The crisis of hegemony, imperialism and global security challenges
The end of the 20th century, marked by the fall of the Berlin wall, the end of the Cold War, and the defeat of “real socialism”, encouraged intellectuals to proclaim “the end of history”. It seemed to many people that overcoming the campist logic of military, political and economic blocs was a point of no […]
Where have Eastern Europeans gone? Made-in-Italy Agribusiness, Mobility Control, and the Great Resignation
Recent limitations to the freedom of movement imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, led farmers’ organisations (as well as other employers) across Europe to sound the alarm, lamenting the sudden dearth of workers needed for highly time-sensitive harvesting. These restrictions cut across workers’ nationalities and legal statuses and were especially strict between March […]
Drifters in the Making: Labour Migration from Serbia and the (Re)production of (Trans)national Inequalities
Sourcing labour from Serbia has never been easier. But the recruitment channels are not managed or monitored. With fake information circulating and actors willing to profit from migration flows, Serbian labour migrants are in danger of over-exploitation. Nevertheless, many people want to leave Serbia because they are fed up with a system that has […]
Citizenship and Exclusion in Contemporary Hungary
Since the so-called ‘migration crisis’ in 2015, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has become a key figurehead of an ultra-conservative and illiberal European right.[1] This politics is anchored in virulent anti-immigration positions and fierce discourses targeting the European Union (EU), which is pictured as incapable of “protecting Europe and its civilisation” from the “threat" […]
Together We Stand: Enforced Single Motherhood and Ukrainian Refugees’ Care Networks
With the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, approximately 7.8 million Ukrainians have fled to European countries[1], searching for safety abroad[2]. According to UNHCR Regional intentions report, approximately 87%[3] of Ukrainian refugees are women and children. Some recalculation of the report results allows an estimation of 35% or approximately 2.7 […]
The resistance movement is being built on a scorched field. Conversation with DOXA, oppositional Russian media
“Commons” spoke to three editors of DOXA. The initiative was founded six years ago as an activist student media. Besides the topics relating to educational justice, the collective focused on fighting propaganda and repression. Of course, such activism did not escape the regime’s attention, and four members of the editorial team were put under […]
“The ruins have taught me something about myself”. Mariupol Memory Park as an autonomous anarchive
Mariupol Memory Park is a project of the Freefilmers collective, one of the many artistic and research communities of Mariupol that united people who lived and worked in the city. The project functions as a website that absorbs the reflections and creative output of Mariupol residents, their accounts of the struggle to assert the […]
10 Terrible Leftist Arguments against Ukrainian Resistance
Discussions with some on the (mostly) western left can be extremely hard. Some of their positions are disheartening to hear. Others seem hypocritical or cynical. There are, in my opinion, certain positions that are far from left principles. These points are not always expressed directly, so I want to briefly dig into some hidden messages […]
Ukrainian identity map in wartime: Thesis-antithesis-synthesis?
The cultural and linguistic heterogeneity of Ukraine is a well-known fact, used and abused in explanations of the ongoing war. Having taken root in the early modern period in the interstitial area contested by three empires – Polish, Turkish and Russian – the Ukrainian nation was, indeed, formed through demographic processes that have left […]
Humanitarian aid is not enough
The war is now grinding into its fifth month and costing hundreds of lives every day, with no immediate end in sight. To get his perspective on what has unfolded since his letter was first published, Ivo Georgiev of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation’s Kyiv Office sat down with Taras Bilous to discuss the war, the debate […]
