The LEGACY of WWII SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN

For a 20-something such as myself, the idea of the “lasting impact” of WWII at first glance seemed almost ridiculous, at least not worthy of mention outside of history circles. The meaning of WWII today, as discussed in the press, is different for each European country, the obvious influencing factors being geography – East versus West – and political power – Axis versus Allies. But perhaps one of the most important, lasting impacts of WWII today still has not been adequately addressed; yet, it is an issue that is seen in conflicts all over the world today.

BELGISH IDENTITY CRISIS in US ALL

The European Union has been having an identity crisis lately. It can’t decide who it should let in (is Turkey in Europe or Asia?), how united it should be (remember Ireland’s no vote to the Lisbon Treaty) and even how to go about voting. Europeans are at odds as to which direction the union should go.

Within this EU frame comes another question of identity and international relations brought up in Belgium, a country on the brink of a split.

IRELAND and ZIMBABWE’s GREATER DEBATE

I recently read an interesting article in the International Herald Tribune, in which the writer, Alan Cowell makes an “improbable comparison” between the crisis in Zimbabwe and Ireland’s rejection of a new EU treaty for reform. His argument is that both nations display different examples of a question of how much jurisdiction, if any, international coalitions should have over the sovereignty of other countries.