when it sees the world from the perspective of the people, i.e. understood in constant transformation, with all...
Additional Articles (language-specific)
Chili, Québec, Brésil, Europe… Les étudiants en lutte pour un système universitaire plus démocratique
- Ces dernières années ont vu le déclenchement de mouvements étudiants puissants dans plusieurs pays, du Nord comme du Sud : au Chili en 2011, au Québec (Canada) en 2012 puis au Brésil en 2013. Partout, une même revendication pour un système universitaire plus démocratique.
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