I decided to translate a published op-ed which I wrote in Dutch on my Hungary. Take note that this article was written for a Dutch audience. Hungary, a paralysed country After almost three years I’ve decided to leave Hungary. It’s the country my father fled from during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Before arriving in Hungary I had…
How did Silvio Berlusconi ever manage to become so popular? An article in the Telegraph neatly summarises some of the top 10 of things a Prime Minister should not do when in office… My favourite disgrace is point 4, which makes Italy look like anything except being a country which should be taken serious: Mr…
Reading a recent report by the Democratic Progress Institute on the probable rivalry between incumbent PM Erdogan and incumbent President Gul over the 2014 Presidential elections in Turkey, triggered me to write a post on the personalities of both men. Recep Tayyip Erdogan Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Among the media and academics there is…
Here is a book review which I wrote earlier this year on the source of change and stability in the Middle East, prior to the 2011 events that changed much of the political structures in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen. Stability and Change in the Modern Middle East Kjetil Selvik, Stig Stenslie $28.00 Paperback: 304 pages…
Whilst reading Alain de Botton’s Consolations of Philosophy I came across the so-called Socratic method of thinking, named after the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. The idea of the book, as the title already suggests, is to console you in the everyday difficulties you face. In every chapter a different philosopher takes the stage, dealing with a particular…
Thinking politics 