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European commonalities and perspectives

Culture as the basis for peace and prosperity

by Wolfgang Bittner,* Germany

(12 September 2023) After a few years of thaw in German-Russian relations and an initially still pale sun of peace and prosperity had penetrated the dark clouds, there is once again an acute cold war due to the war in Ukraine after 24 February 2022, which can quickly turn into a hot war. Aggression that threatens the very existence of Europe continues to be fomented, Russia is permanently provoked, and it does not look as if this tragedy of the century will soon come to an end and the peoples of Europe will return to their commonalities. At present, the opposite is the case; strong centrifugal forces and divergent political ideas are increasingly leading to conflicts, also within the European states.
Book review

Digital Media – “Loss of Reality”

Joachim Bauer* warns of the psychological consequences of digitalisation

by J. J. Wehrli

(12 September 2023) In his latest publication, “Loss of Reality – How AI and the virtual world take possession of us and threaten humanity”,1 physician and psychotherapist Joachim Bauer deals with the influence of digital media. His core thesis: virtual worlds and social media enable, if not downright promote, an escape from the real world. As a result, humanity and thus all of society suffers.

Russia, China have a shared vision for North Korea

by M. K. Bhadrakumar,* India

(12 September 2023) The three-day state visit on July 25-27 by Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu, accompanied by a military delegation, to Pyongyang is the first-ever such high-level visit from Moscow in the post-Soviet era.

No propaganda – no war

“Cognitive Warfare” against one’s own population

by Robert Seidel

(5 September 2023) If you want to gain an orientation in today’s world, you must learn to distinguish and assess information more accurately. The debate about “fake news” has shown that not all information can be taken at face value. However, not every item of “fake news” is actually a fake. Since the Ukraine war, it has obviously been a question of the prerogative of interpretation in the minds of one’s own population. The people in the individual states are to be mobilised for this war – which has now taken on a global proportion.

The new El Dorado for cocaine traffickers

Cocaine does not seem affected by inflation. Here's why.

by Celine Pina,* France

(5 September 2023) As with our European neighbours, cocaine is now available at bargain prices in our cities and countryside. Imported in bulk, it ceased to be a luxury product. But its disturbing power of corruption and destruction has not diminished.

The UN Charter must remain the heart and soul of any new peace architecture

Michael von der Schulenburg,* Germany

(5 September 2023) This article is a contribution to the German peace movement’s pamphlet on the occasion of this year’s “Anti-War Day on September 1”. On this day, 84 years ago, the German Reich marched into Poland and ignited the Second World War, bringing indescribable destruction, misery and suffering to Europe and the world.