Section: Policy
Arguing over rights: man is not an abstraction
Communitarian discourse, currently in vogue and carried by minorities in need of an existence rather than victims of real repression, is torpedoing the fine 19th-century idea that the freedom of minorities should be preserved and defended, by transforming it into a weapon against freedom of expression, which includes, among other things, the right to humor. It is to be feared that the controversy provoked by French-speaking comedienne Claude Inga-Barbey's sketch dramatizing the difficulties of naming gender transformations illustrates an era marked by the thought police. From a philosophical point of view, this situation conceals an opposition between two types of universalism, that of proclaiming the rights of Man versus the rights of men.
Burma: the fear of a failed state
LONG FORMAT ARTICLE, Clément Guntern | Just as parliamentary elections were taking place, the Burmese army stunned the world by taking back power by force. After just two months of protests, the Burmese state is in danger of becoming yet another failed state, with all its consequences in a region that is becoming increasingly central.
Figure of the Algerian Hirak, Kaddour Chouicha, surrounded by the authorities, testifies
Couple to the city, Kaddour Chouicha and Djamila Loukil, respectively vice-president of the Algerian League for Human Rights (LADDH) and journalist, are being prosecuted in Algeria on suspicion of links with political Islam, which they categorically deny, calling themselves «secular». The democratic uprising that began in 2019 and which they support is increasingly described as infiltrated by Islamists. Kaddour Chouicha answered Regard Libre's questions.
GAFAM: A plea for technological pluralism
LONG-FORM ARTICLE, Jean-David Ponci | It is generally believed that, under Obama, the United States began to step back from its role as the world’s policeman. This trend has accelerated under Trump, whose «America First» slogan signals the U.S.’s withdrawal into itself. However, curiously enough, it is at the end of Trump’s term that a new global power—still in American hands—is demonstrating its strength. The GAFAM—an acronym for the major tech companies Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft—censor certain content for political reasons, revealing to a scandalized world that they are not merely service providers. This historic situation calls for reflection on the conditions necessary to guarantee freedom of expression on the Internet. Analysis.
Putting an end to anti-Trump hysteria
HUMOR BRIEFING, Antoine Bernhard | As early as 2016, the entire press - or almost all of it - made Trump its new scapegoat. It was declared over and over that he had «stolen» the American election, that he was illegitimate and that the United States was entering the darkest period of its history because of him. Four years on, the situation has hardly changed: anti-Trumpism is the only politically correct opinion. Any questioning of the majority discourse is scorned, immediately associated with the far right or conspiracy. It's time to give up this easy way of thinking.
Towards an alliance of democracies
ARTICLE LONG FORMAT, Clément Guntern | At the start of this new century, a new order is gradually taking hold: authoritarianism around the world is gaining in power, and the states claiming to be authoritarian are asserting themselves with increasing brutality. Russia and China are raising their voices and threatening reprisals against anyone who dares to criticize the state of democratic principles and human rights on their territory. While escalation with Russia remains measured, China is agitating, vituperating and sanctioning. For the time being, it is mainly on their own territories that these states are committing more and more crimes, but for powers with global ambitions, it is to be feared that this is an exportable model of governance. Democratic principles are now under direct threat. As a result, democratic states have a duty to respond firmly to authoritarian forces, while leaving the door open to collaboration.
Pierre Maudet legitimized by the people: the elites' deluded momentum
In Geneva, Pierre Maudet came second in the first round of the race for the Council of State. His former party,...
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