The liberal order is still a relatively young system by and large. Over millennia before the industrial revolution and the ascendancy of liberal ideas did tribalism of some sort or the other prevail. The legacy of liberal order is undeniably impressive.
How can international climate protection work if the Trumps and Bolsanaros of this world attempt to block it with all their might? Climate protection can only be achieved via joint negotiations and compromises as well as constructive cooperation between the members of the global community.
In a situation where 77% of Estonia’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from power generation and burning of fuels, while we can make changes elsewhere, the big picture will not change unless we solve the energy question.
With the rise of nationalism and hybrid forms of authoritarianism, the rights and freedoms of citizens are under assault in many corners of the globe. Unsurprisingly, among the countries with the most substantial deterioration in freedom in the last year are Angola, Venezuela, and Tajikistan.
Slovak public has recently experienced number of front-page stories about patients, who were refused payment for innovative highly expensive drugs by health insurance companies. Stories, which attracted a lot of emotions and stirred the public and which are vanguard of much bigger future troubles in public healthcare.
The current state of the Bulgarian judiciary facilitates a poor accountability of the Prosecutor General, who is essentially immune to criminal prosecution and practically cannot be suspended and dismissed from office.
Slovakia is a small country. It cannot afford to be uneducated. Still, the country has been sinking in the PISA rankings that measure “smartness” by comparing results of educational systems. Many small countries rank ahead of Slovakia.
This article shall serve as a cautionary tale about the fact that if liberal democracy collapses, even liberally-minded people may dismiss democracy and promote liberty-oriented meritocracy, which would cut off numerous citizens from politics – sometimes, for their own good.
The longer bad blood is circulating in the body, the sicker we get. The same applies to judiciary. The longer we allow politicians to control the courts, to appoint judges, pressure them, the more difficult healing the judiciary will get.
Liberalism won, no doubt about it. The world is migrating towards more freedom, more equality, and as a result less poverty and war. Nazi Germany was defeated in World War II and the Soviet Union imploded unders its horrid lies. Why don’t we feel like victors then?
