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Dear ###USER_name###,
The last months were defining for world politics. Much of what was thought to be lasting forever, has changed irrevocably: The eternities are over. The liberal world order as we know it is changing for ever with the rise of the authoritarian rule and the encompassing and uncompromising brutality all over the globe. But also, another eternity has ended, which is the self-proclaimed eternal rule of the Assads in Syria. There a new dawn is being drawn and also contested. In this newsletter we are looking at some shifts in the baselines.
One of the most important shifts of the last years was provoked by the corona pandemic. Although five years have passed, the changes it generated are still at play. In the piece "Control instead of care" our global health consultant Felix Litschauer speaks with Edna Bonhomme, writer of “A History of the World in Six Plagues” . They discuss how dealing with epidemics shapes societies, the connection between grief and fear and why more progressive projects of mutual care are needed.
With the election of Trump Anita Starosta gives in her piece "The end of an era" an analysis of how this development reflects a broader global trend of disillusionment with liberal promises, deepening inequality, and the failure of Western powers to uphold human rights and international norms. A feminist perspective is shed by Jana Flörchinger on exactly those dynamics. She analyzes the global rise of authoritarian populism, highlighting how punitive politics, fueled by fear, toxic masculinity, and socio-economic precarity, gain widespread support from below. Yet she also emphasizes that resistance is possible, drawing inspiration from grassroots movements in the Global South.
The demands for justice are crucial in the current upheavals and changes we are seeing in the middle east as it´s map is being redrawn. Our Syria consultants were in Syria shortly after the long-awaited fall of Assad. In her reportage of the trip Anita Starosta explains the changes on the ground and highlights how transitional justice is approached in this delicate time. The call for justice is also loud in Riad Othmans piece "The Killing of Icons" that puts the targeted killing of Palestinian journalists in the context of the ongoing erasure of Palestinian identity and culture. As these actions aim not only at suppressing media coverage of Gaza but also at silencing voices of hope, resistance, and documentation of war crimes. Journalists like Hossam Shabat, Wael Dahdouh and Refaat Al-Areer are symbols of resilience who risked—and often lost—their lives to tell the truth about Gaza's suffering.
In those times of encompassing brutality it is important to keep on telling our stories and hold against the monstrosities. This can be only done together.
In Solidarity,
Radwa Khaled Ibrahim
Editor of the international newsletter
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