By Ali Rıza Taşdelen Over the past five years, France has seen no major mass movements or widespread protests in response to social and economic crises. The last significant wave of popular mobilization was the Yellow Vests movement, which began in October 2018 and peaked in 2019 with mass demonstrations against pension reform. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021, followed by ...
By Ali Mercan, Frankfurt / Germany The coalition talks between the Christian Union (CDU-CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) entered an intense phase during the second week of April. The fluctuations in public support reflected in the latest polls have increased pressure on both sides. It is said that the results of the coalition negotiations would be announced during ...
By Yunus Soner, Berlin / Germany Germany’s militarization of foreign policy, especially towards Russia has been discussed intensely. The German government has widened the military budget beyond the imaginable. The public opinion discusses day by day the reintroduction of obligatory military service, while scenarios of a Russian attack on the country are being widely discussed in great parts of media. ...
By Yunus Soner, Berlin / Germany Germany’s parliamentary election winner, conservative Friedrich Merz, is preparing a massive new funding package for military weapons. The investment requires state borrowing. Possible parliamentary resistance forces the future chancellor into a possible trick. Following his parliamentary victory on February 23, Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union announced talks with the Social Democratic ...
In the second part of the interview, Jacques Cheminade, the leader of the Solidarity and Progress (Solidarité et Progrès) answered our questions about militarization in France, the latest situation in Syria and Jean-Marie Le Pen. Cheminade emphasizes that solving France’s problems is tied to cooperation with the “Global South” and the “global majority”, as well as breaking free from dependence ...
By Hiroshi Inagaki, Tokio / Japan In the current ordinary Diet session, the U.S. imperialist strategy for East Asia (“Encirclement of China” strategy) is being pushed forward to raise military expenditures and enact a number of war promotion laws to make Japan a war state in line with this strategy. The following is a look at some of the major ...
By Kohei Mizugaki, civic activist The recent visit to Yasukuni Shrine for worship by dozens of officers of the Ground Self-Defense Force, including the deputy chief of staff, has been criticized as being systematic and unconstitutional, violating the principle of separation of religion and state. The excuse that it was a private act cannot be accepted, since the official vehicles ...
By Ali Rıza Taşdelen The drums of war are beating louder in Europe. Countries are trying to strengthen their armies. However, far from achieving their targets of increasing the number of soldiers, many countries are facing resignations. Young people are reluctant to join the military. Calls from NATO leaders for a Crusade-like mobilization against Russia are falling on deaf ears. ...
By Işıkgün Akfırat German Defense Minister Lambrecht has resigned after being criticized for blocking aid to Ukraine. The resignation comes just before a summit of Western defense ministers to be held at the largest US military base in Europe. It is considered to have been forced in order to break the resistance of the Olaf Scholz government to sending tanks ...
Since Russia’s military operation in Ukraine launched on February 24, militarization in Europe has accelerated. Two countries are leading the way: Germany and France. French President Emmanuel Macron’s declaration on June 13 that France and Europe have entered a state of “war economy” can be seen as the naming of this process. Macron’s plan of a ‘self-sufficient’ and ‘powerful’ military ...