The end of history, revisitedFeb 25th 2010 From Economist.com The ex-communist states of eastern Europe are leaving their pasts behindWHERE would they be without their past, the ex-captive nations? (Or “ex-communist countries”, “former Soviet satellite states”, “the old Eastern block”: so much history even in the category). The region between the Baltic and the Black …
Tag Archive: Europe View
Feb 20
Europe view nr 172
Europe.view Stay off the potashFeb 18th 2010 From Economist.com Eastern Europe-friendly boycotts are difficult to pull off VOTING with your wallet is a tempting substitute for real politics. Time was when the British left demonstratively boycotted South African oranges. The same people usually regarded Israel as no better than the apartheid regime. They also ruled …
Feb 11
Europe View nr 171: Ashton to Ukraine
Europe.view Turn east, Lady AshtonFeb 11th 2010 From Economist.com The EU could make a real difference in Ukraine PIGEONHOLING and false analogies are not part of formal international relations studies. But from the way that diplomats, policymakers and analysts talk about Ukraine, you would think they were compulsory courses. Take the optimistic point that Ukraine’s …
Feb 11
Europe View 170–Prickly Poles
The furious reaction to the earlier piece on the Polish blogosphere provoked this exasperated response Europe.view Better say nothingFeb 4th 2010From Economist.com The minefield of writing about Poland POLAND is the largest and most successful of the eastern European countries. A safe enough statement? Probably not. Someone will immediately start quibbling that “eastern” Europe doesn’t …
Feb 11
Europe View nr 168 — Europe’s borderlands
Europe.view The centre cannot holdJan 21st 2010From Economist.com The borderlands of Europe should not be left behind PLENTY of places have a claim to be Europe’s geographical centre. French geographers calculated in 1989 that it lies on a hill near Purnuškės in Lithuania. Belarusian cartographers think it is near the town that Russians call Vitebsk …
Jan 05
Europe view no 164
Europe.view A supermarket in EstoniaDec 23rd 2009 From Economist.com The best sort of eastward expansion FOOD in Europe’s ex-communist countries has an undeservedly bad reputation: stodgy peasant fare ruined by the culinary commissars of the planned economy. Your columnist has long disagreed, but proof is needed. So, on a recent visit to a supermarket in …
Jan 05
Europe view no 165
Europe.view Steamy scenesDec 30th 2009 From Economist.com Bracing northern habits reach south-west London YOUR columnist has recently moved house. Although his new garden is small, it does have enough room for a small hut, painted black and concealed by a trellis. It is a rarity in this part of the world. Most visitors assume it …
Dec 10
europe view: three cheers for Primakov
Europe.view The neighbour from hell Dec 10th 2009 From Economist.com Cack-handed Russian tactics are boosting NATO in eastern Europe IN THE 1990s, when enlarging NATO to take in the ex-communist countries still seemed perilous and impractical, help came from an unexpected source. Yevgeny Primakov (pictured), a steely old Soviet spook who became first head of …
Dec 03
Ashton mk 2
Europe.view Why the past mattersDec 3rd 2009 From Economist.com A defence of last week’s column about Europe’s new foreign ministerLAST week’s column on Lady Ashton’s appointment as the European Union’s high representative for foreign policy attracted a flurry of comments. Many were negative and some of them furious. The criticism falls into two categories. Some …
Dec 03
Ashton mk 1
Europe.view Better red than dead?Nov 26th 2009 From Economist.com The peacenik past of the EU’s new foreign minister deserves scrutiny Holding her past to account IMAGINE a British Conservative politician—call her Catriona Aston—coming from obscurity to gain one of the top posts in the European Union, just as Lady (Catherine) Ashton (pictured) has emerged from …
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