Laicus: People, Religion, State
Laicus is a Latin word that means “of the people”, meaning common people and not of the clergy. This is where the French term...
The Poetics of Suffering: “ —Hypocrite lecteur, —mon semblable, —mon frère !”
It is “Au lecteur”, to his reader, that Baudelaire dedicated his 1857 anthology Les Fleurs du mal. The corrupt and shadowy corners of Parisian...
The High Cost of Looking Away: How Motivated Ignorance Fuels Authoritarianism
In times of crises—whether personal or societal—we as humans tend to avoid information in order to protect our self-beliefs and identity, consciously or subconsciously....
The Height Of Madness: The Tale of the World’s Highest Battlefield
Nestled between the world’s largest mountain range at 21,000 feet is “the Land of Abundant Roses”, or “Siachen”, a glacier in the Kashmir region...
Dangerous Connections: Social Media, Tourism and the Taliban’s Efforts to Rebrand Afghanistan
In an effort to reshape global perception of their rule, the Taliban use social media and tourism to present a sanitised image of Afghanistan....
More Than Faith: Christianity as the Cultural Bedrock of Europe
In November 2024, the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the Helsinki Chamber Choir were confronted with a shocking decision by a school principal. Their performance...
The Use of Language in Politics
“Political language”, George Orwell wrote in 1946, “is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable”. If a blunt overstatement, it is nevertheless...
A European Affair in Istanbul – An Early Look of Habsburg-Ottoman Relations
Vienna’s Gaze to the East
Empress Maria Theresia originally founded the Oriental Academy in 1754 to train Habsburg diplomats with a knowledge of the East...
The Catalan Trilemma – Language, Identity, and Power
What defines a language — the number of native speakers, the territory where it’s spoken, or its political power? This complex question raises multiple...
Shakespeare & The Globe – (No, Not the Theatre)
“As a moat defensive to a house,/Against the envy of less happier lands” wrote Shakespeare in Richard II, articulating a vision of Britain that...
