Free trade – no silver bullet for Hungary
Free trade might boost global economic growth, but it can have devastating effects on those who are not prepared for it. At the end of the day, a country needs [...]
Region eastern-europe
Ukraine should boost its competitiveness before starting free trade
The Transatlantic Free-Trade Agreement (TAFTA) has a lot of American supporters as the USA expects to get the maximum profit from this deal. Former NATO secretary-general Javier Solana, now a [...]
Polish economic migrants: Thank you for having us!
I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to all of you: English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch, Belgians, Germans, Americans, Swedes, Norwegians, Spaniards, Italians and all other nations for receiving my countrymen. Maybe you know, [...]
Macedonia: Forget Your Native Language, Learn English!
Macedonians know that hardly any foreigner will learn Macedonian. It is the language of only two million people so mastering it doesn’t bring all that many benefits. Macedonians also know [...]
In Travel We Trust: A Way of Life for Many Russians
‘Where are you from?’ is the first question everyone asks you. It’s a question I can’t stand. Explaining my origins and identity takes a long time. Why? Well, I [...]
The European Union: Irrational Fears Prevent Labour Mobility from Increasing Aggregate Welfare
Although primarily an economic union forged with the aim of bringing long-lasting peace to a continent devastated by bloody wars, the European Union soon became an identity-centered construct. European citizenship [...]
The Stat(u)e Joke: Romania’s Failed Tax System
There’s an old Communist-era joke that neatly sums up the way most Romanians think about the relationship between the state and the individual. It hinges on a play on words [...]
Notes on global migration from a small Slovak village
In the village where I’m living you can meet people from different nations. Mostly Slovaks and Hungarians. A few Czechs, Serbs, some Vietnamese and Chinese. Sometimes Gypsies. And also someone of [...]
The Challenges of Fixing the Hungarian Brain Drain
As ever more Hungarians decide to leave the country, Hungary faces a creeping social crisis. Who will replace those young talents who emigrate? And what effect will this have on [...]
The Loneliness of Responsibility: Negotiating Womanhood in Sarajevo Today
Riding the subway in Chicago recently, I saw an advertisement for the popular American television show “Two and a Half Men.” The punch line of the ad was “men will [...]
Suitcase without a handle
Sasha and I were colleagues in university. He was a mediocre student. After graduation I didn’t manage to find any work paying more than 30 euro a month. So I [...]
Roses are Red, but I am Blue: Reflections from Bosnia after International Women’s Day
After surviving a war and struggling through university while living away from home in Sarajevo without financial support, I thought I had finally made it to somewhat safer ground when [...]
20 Revolutionary Men
Look at any TV report about a business forum in Macedonia, a chamber of industry and commerce convention, a government session, a high level political meeting or a conference of [...]
The Western Balkans: A social contract in transition
In the middle of March in Brussels about 40 representatives of civil society from European Union candidate countries (South-East Europe, Turkey and Iceland) attended the European Commission study tour “Direct [...]
Governments and citizens status: it’s complicated
I have been mulling over how to frame my thoughts about the ‘relationship trouble’ between the people and the institutions that govern them. On FutureChallenges, Corina Murafa phrased a very [...]
Roma in Bulgaria: a neglected abandoned minority
At the moment Bulgaria is governed by a caretaker government appointed by the president because the ruling party GERB resigned at the end of February after a series of country-wide [...]
The Ballad of Warm Tap Water
Young Poles do not seek to redefine their relationship with the state. At least not all of them and not fundamentally. As Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said in an [...]
Breastfeeding vs. Breadwinning
Decades into the fight for equality in the workplace, policies for women keep failing. A drawing released this year by the European Parliament shows a bleak picture of so-called equality: [...]
The era of “The State should give me” must end
Imagine the public budget as a big cake. The biggest slices cover expenses for pensions, education, unemployment benefits, medical insurance, social assistance, etc. Together they make up the components of [...]
Serbia: Campaigning for equality at work and a decent life
The Serbian labor market is beset by huge problems. They include violations of workers’ rights in many forms, but one particularly entrenched problem is gender-based discrimination in the labor market [...]
Ladies in waiting
Writer Charles Bukowski didn’t lose his virginity until he was 24. Troubled by a difficult home life and disfigured by extreme acne, the young Bukowski’s love life was almost non-existent. [...]
What will our children think about gender?
Whether there is a desired role for women in a specific society or not, social exaggeration is always possible. Below, I’d like to give two examples from Northern and Central [...]
Russia: doubling the labor of modern women
Only once a year do all the major news sources, magazines and TV programs talk about women. On March 8, many Russian women will be excused from household duties. [...]
Who is actually the weaker sex?
When celebrating the so-called “weaker sex” on women’s day, one should also think about those questions that are surfacing with the changing role of women in society. As the example [...]
The Loss of Womanhood
The first Olena is 30 years old and she “renders cleaning services”. “Please, don’t take picture of me working, better snap my place of work. Look there! I even don’t [...]
