Subscription 790/year or 195/quarter

Norway

What actually constitutes a national community

VALUES: What does it mean to be Norwegian, or more specifically to be part of a Norwegian community of values? The philosopher Immanuel Kant – now 300 years after his birth – may be relevant to the debate about 'Norwegian values', here related to Bjøranger and Svensson's new book.

"You can end up with the only peace being the graveyard peace."

MODERN TIMES CONVERSATIONS: We talk to the former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, the man who could have become Prime Minister of Great Britain, about current issues – such as military rearmament, Ukraine, Israel, climate justice and work, security, democracy, citizens' councils, and not least a hope for the future.

Cities in crisis

RECONSTRUCTION: This appendix gives the war's destruction of cities and towns in Ukraine and the need for reconstruction the most attention.

Ukraine must own its own development

RECONSTRUCTION: What are the prerequisites for rebuilding better in a way that strengthens Ukraine's ownership of its own development? Is democracy both the means and the end? What can the international community contribute? We have asked six players.

Can Ukraine be rebuilt with its own efforts?

RECONSTRUCTION: During the first year of the war, the damage to Ukrainian homes is estimated at 50 billion dollars, and another 36 billion is damage to other physical infrastructure. How can one kick-start a war-ravaged industry and economy? So far it seems that the EU, the World Bank and the UN are coordinating their own donor systems independently of each other and Ukraine. But what does Norway do?

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?

When you approach your limits

POETRY: In a collection of poems by Hans Magnus Enzensberger, there may be a touch of criticism of civilization. Like when the political commitment ebbs and allows the artistic expression to intensify – melancholic and energetic.

With the willing and servile oil country Norway in tow

EQUIPMENT: That the rest of the world, apart from the West, does not stand on the side of Norway, the USA and NATO when it comes to Ukraine today, is not surprising when we know the centuries of looting and colonial times, followed by imperialist wars and Western-backed coups. It is still "war and weapons that create peace" that is the narrative. Stop the race to a possible world war!

Norway is trapped by US propaganda

PUBLIC: What we could previously describe as realpolitik possible is today not even possible to write about. Propaganda dominates the Norwegian public perhaps more than in any other country. The Norwegian authorities have been fooled around. The speech space has frozen.

Green electricity from Africa

NAMIBIA: Dependence on Russian gas, Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine and provoked supply crises have put energy at the center of European politics. But in Namibia, the plan is now to focus on 'green' electricity where seawater is desalinated and produces hydrogen through electrolysis.

Wilhelm Reichs updated

MONOGRAPH: Reich had considerable influence on Norwegian intellectuals. But he was thrown out of both the Communist Party and the International Psychoanalytical Association – and died in an American prison aged just 60.

The Norwegian ideal state

FUTURE: From 2017 to 2019, we traveled around the country in the artist group Alt Går Bra to learn about the Norwegian population's visions for the society of the future. The second most popular theme was climate and sustainability (ten percent). Three percent answered freedom, according to technology optimism, education and the importance of roots. For the vast majority, a completely different factor was most important.

ASIA: "We are the ones who are far away, while they are in the center"

TECHNOLOGY: According to Kevin Kelly, technology writer, photographer and publicist, the best thing you can do sometimes is slow down technology.

The Future of Europe

EUROPE: MODERN TIMES recently visited the European Parliament in Strasbourg, and met one of the founders of the Conference on the Future of Europe – where the following topics have been discussed: democratic values, climate change, social justice and job security, human rights, European defense and digital transformation. This is the basis for ORIENTATION this time, as we have asked a number of Norwegian opinion leaders about much of the same on the following pages. And here with Daniel Freund, who is a member of the Die Grünen party in Germany, we couldn't avoid talking about climate.

Palestine, Portugal, pluralism

MANAGER: When is more independent identity important, and not?

Norway at the top of Europe in nationalism?

CHRONICLE: We constantly hear that Norway is the world's best country, but this is not necessarily the case for the vast majority of Norwegians and people who move here.