"I don't think a single military conflict can solve a problem."
THE MODERN TIMES INTERVIEW: Elisabeth Hoff, WHO's representative in Libya today, wondered why Norway got involved and dropped 700 bombs on Libya in 2011: "It makes no sense at all." For 30 years, Hoff has tried to save lives in war zones such as Afghanistan, Syria and Libya. How can a human endure so much suffering?
Not around my luxury villa
If this book is translated into English, it becomes a new French academic bestseller.
We can all be like Paul
PASOLINI: The apostle Paul shows the revolutionary power of fighting for a cause that defies the usual way of life. Paul becomes the symbol of creating a new reality and defeating hegemonic power. But can we imagine that there is a Paul in today's Israel?
Advantages and disadvantages of plastic
ECOLOGY: On the one hand, plastic replaces more polluting building materials. On the other hand, we have enormous amounts of plastic waste. We have produced 7 billion tonnes of plastic as of today.
Good value for money?
There is intense debate in France and France-speaking Africa about the use of the CFA monetary unit.
A logical consequence of the Cold War?
RUSSIA: Mary Elise Sarotte demonstrates thorough knowledge of the Cold War – and today's horrific continuation of it.
New European security architecture
UKRAINE/RUSSIA: The authors of this book believe that the European countries should loosen their ties with the United States in order to achieve constructive results in what can be considered a European security problem. Two parties can only achieve security together with the other party – not at the expense of it.
The organic class
Environmental campaign: The productivity of nature itself must be taken into account – other species, ecosystems, soil, the atmosphere and the sea. This was Bruno Latour's last book.
Flashy Norwegian-supported consumption in Africa
CONSUMPTION AND CORRUPTION: We haven't heard much about Luanda Leaks in Norway. Perhaps because it is embarrassing that Statoil paid NOK 420 million to a non-existent research center owned by Angola's state oil company Sonangol, where Isabel dos Santos was the director until she was fired in November 2017?
Politically correct decolonization ideology?
MODERNIZATION: The Nigerian professor Olùfèmi Táíwò looks at power relations between the formerly colonized and colonialists. All states strive to adapt modern institutions to their own history, cultural context and ideological climate. But can the demand to decolonize the language become absurd?
The girl who looked in the mirror of the world
PHOTO/BOOK: The importance of being human in the Anthropocene has never been more decisive for an understanding of how humans will survive in the future. Photographer Gauri Gill: “I have followed the agricultural cycle, migration, Food for Work programs, nomadic journeys, epidemics, cerebral malaria, tuberculosis, overcrowded hospitals – and death from snakebites, from accidents, from being burned alive for providing an inadequate dowry – and births, marriages, child marriages or moneylenders."
When patriarchy and state violence go hand in hand
DEBT: Women are more vulnerable to aggressive lending methods, high interest rates and fees.
- We documented that we had everything in place for a Palestinian state
Palestine voucher: Salam Fayyad, former Prime Minister of Palestine, Ramallah 2014
On the dark side of truth
MEDIA: The struggle for truth – and thus for documentary – has become brutal. A new book analyzes how truth claims and digital culture shape our political realities.
The unpleasant truth
Living by the Gun in Chad is a real find for those who want to understand the political complexity of sub-Saharan Africa.
When it comes to life
REFUGEES: In Sicily, MODERN TIMES meets Morgan Lescot on the rescue ship Ocean Viking for a conversation about boat refugees, challenges and Europe's responsibility. Is this a tragedy that will only increase?
Fascinating fascism and seductive drivers
NEO-FASCISM: Do many still have fascist longings today, or can one always blame seductive leaders? A closer dive into the 100-year-old Italian fascism and its descendants says something about the dangers we are now likely to face.
Hitler's favorite director Leni Riefenstahl
FALSE OF HISTORY? Nina Gladitz challenges the notion that Leni Riefenstahl was an ingenious artist with poor political views. Her documentary about the filmmaker has been hidden in the German WDR archive since 1982. The reactions to Gladitz's book also show how difficult it is to seek truth and give the weakest in society a voice.
When it's really on fire out in the world
EU: Europe has never become an adult and responsible player in a multipolar world. And a common foreign and security policy has never gone beyond the sketch plane. Will it happen now?
To be a stranger in one's own town
IRAQ: The Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad has written an excellent book that dispels the typical view of a sectarian and divided society as the main cause of Iraq's long and continuing tragedy.
Camille, Hannah, Lisa, Pauline and Flora
WOMEN: Art done by men is simply given more attention: in collections, in exhibition programs, in art literature, in the art market. But what about the large number of female artists over the past 500 years?
Why do we resort to bombs and guns?
WAR: Christopher Blattman's long-term project has been to explore the reasons why conflict between groups and nations erupts into war.
The military-industrial complex
MODERN TIMES CONVERSATIONS: From someone who should know the intricacies of foreign policy and geopolitics: Thorbjørn Jagland on military rearmament and enemy images – when it comes to the USA, Russia, China, Turkey and Libya.
Which African intellectuals…
Intellectuals: Inspired both by Bakhtin and Foucault, Stephen Chan presents Achille Mbembe's analyzes of the African state in an understandable way. But let's mention what the book leaves out.
Nuanced about Boko Haram
Over the past three years, Hilary Matfess has interviewed a number of women who have been liberated from Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. She challenges the reader to nuance her image of the group.