Simon Marijsse

EDITOR

Simon Marijsse holds both a Master’s degree in Public Policy and one in Philosophy (from Ghent University and KU Leuven). After having worked as post lauream researcher at the Jean Jacobs Institute in Bologna, he chose to specialize in Conflict & Development Studies at Ghent University. Inspired by live field work in the Middle-East, Simon currently aims at bridging local grass roots developments with new modes of globalization and rhetorical analysis of policy mechanisms. His interests involve EU foreign policy, historical and contemporary Arab-West relations, and the modalities of subjectivity, identity and state-building practices in the wider MENA region.

Janice Perlman: “There are so many things in Rio that are never talked about and that are absolutely heroic.”2

For this month’s Special Report, Dr. Janice Perlman, founder and CEO of the Mega-Cities Project, joined us to share her wide expertise on public policy, mega-events and the Rio Olympics. Since her last book Favela. Four decades of living on the edge in Rio de Janeiro hit the shelves, six years have passed. It’s time to take a step back and have a look at what has happened.

Pluralism in a favela: A story of violence and evangelicalism 0

When walking the streets of Complexo da Maré in Rio, pluralism is engraved in various, albeit paradoxical, ways. Based on live field experiences, this op-ed tackles the social, political and religious twists and turns pluralism takes when entering one of Rio’s most contested spaces.

Who pacifies the market? Community policing and gentrification in Rio de Janeiro 0

Imagine Rio de Janeiro. The dilapidated colorful shacks boom up majestically from the exotic beaches of Ipanema and Leblon. Recently pacified favelas like Rocinha and Vidigal are open for business. Yet, formalizing the informal via policies like community policing (UPP), has once again shown Rio’s obstinate urban exclusion and the persistence of its fragmented democracy.

Europe’s hesitance towards China’s market economy status reframed 0

Whilst Free Trade Agreements cause protests around the globe, the debates surrounding China´s WTO accession have largely escaped public turmoil – remarkably so. Hovering in a depoliticized, neutral jargon, technocrats have successfully reframed the latter into a matter of economic criteria, minimizing their divided political views. Europe however should speak one voice, one that is not misguided by the utopia of extreme globalization, yet aware of the political and social stakes that remain.