Kamen acerca del entusiasmo europeo por Obama

El historiador británico Henry Kamen expresa en el periódico El Mundo su asombro de que muchos críticos europeos de los EE.UU. estén de repente entusiamados por el candidato a la presidencia de los demócratas estadounidenses, Barack Obama: "Cuando falta menos de un mes para que se celebren las elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos, es oportuno preguntarse por qué existe la tendencia en sectores de la prensa europea de presentar al senador de Illinois, Barack Obama, como un nuevo salvador del Occidente. El presidente del Gobierno español ha declarado que le gustaría que éste ganara, pero sería interesante saber por qué él, como antiamericano convencido, expresa de repente interés en los candidatos que se presentan al público americano. ¿Por qué tantos europeos, antes hostiles a América, ponen ahora sus esperanzas en Obama? ... Obama no ha conseguido nada significativo en su muy corta carrera política, y tal vez sea ese el motivo de su atractivo. ... El propósito de este artículo – escrito desde un Estado donde la intención de los votantes está dividida casi por un igual entre los dos principales candidatos – es el de sugerir que Obama probablemente no sea el salvador que aparece en la prensa europea (y, por supuesto, la española). En la práctica, casi nada diferencia a Obama de McCain."

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política interior, » España, » Europa, » EE.UU.

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Settlement of conflicts in court?

British historian Henry Kamen uses the case of the arrest of Radovan Karadžić, the former leader of the Bosnian Serbs, to examine the question of whether the sentencing of an alleged war criminal before the International Court of Justice can help to resolve a conflict. "The sentence against Karadžić, who is held responsible for the deaths of 20,000 people, was an important symbolic gesture. But will it resolve the causes for the bloody conflict in Bosnia? ... One suspects that the trial in The Hague is little more than a Roman Circus Maximus in which the persecutors isolate and destroy their prey. The judges who condemn him will demonstrate that they have defended civilisation against barbarism. We can sleep more peacefully and wait until the next regional leader in some remote corner of the world provides us with a new Banja Luka, a new Srebrenica. Once again a world power, perhaps this time under Obama's leadership, will march into a country. And when it's all over only the regional leader will be sentenced before the International Court of Justice. And once again we can sleep peacefully knowing that another war criminal has been caught."

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » EE.UU., » Sudeste de Europa, » Serbia

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Henry Kamen wonders whether Spain is really a nation

Henry Kamen, a British historian specialising in Spain, considers whether the Spanish national anthem should be given lyrics, adding to the current debate that is preoccupying the country. "What is clear is that the lyrics of an anthem should reflect an agreement on values both loved and hated. For the Spanish, who have never believed in patriotism and prefer to fight among themselves rather than against others, these shared values do not exist. Basically, there is no feeling of being a united nation and it is consequently impossible to agree on an anthem. ... Maybe the subject should first be submitted to a referendum. The Spanish should be asked if they think they are a nation and is if they should as a consequence have an anthem like in any other country. If they answer that they don't feel they are a nation, then the subject should be closed, since this would mean they have no desire to sing about an identity that doesn't exist."

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » España

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Henry Kamen on the risks of multiculturalism

For British historian and essayist Henry Kamen "the terrorist threat observed in the recent days in the United Kingdom reveals the fragility of a society that calls itself multicultural. When one culture lives inside another, what identity do citizens have? To which culture should they pay allegiance ... When a society moves from being monocultural, as England was in the 1950s, to being multicultural huge problems are created and it is difficult to solve them. Coexistence between cultures always involves potential risk ... Society might indeed seem richer because diverse, but it also becomes poorer if it is unable to obtain a certain form of loyalty, a condition that is essential for a stable society."

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Desarrollo demográfico, » Gran Bretaña

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Kamen welcomes Fukuyama's evolution

The British historian Henry Kamen welcomes the way in which his American colleague Francis Fukuyama has gone back over certain themes he developed in his 1992 book, 'The End of History and the Last Man'. "In lieu of his initial belief in neoconservatism, he now offers us an alternative that he nicknames Wilsonian realism, a reference to a president who became well-known for his commitment to global understanding. ... This evolution is important since it appears similar to that of American opinion. The Unites States is an extremely complex society and shifts in opinion only come about very slowly. The dissatisfaction created by the war in Iraq is yet to penetrate the fabric of daily American politics since Americans are still overcome by the traumatism of Islamic fundamentalism. And they will need more time to succeed, like Fukuyama, in reconsidering their views."

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Global