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The dilemma of oil and biodiversity on Azerbaijan’s Absheron Peninsula0
- Environment and Energy, Op-ed
- 10/02/2016
Azerbaijan is one of the major oil and gas producers in the Southern Caucasus region, which is putting the preservation of biodiversity of the Caspian Sea at great risk.
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Turkey: Who’s the enemy?0
- International Relations and Global Affairs, Op-ed
- 08/02/2016
The repression of Kurds in Turkey has been a long lasting situation, leading to violent outbreaks between the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and the Turkish state. The latest cease fire ended in 21 July 2015 and from then on attacks have been undertaken on Kurd majority areas in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq, one of the most recent being the killing of 32 on the 10 January 2015.
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University responses to refugee crisis in Europe0
- Human Rights and Migration, Op-ed
- 06/02/2016
In recent months, the EU has been extensively criticized for its inability to deal with Europe’s largest humanitarian crisis in the last decades. The Commission as well as the Member states received negative cover because of dedicating financial resources to border protection rather than integration of refugees. This op-ed describes how the Commission and universities across Europe could work together to integrate refugees in the EU’s societies.
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Refugee diaspora groups: Bridges between civil society and the state0
- Human Rights and Migration, Op-ed
- 05/02/2016
What type of government or society do we imagine when confronted with a problem as dire and encompassing as the refugee crisis? Recently, the OECD urged the European member states to scale-up and adapt to the refugee crisis. Yet it remains unclear and opaque what this adaptability should look like, how it should take form and what the role of civil society might be. What is clear is that instead of pointing fingers at other states, governments should take an empowering stance towards their own civil society and refugee diaspora groups.
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The integrative power of the threat of disintegration1
- EU Governance and Politics, Op-ed
- 03/02/2016
The dynamics of European integration have changed. The EU is no longer moving forward by its power of attraction. Its threats of exclusion have taken a similarly important place.
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Carbon capture & storage: Friend or foe for solving global warming?1
- Environment and Energy, Op-ed
- 02/02/2016
Carbon capture & storage (CCS) is the new kid in town. It promises a drastic reduction of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. I find that much can be argued against it.
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Dealing with uncertainty: Responses to the “refugee crisis” in Sweden0
- Human Rights and Migration, Op-ed
- 01/02/2016
Many in Sweden believe the Scandinavian country is facing the hardest “refugee crisis” in a long time. According to Migrationsverket, the official Swedish migration agency, more than 160.000 asylum seekers have arrived in Sweden in 2015, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. What are the responses of civil society and the State authorities in the response to crisis and are they conducive to successful integration of refugees in Swedish society?
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Are all biofuels evil?0
- Environment and Energy, Op-ed
- 30/01/2016
Biofuels have been a matter of conflict in the EU policy agenda. Until recently, the EU had an “unlimited” biofuel production policy which was heavily criticised by NGOs like Oxfam, Greenpeace or political faces like the Green Party of the European Parliament. But not all biofuels deserve their criticism.
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Filling the gaps: Contribution of CSOs in the management of refugee affairs in Eastern Africa0
- Human Rights and Migration, Op-ed
- 29/01/2016
African states have performed dual roles producing refugees while offering asylum to others. However the economic status of many receiving countries is too low to support provision of adequate basic services to their own citizenry and refugees are perceived as an extra burden. Civil society organizations have therefore taken on provision of vital services to fill this gap, complementing the work of UNHCR, the body mandated to safeguard and protect the rights of refugees.
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