Thank you Peter for commenting on "Polyfonias" and delving into literary analyses. I would like to add to your comment on monolingualism. It seems that today we have forgotten our past when it comes to language. Our past was Babelian (but not in the sense that the myth should serve the construction of a universal... Continue Reading →
Candidate Obama signed an article in the well-known scholarly journal of international relations Foreign Affairs, July/August 2007, entitled “Common Security for our Common Humanity.” There are a few reasons why Obama can be called a cosmopolitan politician as well as his policy agenda a program for cosmopolitics. One thing that is immediately striking is that... Continue Reading →
Many things oppose Obama and McCain. Of course, on the paper--on which their programme is printed that is--not much is separating them. On many issues they agree and especially in foreign policy one would be a fool to believe that Obama would be more multilateralist than McCain. The "America interest" will always prime. However, the... Continue Reading →
I read in this week's French equivalent to Time magazine Le Point an interview of gourmet critique Christian Millau, creator of the famous restaurant guide of the best restaurants, that 'French cuisine does not exist.' Actually, it is a point of view I came up with long ago after a few thoughts based on my... Continue Reading →
I am back in France and have been staying for a month now. I left about 7-8 years ago and only came back a few days twice a year for season holidays to visit my parents. My contact with French politics was limited to following the news sporadically in the dailies, and I only kept... Continue Reading →
Will Obama be the first cosmopolitan elected official? Everything points to an affirmative answer -- on both counts. Surely, he is the first ever to be so multicultural with a Kenyan father, a US citizen mother, born in Hawaii, raised in Jakarta. He is also the first to make campaign abroad, the first who understands... Continue Reading →
So it seems that the next Olympic games will be a tremendous communication-information-sign-warfare. In this communication battle that history showed totalitarian regimes always win -- although they do not win the war -- democratic countries are most probably going to lose. Simple: most of the Western wishful-thinking amateur human rights organisations are more interested in... Continue Reading →
Senator Barck Obama was Thursday 24 July 2008 in Berlin where he delivered his much anticipated speech in front of a massive crowd. Of course the reference to "ich bin ein Berliner" was obvious and too easy to mention. He opened his speech toning down expectations, stating he was there as a simple US citizen, and a "citizen of the world." Rhetorically he is leaving it up to the media coverage to make the link: "ich bin ein Weltbürger." To my knowledge, this must be one of the very first time a politician declares so openly a cosmopolitan ideal to be his. There is certainly much to celebrate for a cosmopolitan in this speech, but I would like to present a few remarks as to the alleged cosmopolitan nature of his commitment.
Frank Ejby Poulsen 