Voltaire Network

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Der Standard (Austria)

48 articles

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“Is an orange revolution really necessary to establish democracy?”

by Vjatcheslav Nikonow

14 January 2006
Liberal groups abroad and in Russia consider Putin’s way of ruling authoritarian and inefficient. Taking into account that regimes, which liberals don’t like and which are ruled by a strong personality are usually labelled as fragile, the logical consequence would then be a sort of a «color revolution» as in Georgia, Ukraine or Kirghizstan. Of course, nothing is impossible in nowadays Russia, but in my opinion those who believe in an imminent «street revolution» are living a dream.
With regard (...)

“In Bosnia, Europe is a cohesive factor to unite the three peoples”

by Wolfgang Petritsch

2 December 2005
With the imminent beginning of discussions about the accession to Europe, the EU has an instrument to progressively replace the powers of the High Representative. The numerous reforms and adjustments which are necessary to enter Europe will very soon blow up Dayton’s incomplete framework. That is a trump card we should exploit since experience tells us that the three Bosnian populations have at least a common vision: the accession to Europe.
The distribution of roles based on ethnic (...)

“Redeeming the United Nations”

by Shashi Tharoo

23 September 2005
The Heads of State and Government meet today in New York to discuss the reform of the institutions. Ambassadors work hard to give the finishing touches to the proposals for reforms.
In 27 years at the service of the UN, I’ve seen many transformations. When I joined the organization, no one would have believed that the UN would organize elections in sovereign countries, would conduct weapon inspections, would impose commercial sanctions to its member states and would set up international (...)

“Not going into a religion war”

by Heinz Fischer

19 July 2005
Peace is resolving the issues without violence or ignoring the conventional rules. The Rule of Law is a life in common based upon well-defined rules of the game. This is applicable at the national level, but it should also be so at the internationally. The survival of the fittest should not prevail, although certain organizations have sort of a monopoly of the force. A conflict between two countries should be resolved through an organization like the United Nations that Austria should (...)

“The seeds have started to slowly germinate”

by Walter Posch

19 July 2005
Europe has been the target of terrorist groups for a long time. We don’t know how related structures are, though. We must think of Al Qaeda as a company with exemption and not as a closed organization. Registered trade mark Al Qaeda has become attractive. It is hard to believe that it is formed by Bin Laden’s supporters trained in Afghanistan. Bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri have been marginalized. They have been the catalysts for old sympathizers.
Al Qaeda trade mark was finally resold (...)

“The old south of Tehran talks”

by Bert Fragner

4 July 2005
I will start by quoting The Economist : “Those who try to understand Iran are ill-informed. The results of the elections showed once again that Tehran is one of the most unpredictable countries from the political point of view. Frustration is big; the political parties originally under Jatami are so frustrated that they have been abandoned. The reformist Mostafa Moin was abandoned in the first round and they were even more determined to abandon Rafsanjyani. Surprisingly, Ahmadineyad is not (...)

“There is no longer an order in the world”

by George Soros

30 June 2005
I think Europe is closer to chaos than the United States. I do not make long term statements; I am Keynesian. In the long run, we will die, that was what he used to say. Anyway, in a short run, the United States has built a strong State. A group of radicals or extremists have taken control of the country. They did it first with the Republican Party, thus hampering the American democracy. The extremists confiscated the Congress and presidency, and now they are confiscating justice, thus (...)

“Europe, take a deep breath please”

by Ursula Plassnik

29 June 2005
We did not give a good image at the European Council. For weeks, there was the impression that it was simply an accounting period. Who could save more? At the end and after the meeting, disappointment was obvious. The summit was a failure, not only in terms of the finances of the European Union and the future of the Constitution but also the European project. We had the opportunity to consolidate the political will through mobilization, something that is possible to be technically achieved. (...)

“On the Disquiet Caused by the German Appeal"

by Burkhard Müller-Ullrich

17 May 2005
Our dear friends in Germany have tried to frighten the French through a letter published in the newspaper Le Monde:
It seems to be in style to launch media appeals across borders as soon as elections are in sight. The Germans are in their element when it concerns giving political lessons to the inhabitants of the entire world. They have already showed their wish to choose the US president. However, by using a referendum, we would like to decide on the constitution for ourselves. Thank (...)

"Against the Horsemen of the Apocalypse of the European Constitution"

by Manfred Rotter

17 May 2005
Texte: The agitation around the issue of the European Constitution is limited in a significant way to the political class of the EU. The constitution was developed, sparing no expenses, and signed October 9, 2004 after numerous last minute modifications. Since then, the governments of the member states and the key figures in Brussels have suffered from panic attacks and gloomy visions of the disappearance of the European Union. The voters’ requests to allow them to express their own (...)

“What would be Benedict XVI’s Contribution?”

by Helmut Schüller

22 April 2005
I was shocked by the speed of the vote, which means there was no real debate. I would have thought the spectrum of opinions was wider but the fact that such a decision was taken in less than a day is significant. It seems they went for continuity. The group that favored alternatives was not well organized and therefore everybody accepted the conclusion. The media had already presented Ratzinger as the favorite; it was known he had most of the votes even when it is forbidden (for the (...)

Most popular

“There is no longer an order in the world”

“Europe, take a deep breath please”

“The seeds have started to slowly germinate”

“Not going into a religion war”

“Redeeming the United Nations”

“The old south of Tehran talks”

“In Bosnia, Europe is a cohesive factor to unite the three peoples”

“On the Disquiet Caused by the German Appeal"

"Against the Horsemen of the Apocalypse of the European Constitution"

“Is an orange revolution really necessary to establish democracy?”

“What would be Benedict XVI’s Contribution?”