Dramaturgie im zeitgenössischen Tanz ist ? positiv gemeint ? ein heißes Eisen. Idealerweise sind Dramaturginnen und Dramaturgen während der Erarbeitung eines Stücks die besten Freunde der Choreografen. more
Thanks to Radoslaw Sikorski's speech in Berlin, Poland has at last joined the big European debate about restructuring the EU in connection with the euro crisis. The "European Reformation" advocated by Germany does not mean that the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation will be established in Europe, but instead – let us hope – the Republic of Europe. By Adam Krzeminski
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Olivier Roy is one of Europe's leading experts on Islam. His new book "Holy Ignorance" is due to be published this autumn. Eren Güvercin talks to him about issues central to the debate about Islam in Europe, from revolutionary milleniarism to Muslim Luthenarianism.
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The idea that 1989 came out of thin air speaks volumes about historical insensitivities and limited horizons. The fall of the Berlin Wall was preceded by years of erosion and attrition. Historian Karl Schlögel looks at the molecular movements on the margins of history that are much more powerful than any deeds of "great men".
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Advocates of Ukrainian democracy are motivated by old desires for independence from Moscow and, now that political autonomy has been achieved, by the need to get under the protective umbrella of Nato and the EU. From an objective point view, though, there are plenty of arguments against Ukraine turning its back on Russia. By Richard Wagner (Photo: Lothar Deus)
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Since the 19th century Ukrainians have been dreaming of a return to the paradise lost of Europe. But Ukraine's rich and painful history remains a blank spot in the European collective consciousness, or a mighty underground river flowing out of Europe's cellar, littered with corpses. By Oksana Zabuzhko
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The dawn of a new era in Central Eastern Europe means confronting the legacy of communism and fascism. While there is no lack of advice and admonition from Western Europe, or coarse dressing-downs from Moscow, these nations must be given the time they need to unravel their complicated history. Romanian-German writer Richard Wagner guides us through some of the thorniest issues. (Photo © Lothar Deus)
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It was the fall of communism and its attendant anxieties that gave birth to the European ideal. The first task of a new Europe must be to hack out clear paths through the jungle of ideologies, because a civilisation that does not clearly proclaim its values, or leaves its proclaimed values high and dry, treads the path to perdition and terminal debility. By Imre Kertesz
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European democracy exists largely within nation-states, and not in the continental dimension. Even the ponderous TV channel "Euro-News" has not succeeded in creating a European public sphere. But without a European consciousness there will be no European federation. For this to happen interpreters are needed, to explain the motives of one side to the other. By Adam Krzeminski
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Newspapers by nature cover local matters. That belongs to the rules of the game. But what happens when the rules change? Only when they take an active interest in affairs abroad will paper's coverage on their home turf improve. Arne Ruth, long-time chief editor of Sweden's Dagens Nyheter, tells why cross-border journalism can help make the separate realms of Europe a single public space.
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"In America I learned that Europe is possible." A conversation with Bernard-Henri Levy about his trip through the USA, the neo-conservatives after the disaster in Iraq, the fascist roots of Islamism and France before the elections. By Thierry Chervel (Photo: R. Escher)
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A bold vision for 50 years down the line will not help us get on right now. I am content with a vision for the period leading up to the European elections in 2009. Those elections should be coupled with a Europe-wide referendum on three questions: whether the Union, beyond effective decision-making procedures, should have a directly elected president, its own foreign minister, and its own financial base. By Jürgen Habermas
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Islam is not as diverse as Ian Buruma maintains in his answer to Pascal Bruckner. On the contrary, it is an oppressive social reality, codified in the "Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam." Signed by 45 Muslim countries, this upholds the Sharia as the basis of the Islamic identity. By Necla Kelek
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Neither live-and-let-die separatist multiculturalism nor the secularist republican monoculturalism preached by Bruckner work. Policies of integration cannot be based on the assumption that millions of Muslims will drop their faith when they come to Europe. Timothy Garton Ash responds to Pascal Bruckner.
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Nobody is defending honour killing or female circumcision. Such crimes are matters of law enforcement. Trickier is the question of how to prevent mainstream Muslims from being infected with violent ideologies. Ian Buruma responds to Pascal Bruckner. (Image © Stefan Heijdendael)
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali doesn't only look beautiful, she also invokes Voltaire. This is too much for Ian Buruma and Timothy Garton Ash, who call her an "Enlightenment fundamentalist." But their idea of multiculturalism amounts to legal apartheid. By Pascal Bruckner
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