The editorial team of Katoikos
By Pau Guix.
To talk about Catalonia today is, unfortunately, to talk about nationalism. And to talk about Catalan nationalism is to talk about manipulation, indoctrination and propaganda. Talking of nationalism is talking of feelings not reason, because there are no objective historical, economic or social arguments that could underpin this ideology. Talking of nationalism is talking about those who have taken their authority…
By Oriol Martínez
The Catalonian process towards independence has come of age with the elections this Sunday. Given Madrid’s repeated prohibition over agreeing to a referendum, and even though these are official elections for the Catalonian parliament, they have been interpreted as a de facto plebiscite by a majority of players: the seven parties with a right to representation, the media, political circles in Madrid, and the international press.
By Juan Milián Querol
Feelings can be respected but not lies or manipulating reality. The spectre of populism has swept across Europe over these years of economic crisis, adapting in each region to its particular cultural background in order to identify an enemy and promise its own particular paradise. In some countries populism blames the European Union itself for all its ills; in others, immigrants; and in others, the southern regions. Some of that is happening now in Catalonia, where independence-based populism has kidnapped classic Catalanism (regenerationist, but not separatist) to make social suffering its electoral business.
By António Guterres
The European Union is preparing key emergency meetings to take decisions in its response to the present refugee and migration crisis. The situation requires a massive common effort that is not possible with the current fragmented approach….
Europe is facing a moment of truth. This is the time to reaffirm the values upon which it was built.
No more excuses: either our continent really unites or it is destined to fall apart under external and internal strains. The ongoing refugee crisis is one more demonstration of the need for a Europe with one voice, one plan and pooled resources. Huge damage has already been done by interventions in countries like Iraq, Syria and Libya, with the acquiescence if not active participation of some European countries: interventions of dubious legality lacking a plan for the day after.
By Christos Mouzeviris
For the past few weeks we have witnessed an unprecedented humanitarian crisis overwhelming Europe. Thousands of refugees are arriving wave upon wave on European shores in the Mediterranean. People fleeing from war torn regions, mainly from the Middle East, are trying to find shelter in rich European nations. For these migrants, it is either flee or die. Their sheer numbers are challenging our continent’s ability to respond, plus it poses a hot topic for a debate.
By Maximos Giannis
There are several intelligence agencies around the world, many of them headquartered in the US, which make use of the vastly developed technology of the digital age to spy on millions of people, who are not even considered terrorism suspects. The most (in)famous agency as such would be the NSA (National Security Agency), which uses a pretty smart foundation of ‘legal’ activities to justify its actions.
By Reina Capitle
“So… where are you from?”
“I am Spanish.”
“But, where are you really from?”
“Well, I was born and raised in Spain but both my mom and dad are Filipino.”
“Oh, now it makes sense, you’re from the Philippines.”
It’s been one year since the European Parliament inaugurated its eighth legislature on 1 July 2014. Whenever the question of the lack of democratic legitimacy is mentioned—a problem almost unanimously acknowledged in the Union—everybody turns to the European Parliament as the entity called to be the solution.
The suicide bomber who killed 32 people in the border town of Suruç on Monday, 20 July, has been identified as Turkish citizen Seyh Abdurrahman Alagoz. The 20-year old Kurdish university student from the Adiyaman province disappeared six months ago with his older brother, Yunus Emre, likely crossing the Syrian border to join ISIS forces….
