Tales of the world episode 20 – Why James Bond is an awesome pundit
His name is Bond. James Bond, and although he did not study International Relations in Geneva (Ian Fleming studied languages here, though), he can certainly teach us a thing or two about the...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 21 – US & China elections – window on our Bizarro...
Dear friends, the U.S. presidential elections and the Chinese legislative ones are a window into a Bizarro world of our own making, right here on Earth! And Maria-Antonietta brings us a story of...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 22 – Europe and Syria, a tale of two crises
It was the best of times/It was the worst of times/It was the spring of hope/It was the winter of despair… Dickens was writing about the French revolutionary period, but he might as well have written...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 23 – Give in to contradictions
As Christmas and the New Year approach, Tales of the world makes a scandalous proposal for the new year resolutions lists: instead of trying to be better, let us try to be more honest and embrace the...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 24 – Le monde vu en français et en anglais
Pour sa première édition en langue française, Tales of the world introduit un titre français – la chronique de politique internationale avec un grain de sel – et vous propose de réfléchir à ce que cela...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 25 – 50 years since the Treaty of Elysée: The...
On the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Elysée between Germany and France, Tales of the world is wondering if it is not more illuminating to see the Franco-German couple for what it really is : a...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 26 – Pride and Prejudice: 200 years and counting
Elizabeth Bennett is 200 years old this week, as we celebrate the publication of the first edition of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Although much has changed since the early 1800s in England,...
View ArticleTales of the world épisode 27 – La vie comme une BD
Tintin, Titeuf, Superman et Wonderwoman, les héros de notre enfance, laissent la place dans les BDs contemporaines à des personnages plus liés à la réalité, mais tout aussi percutants et émouvants que...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 28 (part I) – Of memory and DNA – Richard III,...
We have grown fond of confirming the existence of our selves and others’ via DNA proof and traceability. As societies increasingly rely on physical evidence required to ascertain and entrench what we...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 28 (part II) – History, memory and newsmaking
How does news travel and what does the media make of it? And we, the public, following the rollercoaster of titles and call-outs, what are we left with when this all subsides? Lend Tales of the world...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 29 – Entre roman russe et télénovela – vie et mort...
Les formes littéraires d’un espace culturel peuvent-elles donner un aperçu sur la culture politique d’un pays? La mort de Hugo Chàvez le 5 mars 2013, le même jour que celle de Staline en 1953, est...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 30 – Carnival and tragedy – international affairs...
History repeats itself first as tragedy, then as farce, said Marx in his 18th of Brumaire of Louis Napoleon. With contradictions and paradoxes as the daily lot of countries and relations between them,...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 31 – De la littérature et de l’économie
Cette semaine il s’agira d’économie et de littérature : qu’est-ce qu’elles peuvent bien nous dire quand on les met ensemble ? «Je porte donc humblement à l’attention du public cette proposition : sur...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 32 – Errare humanum est, perseverare diabolicum
When a coding error in an oft-quoted economic paper supporting austerity turns out to be more of a thinking habit than a random slip of research, it is time to reflect on a latin proverb taken right...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 33 – Mode et politique, bureaux de style et think...
Nous savons bien que la mode réussit à amener ensemble les individus les plus différents les uns des autres, et, dans ce climat de crise, les bureaux de style qui régissent le monde de la mode s’en...
View ArticleTales of the world 34 – The Western state, a virtuous racketeer?
Life is contradictory, and so are politics and state making. Let us not forget how modern states came about. It is a useful reminder in times of crisis, when we need to ask the questions that will push...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 35 – Taksim, qu’y-a-t-il dans une place?
Alors que nous avons le plus grand mal à comprendre et définir les phénomènes de résistance politique et autre se mettant peu à peu en place à travers le monde, les événements de la place Taksim à...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 36 – Of (political) ideas, their history and their...
As any self-respecting chronicle, Tales of the world is taking a break during July and August during which it will explore new sources of inspiration. And so, it invites you to meditate on the uses of...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 37 – De l’avenir de nos rêves
Et voilà, la conclusion de la saison française de Tales of the world arrive, elle aussi en ligne. Pour garder le lien avec le ton poétique et joueur de la chronique, voilà un billet réaliste et rêveur...
View ArticleTales of the world episode 38 – A dream of integrity and optimism
Welcome to a new Tales of the World season. Its main characters are back: the State, politics, international affairs, the individual, culture, and literature are ready for new developments and story...
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