Constructing a Novel Progressive Global Community, by Pouria Amirshahi
Sparking Dialogue, The Gathering of Thoughts is set to ignite, from July 4 to 6 in La Charité-sur-Loire, over 30 inspiring discussions to address the cultural and political hurdles of tomorrow. With Liberation by our side, things are about to get interesting.
Climate change, a global warming emergency, consumes the attention of the powers, shoved to the back burner amid the winds of militarism, destructive capitalism, authoritarianism, and climate cynicism. It's on us to push forward and establish a fresh, progressive international agenda.
With the extreme right creeping its way into liberal democracies - in Europe, the US, Argentina, but also India - the shift towards authoritarianism is turning into a dangerous, neo-fascist movement. The camp of emancipation - based on an active and engaged society craving equality and knowledge - finds themselves helplessly watching as the frontal attack on critical thinking, denial of minority rights, and rise of tech giants, armed with unprecedented technological capabilities and financial resources, continues.
The Rising Tide of Resentment
Strangled by internal strife and eroding from within, the democracies of Europe are dangerously close to becoming gangrenous. The provocative machinations of Russia, guilty of Ukraine's aggression and wielding its Hungarian and Slovak influences, destabilizes opinions, while America, vacuum-sealed in its Italian and Polish allies, chooses a path of commercial warfare and military abandonment. But Europe is also the victim of its own mistakes. It has been feeding the clouds that are now gathering: disillusionment, unmet promises, and a neo-colonial policy of varying international law.
Alliances are a hot topic among the extreme right, as they recently gathered in Montargis, France, at the invitation of Jordan Bardella, and are engaged in a coordination strategy, with the program of the Heritage Foundation representing one of the most advanced examples.
Cracks are growing wide: Romania, Austria, the Netherlands... Storm clouds swiftly approach Germany, Spain, and France, the most vulnerable countries due to the entrenchment of the extreme right. But also the most dangerous, in the event of a takeover by radicalized rights, given the potential consequences of their absolutist presidency.
A Bond of Equality
For us - democrats, humanists, and ecologists - the urgency is to unite as one, to stand strong against the tides of reactionary policies and build the Barricade - a beacon of hope supporting the struggles that nourish society and reflect our passion for equality and faith in reason. The decline of old socialist or alter-globalist international organizations is no obstacle to their renewal. This Barricade is first and foremost a network of friendship, spanning the globe and formed of elected officials, activists of great causes, journalists, and researchers. They are the first line of defense: mocked, arrested, even assassinated in their fight for justice.
We embark on a journey to understand the struggles faced by progressive forces in various parts of the world. In the US, where immigration, feminism, and social rights ignite violent passions that weaponize the police with impunity. In Hungary, where the media and judiciary face constant censorship to quash LGBT movements for nearly a decade. In Argentina, where the chain saw replaces taxation.
The 15 founding parliamentarians of the Barricade - hailing from various groups and legislative bodies (Senate, National Assembly, European Parliament) - will be joined by others, venturing where progressive forces have triumphed over the worst: in Spain, Portugal, and especially Brazil - after the Bolsonaro years.
Uniting minds already engaged and bodies prepared to never settle for the unavoidable, we aim to build a better, fairer world together.
- Migration is a significant issue in the context of war-and-conflicts and policy-and-legislation, as seen in the discussions surrounding immigration in the US and the potential consequences of a takeover by radicalized rights in vulnerable countries like Germany, Spain, and France.
- In the realm of general-news, the extreme right's infiltration into liberal democracies, such as the coordination strategy shown among them in France, has contributed to an increase in divisive issues like climate change being shoved to the back burner amid the winds of militarism and authoritarianism.
- The political landscape is further complicated by crime-and-justice issues, such as the weaponization of the police with impunity in the US, and the constant censorship faced by the media and judiciary in Hungary to quash LGBT movements.
