Political Critique Archive

“His bravery, courage and sheer drive were impressive”.

Polish films of the 1990s can hardly be called quality cinema. But they tell us a lot about the dreams, expectations and aspirations of the transition to liberal democracy.

In Belgrade, for the past month, every Saturday, citizens protests take place and try to express dissatisfaction with the political and economic course, economic perspectives, diplomatic blunders, the increasingly dangerous politics of Kosovo, and the political practice of the current ruling party… This list can certainly be continued and it seems that this list – […]

The phenomenon of the Gilets jaunes taking place in cities across France seems to have taken many in the commentariat and news media by surprise. From last Sunday’s demonstrations, it’s clear they haven’t gone away since they emerged on 17th November last year, like many in the French (and wider European) political class would have […]

It’s late December 2017, and the huge Congress Centre in Leipzig, in eastern Germany, is teeming with people walking hurriedly in every direction. Many others are sitting on long benches along the wall, or on chairs, or on the ground, but all are invariably hunched over their laptops. There are LED lights everywhere, including on […]

The end of the last century brought new hope to post-communist Slovakia, but the state’s cultural policy quickly adjusted to a capitalist mode of production. Cinema mostly did not present a critical voice in this process. Narratives in Slovak feature films remained isolated from the political situation and critical documentary was censored on public television.

In the last year and a half, Beijing has been undergoing a “beautification campaign” during which many of its streets and alleys have been changed drastically. As a part of this campaign, many bars and spaces have been closed down, moved or reopened elsewhere, which is a topic of many a conversation between its residents. […]

I met Adrien Beauduin two years ago at the Klinika cultural centre in Prague, and since last year we are colleagues at the Central European University in Budapest. For the last week, Adrien has been all over the Hungarian and international media for different reasons. During one of the protests in Budapest, sparked by the […]

It is hard to imagine what we will think about 2018 in a few years. But while we are thinking about what 2019 will bring, we have picked the Top 10 articles published on Political Critique, that our readership digged into the most:  1. Ágnes Heller: Orbán is a tyrant READ MORE 2. Romaphobia. The […]

Neoliberalism is shaping cities as places for tourism, gentrifying and dismantling the cooperative environment of the neighborhoods. Activists in Lisbon talked to us about the importance of intersectional approaches to the Right to the City, social polarization in Lisbon and transnational strategies and local daily practices of resistance. With the participation: Anabela Rodrigues – GTO […]