If these rebels hadn’t somehow found the courage to strike out in bold, new and, frankly, dangerous directions, we would all be the poorer for it.

If we take the cases of Catalonia, Flanders and northern Italy, the formation of the nationalism of the rich generally coincided with periods of prolonged fiscal strain.

The court summons these citizens received for a few splashes of paint on the facade of this powerful lobby’s headquarters illustrates the increasing criminalization of protest in Belgium. Francais, Español.

Brussels is shaken by a major corruption scandal, manifesting a perverse entanglement of politics, power and self-enrichment. Here, the concept of ‘disorder as a political instrument’ is highly applicable.

A patched deal allows CETA to pass to the next stage. But Belgium gained important concessions. We translate the historic parliamentary speech by the Minister-president of Wallonia in Namur on October 14, 2016.

For those who believe that open societies are worth protecting and promoting in Europe and beyond, there is a lesson and a warning from the Walloons.

Anja Van den Durpel is Head of Integration Services at the City of Ghent, tasked with helping integration and soothing community tensions in the diverse Belgian city. Here's how she does it.

With national and European governments in gridlock, the cities themselves have decided to bypass the state level altogether and forge ahead with some very innovative solutions to the crises facing Europe today.

An interview with Benjamin de Cleen, Assistant Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, on nationalism vs populism in Europe, the Flemish far-right and the limits of the cordon sanitaire.

The legalisation of this 'newcomer’s statement' is an undeniable step on the slippery slope in the dehumanisation of Europe’s ‘new Jews’. Alarm bells should be ringing.

Demonisation is used by the right to prevent the left actually opposing the war on terror with more than platitudes; criminalisation is used by the state against those against its crimes.

An excess of security may not only increase paranoia, but can also make the ‘otherness’ much harder.  Português, Nederlands, Español

After the Paris attacks, ISIS became yesterday’s story, as if the terrorist movement had disappeared into far lands not able to affect our lives any more.

The origins of the manifesto, its elaboration and dissemination, followed by a brief history of the struggle for civil liberties in Europe and the main threats to those freedoms. Español

The Belgian government has unveiled a multi-million euro plan to combat radical extremism in 'Molenbeekistan'. But does it ignore Islam altogether?

In 2006, a conversation before a large audience in Rotterdam on the role that Muslims should play in European societies took place, between Dyab Abou Jahjah, then president of the Arab European League with its Antwerp headquarters, and Tariq Ramadan. openDemocracy’s Editor was there. Archive.

The perpetrators of the attacks on the London Underground in 2005 were also born and raised in Britain. So much for the British-French dichotomy.

A reflection on the thirtieth anniversary of the Heysel Stadium disaster - one of football's worst tragedies.

Politicians are flexing their muscles and alienated youngsters are defiantly posting their Syrian ‘adventures’ online, but in the meantime the rule of law is being eroded without much notice.  

In immaculate clinics people are segregated, held down, drugged, often with no other purpose than to control them and get them out of the way. Content warning: eating disorders, self harm, medical abuse.