NIKOS KONSTANDARAS

A winter of decisions on Ukraine

Ukraine might not be in the news as much as Gaza these days, but its war against the Russian invaders is at a crucial point.

Munger, Kissinger and the American Century

Two centenarians who died on consecutive days last week personify the American Century. Charlie Munger, born in the US heartland of Nebraska, became a billionaire; Henry Kissinger, a German-Jewish refugee, came to dominate the superpower’s foreign policy.

30.11.2023 / 12:32

Pocket parks and deep pockets of greed

As the climate crisis worsens and our country finds itself on the frontline, we need to look at what we are doing – as a state and as citizens – to change our behavior, to limit the damage we are causing the environment and to adapt to the consequences of our failure.

24.11.2023 / 21:16

While the center sleeps

The election triumph of far-right politician Geert Wilders in the Netherlands – irrespective of whether this is enough for him to become prime minister – is yet another warning that however many serious challenges the European Union faces from outside, the greatest danger lies within its walls.

21.11.2023 / 21:47

The day after an unpredictable present

No one can know what the “day after” in the Middle East will look like, as no one knows how today’s cycle of violence will end.

17.11.2023 / 21:33

Memories are the message

Fifty years after the student uprising at the Athens Polytechnic, the anniversary’s meaning has been whittled down to what it will remain in history – an act of self-sacrifice, a spontaneous collision of youth with tyranny.

10.11.2023 / 21:37

Israel’s difficult missions

Each day that passes without an easing of the bloodshed in Gaza, the more hearts harden in the region and across the globe. Until Thursday, neither side in the conflict wanted to make a gesture of good will.

03.11.2023 / 21:18

Turkey’s centenary

Until early 2023, it seemed that Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey was set to celebrate the 100 years since its founding on October 29 with an emphasis on how the founders “threw the Greeks into the sea.”

27.10.2023 / 21:50

Murdering the moderates

There can be no doubt that the Hamas terrorists had been instructed to inflict as much horror on anyone they found before them on October 7, irrespective of who they were.

20.10.2023 / 22:31

Fruitless anger and abstention

Greece’s demographic problem is not limited to the fact that deaths outnumber births.

16.10.2023 / 09:56

Energy security and geopolitics

The explosion of violence in Israel and Gaza has compounded the challenges already caused by the climate crisis, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, hostilities in the Southern Caucasus region and the production and supply chain problems, high prices and inflation, all long-term symptoms of the pandemic.

13.10.2023 / 21:23

Hubris and its price

Arrogance leads us not only into doing whatever we wish, it also makes us believe that others will act as we want them to.

06.10.2023 / 21:06

Research or inertia?

Some things never change. Politicians may promise and brag, news media may report breathlessly on any inch of progress, and legions of people distinguished in their fields may devote money, time and their reputation to the cause, but Greece seems unable to invest seriously in research and innovation.

29.09.2023 / 21:22

Kasselakis’ ‘Greek dream’ challenge

It is too early to know what impact Stefanos Kasselakis will have on political life and society. Will he be good for SYRIZA or will the party fall apart?

22.09.2023 / 21:20

The Kasselakis mystery

The surprise lies not so much an unknown young man presenting himself as the savior of our politics, but that he nearly achieved his aim of being elected leader of the official opposition in the first round of voting.