In Central Europe, concern over toll, fairness of Amazon algorithms
Prague, Czech Republic – Trade unions are taking on algorithmic management in Amazon warehouses in Central Europe, with some success.Continue Reading
Category: Insight
What’s the latest spat between Poland and Israel really about?
The most recent Polish-Israeli diplomatic spat, which centers around Polish legislation limiting the statute of limitations on restitution claims forContinue Reading
Nord Stream 2: What’s at stake for Central and Eastern Europe?
Warsaw, Poland- The signing of the US-German deal in late July paving the way for the completion of the controversialContinue Reading
Opinion: Five reasons why Fidesz’s anti-LGBT crusade will not be successful
Anti-immigrant sentiment and overt islamophobia helped Viktor Orbán win his third consecutive term in 2018. He might find it difficultContinue Reading
Power trip: Tucker Carlson in Budapest and the allure of hypocrisy
Though the US’ borders remain closed to European visitors, waves of freshly vaccinated Americans have crossed the Atlantic for summerContinue Reading
Opinion: Taking the knee or standing, who’s racist here?
Prague, Czech Republic – Central and Eastern European societies have a reputation as countries in which more or less overtContinue Reading
V4 “Family Declaration” seen as vehicle for social conservative drive in EU
It looks like a benign, if rather anodyne, document expressing support for families. But the “Declaration Pro Familia” signed byContinue Reading
Five reasons why Slovakia should simplify its Citizenship Amendment
How exactly should Slovakia offer citizenship to its diaspora? Slovakia is currently considering this question via a new amendment toContinue Reading
The anti-liberal roots of Hungary’s anti-illiberal opposition
Budapest, Hungary – The most influential figures in the United Opposition come from two parties that once challenged Hungary’s post-communist,Continue Reading
Hungarian women seeking abortion increasingly opt for Vienna
Budapest, Hungary – Hungary, where religion has little hold on society and abortion has been legal since 1992, could almostContinue Reading
“We want to present Poland as a modern, dynamic country”
Krakow, Poland – This week, Kafkadesk spoke with Adrian Malinowski, general commissioner of the Polish Section of the Expo 2020Continue Reading
Slovakia’s boundary stones and the fluidity of Central Europe’s borders
As all pub quizzers know, the best questions are the ones which provoke debate in the teams. Here’s one thatContinue Reading
Misleading responsibility: the social impact of Poland’s so-called “Corona experts”
Warsaw, Poland – While everyone has the right to express their opinions freely, what happens when your opinions are scientificallyContinue Reading
In conspiracy-prone Czech Republic, young generations remain unconvinced by vaccine’s merits
Prague, Czech Republic – Despite a drastic decrease in vaccine scepticism, young Czechs remain unconvinced. In a country where conspiracyContinue Reading
Meet Daniel Lipsic, the new special prosecutor leading the charge against corruption in Slovakia
Bratislava, Slovakia – After many tumultuous and corruption-ridden years of politics in Slovakia under the leadership of Robert Fico’s SMER-SD,Continue Reading
Chinese espionage in Hungary: “The price of friendship”
Budapest, Hungary – A few months before Viktor Orbán’s landslide victory in May 2010, I wrote an article about “the Hungarian right’sContinue Reading
The utopia of WandaVision: an Eastern European imagination of the West
In Wanda Maximoff’s American small-town idyll based on TV-shows she watched as a kid in her post-communist homeland, I recognizedContinue Reading
Opinion: The intrepid Irena and the new era for Progressive Slovakia
Bratislava, Slovakia – In June 2020, Irena Bihariová was elected chair of the party Progresívne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia). Her appointment made historyContinue Reading
In Romania, women living in precarious conditions face restricted access to abortion
Bucharest, Romania – Although abortion has been legal in Romania since 1990, more and more doctors are refusing to performContinue Reading
Polish women face uphill battle to access abortion during pandemic
Warsaw, Poland – Polish women seeking to get an abortion have been doubly burdened in recent months by the ConstitutionalContinue Reading