Winter 2009
Reflections on 1989
The peaceful revolutions of 1989 were one of Europe’s finest moments—perhaps ever. And the Central Europeans’ accession to the European Union crowned those triumphs over dictatorship and tyranny. There is every reason to celebrate the accomplishments of the last two decades.
Letter from… Košice, Slovakia 
Article by Juliana Sokolova
Regulating language in Slovakia reinforces national identities, to everyone’s detriment.
Interview with Vaclav Havel and Richard von Weizsäcker
Still Searching for Answers
On October 1, 2009 the former presidents of the Czech Republic and Germany sat down to discuss “20 years of freedom.” The two former leaders look back on the peaceful revolutions in the East bloc and forward to the future of their countries and the common project Europe.
Annus Mirabilis
Essay by Adam Michnik
Across our region there has never been a better run than the last 20 years. But today, Europe faces a trial. Freedom is threatened by a cynicism that undermines the liberal value system. In the same spirit, the temptations of authoritarianism are seductive. The task before us is nothing less than the defense of the republic.
Global Problem Solver
Article by Michael Zürn
Has Europe been consigned to the role of onlooker in the post-1989 world? Did the European age come to an end with the fall of the Berlin Wall? Michael Zürn argues no. Actors with solutions to global problems, Europe among them, wield today’s power.
Unity in Diversity
Article by Markus Jachtenfuchs
The cozy European community of six social market economies, shaped by the principles of Christian democracy, ceased to exist some time ago. Contrary to sceptics, enlargement and deeper integration have proved compatible goals. Twenty years after the fall of the Wall, the European Union has arrived at its citizens’ doorsteps, but in a much different form than the founding fathers had anticipated.
“In Yugoslavia, everything was viewed through the prism of nationalism.”
In 1989 and 1990, change was in the air in socialist Yugoslavia, too. But things looked very different from in the Soviet-led East bloc. The population demanded democracy and free elections in their respective republics. This put the multinational state on the path to war.
Blueprint for an Ecological World Order
Article by Claus Leggewie
If the G-8’s goal to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius is serious, radical decisions will need to be taken at the climate change conference in Copenhagen in December. An emissions-trading system based on benefit-sharing would offer enormous opportunities to developing countries and provide the key to a new low-carbon global order.
Beyond Kyoto
International negotiators will gather in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December to hammer out a new and possibly historic worldwide treaty to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Following up on the expiring Kyoto Protocol, it is widely billed as the last chance to save the planet from a temperature rise of two degrees Celsius or higher.
Australia’s Last Priority
Article by Benjamin Schreer und Stephan Frühling
As NATO develops a new strategic concept, a major issue is the future role of its relationships with “partners across the globe.” Australia is among the most prominent of these partners, but its main strategic interests remain firmly embedded in the Asia Pacific region. NATO’s practical cooperation with partners is thus not a sign of demand for the alliance to play a wider global role.
Punch Line
The Morning After
Article by Jan Techau
Italy’s Alamo
Book Review by Frederika Randall
In this elegant and acerbic account of conflict on the Italian front, British writer Mark Thompson brings the geography, history, and conflicted passions of Italy’s Great War to life for the first time in English.
