Music and protesting have always gone hand in hand. Even Mozart once composed a six voice canon and titled it “Difficile lectu mihi mars et jonicu difficile”, which does not make much sense in Latin, but it sounds like “Kiss my arse!” in German. Why did he do it? Rumor has
Category: Politics
Sámi music and activism: a historic and contemporary struggle
The joik is the traditional music of the Sámi, the indigenous people of northern parts of the Fennoscandian Peninsula. It’s scales differ from those of Western music, it is purely vocal and if it includes instruments, it’s drums – at least that’s how it’s been for generations. Now a new
Eurovision: Can you stay away from politics?
In this edition we can see numerous examples of how music and (international) politics interlink. To date, music can be used as a way to mobilise people for the support of government organisations or revolutions. It is a means of supporting and expressing an identity, through national anthems or resistance
“Do not talk to me of […] police violence”
“He knew that the maintenance of order obeyed strict rules, dictated by political power. No police was as submissive to the State as that of M.O., it incarnated the State in its essence. The order that is to be maintained or re-established, is always that of the State. […] the
“#GejayanMemanggil”
Since mid-September, several protests have taken place in several cities in Indonesia due to current domestic political and social issues, including the controversial draft bill that is believed would threaten the freedom of the people within everyday life. A lot of the protests have turned violent. Both protesters and authorities
Politics of fertility
Is the state planning your family for you? As many political historians or demographers would confirm, state interest in the fertility of its citizens is not merely a recent phenomenon. But when can we speak of interest and where does it cross the boundary of interference? How does the state
Environmental horror and utopia
It is not even 3 a.m. as the first activists leave their tents getting ready to establish the blockade at the Großer Stern (Great Star) roundabout not far from Extinction Rebellion’s (XR) climate camp in Berlin. In the following week there will be blockades on streets and bridges, glue-ons and
Brexit: Should I stay or should I go?
There have been many movements and changes going on in international politics in past years- but much attention is also on an event that does not seem to move since more than three years- and if it moves, then not necessarily forward, but to the left and right and sometimes
Insults, provocation, net-politics: The war of words
How new populist leaders have killed the way to practice diplomacy In 2016, the election of Donald Trump, a former TV star, as head of the first global power marked a turning point on the world stage. The following past years have seen the arrival of other populist leaders in