The demand for politics over markets, a key message in the Occupy and Indignados movements, is also key here. A considerable drop in trust is clear: trust in all national institutions and political actors (parliament, parties, and trade unions).
As the euro crisis becomes increasingly inextricable, European solidarity erodes. What if the new cultural common denominator between northern and southern Europe was contempt for the Union?
Confrontation takes creative and alternative forms in the street demonstrations, which may appear, at first sight, contradictory – one week anti-government, pro-European, the next week pro-government, anti-EU.
The ECI is the first transnational direct democratic tool in history. But as we speak the dream of a ‘Europe of Citizens’ is being replaced by a (for some, already nightmarish) Europe divided between lenders and debtors.
People across Europe are critiquing the morality of the political and economic system. Globalisation has helped to engineer an empty democracy, with political-economic processes depoliticised and decisions made by experts. And what of the European dream? “Whoever can understand it, that is ‘the mo
Occupy is part of a wide range of subterranean movements that explore ways to complement representative democracy and empower citizenship. Some citizens want to build stronger democratic institutions: others don’t trust elected representatives any more and promote a change that starts at a local l
Horizontal democracy attempts to ensure equality by embracing diversity and conflict. Within these political structures, diversity is not a problem that needs to be resolved: there is no narrative of uniformity, no shared identity (national or otherwise) and no predetermined ideology.
This vital matter of public concern, with far-reaching ramifications for our relationship to nature should be subject to greater democratic debate.
The people have finally realised that the troika-imposed austerity is not working in Portugal. In fact, the austerity packages are not working in Ireland (another good pupil of the troika), or in Greece, or Spain, or Italy.
