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Kategorie: English
Comparing Comparisons: From the “Historikerstreit” to the Mbembe Affair
In the late 1980s, mostly German intellectuals discussed the question of the “uniqueness” or “comparability” of the Holocaust. In the Cause Mbembe, the fronts, the participants and the course of the discussion have changed fundamentally – but the political and ethical stakes remain the same.
Michael Rothberg
Inadequate, yet Indispensable: The WHO and the History of Global Health
The USA sharply criticizes the WHO: President Trump accuses it of lacking distance from China. But this attitude is nothing new. On the contrary, since the founding of the UN, the USA has mostly been at odds with the political internationalism of the WHO and its health programs.
Christoph Gradmann and Jean-Paul Gaudillière
Unmasked: Covid-19 and the Cultural Dimensions of the Debate on Mandatory Face Masks
In the context of the covid-19 pandemic, Germany witnesses debates on whether masks could help contain the spread of the virus. This article argues the controversy may be rooted in the deep-seated suspicion of facial covering in Europe since the nineteenth century.
Julia Hauser
Was ist los in Erfurt? The East German Past and the Democratic Crisis of the Present
Are the “East Germans” just bad democrats who mourn the GDR? And is the “West” completely blameless in the Erfurt debacle? Not at all — while Thüringen’s politics are indeed rooted in the memory of the GDR, the current far-right scandal is more than just a state-socialist hangover.
Ned Richardson-Little
Divided Collectives. Identity and Its Discontents in Samir’s Baghdad In My Shadow
A progressive “identity politics” pursued in the name of resistance to nationalist retrenchment depends on the mobilization of various disparate “collective identities” around a common aim. But what if those collectives are themselves fragmented? A new film explores this conundrum.
Rafaël Newman
Science for a Plastic Cube. Polypore Academia redefining the Rules of Science
Hungary is currently witnessing the emergence of a state-sponsored scientific pseudo-world in which the criteria of academic quality control no longer apply, but rather political loyalty. This raises serious questions for European research funding and academic cooperation with illiberal states.
Andrea Pető
The Colour of Coffee: Racism, Gender and Coffee Consumption in 19th Century Algeria
Today, coffee is consumed everywhere in the world. Despite its neo-colonial forms of production, it is a drink which brings people together, but the consumption of coffee in 19th century Algeria tells a very different story.
Nina Studer
The ‚Afterlives‘ of Development Interventions: ‚Failure‘ as an Opportunity
Ambitious and well planned development projects fail for various reasons. The afterlife of such "interventions" receives little attention. But local communities try to make sense of the remains in the form of rumours and stories. A plea for listening.
Yonatan N. Gez and Andrea Steinke
Greeting the New Era in Japan
Japan has a new emperor and a new era. But what does it mean, in 2019, to live in a different time from the rest of the world? A very personal exploration
Martin Dusinberre
A Global Company with a Global Past: VW’s Historical Responsibility in Bolsonaro’s Brazil
In Brazil, March 31 marks the anniversary of the beginning of the military dictatorship in 1964. The car company Volkswagen profited at the time from the dictatorship in its Brazilian factories. Today, VW has the opportunity to admit to its historical responsibility.
Antoine Acker
Politics and International Law: Three International Experts Debate the Annexation of Crimea
Five years ago, Russia annexed Crimea. Three international law experts from Ukraine, Russia and Germany debate how international law issues can become a pawn of political interests.
Cindy Wittke, Kateryna Busol and Maria Issaeva
The New War on Gender Studies
Gender studies has come under attack in recent years. It is charged with subverting the natural order, undermining the family and traditional expressions of gender and sexuality. Populists have made it a central component of their ideological platform. At steak is the human rights agenda of liberal democracy itself.
