In The News

Please Pass the Parma Ham

May 6, 2003
This New York Times editorial argues that of all the issues separating the Old and New Worlds, a food fight just seems silly. The EU's push – through the World Trade Organization – for increased protection of geographical indicators is being opposed by the US and other countries. Feta cheese, the EU's argument goes, is really Greek and should be protected as a Greek trademark....

Europe's Identity Crisis

Steven Erlanger May 5, 2003
Europe's left wing has given the right a boost. Popular liberal fears of Americanization and "coca-colonization" have fostered the belief that individual cultures are in danger of extinction. And France's extreme right is exploiting this pervasive anxiety in the current presidential elections. Though Jacques Chirac is sure to win ultimately, the neo-fascist Jean-Marie Le...

A Triumph Over the Romans Seen as the Birth of the German Nation

Hans Riebsamen May 2, 2003
Almost two thousand years ago, the Romans were marching towards Germania, intent on expanding their vast empire. In what is now Germany’s Teutoburg Forest, the region’s residents repelled the empire’s army, forcing the invaders to retreat southward for good. In the 19th century, the story became an important part of “the mythology of German nationalism”. Now, an exhibit at the Archeological...

The Roots of Anti-Americanism in Germany

Dominic Sachsenmaier April 30, 2003
Media coverage of the Iraq War varied to such an extent that viewers in the US and in Europe were left with distinctly different understandings of what was going on. Some Europeans claimed that America's 'embedded journalists' were simply 'in bed with' the US military, acting as propaganda machines for the US government. Meanwhile, massive and constant anti-war...

We're All Americans

Alfons Kaiser April 25, 2003
Anti-Americanism in Germany is widespread in the wake of the war on Iraq, and a major political rift between the US and Germany has formed. American culture has had a major impact on everyday life in Germany, however, and the Germans that condemn American politics cannot escape American music, clothing, and food. In that sense, Alfons Kaiser suggests, Germans are Americans, too. In fact,...

Saving the Remains

Nevine El-Aref April 24, 2003
When Baghdad fell, looters used the chaos to rush into the city’s museums and libraries and steal priceless ancient artifacts, including copies of the Koran, maps, and the world’s first calendar. Archaeologists around the world, furious that such important cultural objects were now lost, mounted a campaign to find them. The Arab League, in conjunction with Iraqi officials, has taken steps to...

Globalization's Challenge to Islam

Riaz Hassan April 17, 2003
The telephone, satellite television and the Internet have connected the Islamic community of 1.2 billion people across the globe. This connectivity has strengthened Muslims' sense of belonging to one community, which Islamic scholars call ummah. But it has also brought the realization that Islam, as practiced around the globe, is heterogenous. A group of Muslims in oil-rich Saudi Arabia have...