No, because the cohesion of society itself has become an enormous challenge, and many people feel that concepts like left and right no longer make sense to them.
»The numbers have to come down.« This is the mantra we have been hearing for over a year now in response to the persistently high numbers of new arrivals in Germany seeking asylum. Nearly all political actors from one end of the country to the other have joined in the chorus. The EU-wide agreement on the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), reached in May of 2024, promised quick relief from the perceived migration problem. Nevertheless, political actors – and not just those in Germany – have been falling all over themselves to offer ever more new proposals for tightening and regimenting the entry system.
Recently, however, the head offices of German industrial firms have been sending mostly messages of gloom and doom. The specter of deindustrialization is haunting Germany! And these are not just swan songs in the media. There are real dangers afoot for what is still the world’s third-largest economy. Since 2017, we have witnessed continuing weakness in industrial production. By now many people have recognized the seriousness of the situation and are urging resolute action. There is hardly any dissension when it comes to the goal; nevertheless, two controversial topics remain: what concrete steps to take to counter the risks of deindustrialization and which instruments might be best suited to accomplish that.
In just a few weeks Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States of America. What will the consequences be? How do we make sense of and respond to what is happening in the USA right now? At the moment, it feels like we are on board a train headed at breakneck speed toward a black hole without knowing what is inside it, even though we may hazard a lot of guesses. A personal experience report.
The nation-state represents a special kind of correspondence between the state and the people it governs. Moreover, it is based on a clearly demarcated territory that both actors – the state aThat is, they function within an intended, practiced, and experiential context in which historical tales, myths, and memories as well as (usually) a common language, shared culture, and norms are central.nd its people – claim as their own. Furthermore, state and nation are linked by a national culture. Our author gives an outline of the concept of the nation from the internal formation of nations in the 19th century to the present day.
