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About Cathrine Thorleifsson

Cathrine Thorleifsson holds a PhD in anthropology from the London School of Economics and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo, Norway. She is the author of Nationalism and the Politics of Fear: race and identity on the border with Lebanon (I.B.Tauris 2015). Her second book Nationalist responses to the crisis in Europe: old and new hatreds is forthcoming in 2017.

Articles by Cathrine Thorleifsson

This week's editor

Rosemary Bechler is openDemocracy’s Editor.

Digital Liberties

How to fight for digital human rights?

European integration

Six countries. Six different paths to EU integration.

No to TTIP

The secretive EU-US trade deal explained

Sliding towards autocracy

Cathrine Thorleifsson 6 April 2017

A defining characteristic of this populist form of autocracy is the rejection of diversity and the attack on democratic institutions. Orbán is succeeding in both.

“Do you agree?” Orbán’s dangerous waltz with the radical right

Cathrine Thorleifsson 26 October 2015

A sentiment shared by many Hungarians worried about the government’s xenophobic campaign is summarized by the poster that says, “Sorry about our Prime Minister.”

Europe's thriving xenophobia

Cathrine Thorleifsson 2 February 2015

The radical right has already moved from the margins to the front stage of national politics. Europe's future depends on whether it will be allowed to remain and thrive in the mainstream.

Coping with displacement - Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Cathrine Thorleifsson 24 December 2014

Lebanon hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees worldwide. The large number of refugees only serves to reveal the troubled political, economic and social problems of the country.

A fragile cold peace: the impact of the Syrian conflict on Israeli-Syrian relations

Cathrine Thorleifsson 21 January 2014

Is the Syrian crisis threatening to end 40 years of cold peace between Syria and Israel? How long will Syria and its allies pursue a policy of restraint and containment?

Lebanon at breaking point

Cathrine Thorleifsson 12 September 2013

Two out of three Lebanese believe that the conflict in Syria could lead to a new civil war in Lebanon. For many, the question is not if there is going to be a war or not, but when it is going to break out.