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NL Between hope and fear: An uncertain future for minorities in Syria
Photo: Photos of President Bashar al-Assad on display during the civil war in pro-regime areas of Syria - Store Norske Leksikon With the fall of Assad's regime, a new era has dawned for Syria, but the joy of liberation is overshadowed by uncertainty and violence. Syria is currently facing the deadliest outbreak of violence since [...]
Ukraine and the redefinition of sovereignty
Source: FMT In the week of 14 March 2022, a few weeks after Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Time Magazine published an issue entitled The Return of History. This was a clear reference to Francis Fukuyama's famous work The End of History and the Last Man, in which he argued that liberal democracy after the fall of the [...]
The student perspective on the growing protest movement in Serbia
Source: Tasnim The FMS, in collaboration with International Foundation GroenLinks, has started a series on the Serbian anti-corruption protests. During this series, we will highlight different sides of the protests, starting with the students' perspective. Marija, a 23-year-old Serbian student, usually studies at her university. But now she, like many [...]
A stifling reality: Thijs Reuten on his experiences in Israel and Palestine
Thijs Reuten visiting Fakhri's demolished house in Al Bustan, East Jerusalem MEP Thijs Reuten (GL-PvdA) visited Israel and Palestine and saw for himself the enormous impact of the conflict. From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and from Bethlehem to Hebron in the West Bank, the situation on the ground left a deep [...]
Dutch letterbox firm facilitates Georgian propaganda channel
Headmen of ruling Georgian Dream party at a protest in favour of the 'foreign-agent law' (April 2024, Jelger Groeneveld, Wikimedia Commons) The role of the Netherlands as home to dubious, tax-dodging letterbox firms is well known. However, our country also appears to host propaganda channels that threaten democracy in other countries. Research by the Max van der Stoel Foundation [...]
Three years of war: six studies on Ukrainian reconstruction
Source: Getty Images Today marks the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine. In the context of the war that is still ongoing, Foundation Max van der Stoel has contributed to several studies in collaboration with Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and its partners on the reconstruction of Ukraine. These [...]
Visiting Germany: 'For the SPD, this is a disappointing result'
Campaign sign in Kleve with current Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) On 23 February, the German parliamentary elections took place. As expected, the CDU/CSU emerged victorious, while the far-right AfD finished second. The SPD came third, a hard blow for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party. "The worst result since the [...]
Peace & Defence (II): "No we-see-each-other-well-in-the-trenches policy"
Fellow MPs Luc Stultiens (GL-PvdA, left) and Jimme Nordkamp (GL-PvdA, right) in conversation, source: John Beckmann/Orange Pictures In this series, 'Peace & Defence', the FMS talks to experts about what a progressive narrative on defence entails and what trade-offs should be made in it. We do this by engaging with various organisations that [...]
How do we bridge polarisation in the Netherlands?
Demonstration against racism and discrimination in Amsterdam (https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobtompics/33529564285/) In recent years, the Netherlands has witnessed a disturbing increase in polarisation, especially around issues of immigration, national identity and Islam. This phenomenon, fuelled by populist rhetoric and a growing sense of "us versus them", poses a significant challenge to the fabric of the [...]
Political prisoner in Russia: 'Ibrahim was beaten for hours'
Alleged spies and terrorists are increasingly punished in Russia. Torture is used to force unwilling suspects to confess. Ibrahim Orudzhev studied for translator English and French at the University of Belgorod not far from the border with Ukraine. During a stay in his hometown of Moscow, he was detained by police. He allegedly [...]