Sommaren är äntligen här på riktigt och ännu ett verksamhetsår har nått sitt slut. Under 2009/2010 har vår redaktion gjort sitt bästa för att ge er, våra läsare, en så djup och allsidig bevakning av internationella frågor som möjligt. Just nu är redaktionen på sommarlov i några månader för att samla krafter och få ny energi inför hösten. Från oss redaktörer och från hela redaktionen vill vi tacka er, våra läsare, för denna tid och hoppas att ni fortsätter följa oss när vi kickar igång igen i september! Glad sommar!

EMMY HARLID, SARA LARSSON

Photo: Evka Benkova

 UPF’s 75th anniversary this year brought about some discussions within the web magazine’s editorial staff on Sweden’s foreign policy during the past 75 years, but also about the world’s actual views on Sweden. It is difficult to find representative impartial information about how Sweden is perceived in different countries, but in writing this article, we have taken advantage of living in a University town with people from all over the world. Every year, more than 2000 international students come to Lund to study here. There are many reasons why they come and they have many different ideas about life in Sweden. Being foreign students ourselves, we were wondering how students from different parts of the world perceive this part of Northern Europe. Therefore, we have asked some of them how they have viewed Sweden before and after they came here. We know that the opinions we collected reflect subjective experiences. Still, they provide an interesting view on Sweden through a ‘human’ kaleidoscope. (more…)

Photo: Björn Suomivuori

This is the second part of the Darius Rejali interview, a political science professor at Reed College. This robust American is not shy in his words of expertise. In this part he talks about the Obama administration, professional interrogation, how the media affects the perception of torture and much more!

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Photo: Björn Suomivuori

Darius Rejali is a political science professor at Reed College, Oregon. What makes him interesting is his incredible insight into the theories behind torture, out of a social scientific perspective. His book Torture and Democracy has been called “Scars and Stripes” by Financial times. This robust Yankee made quite an impression; beneath his charismatic shell lies a pure academic with the solutions that will put an end to democratic states’ use of torture, simple but politically impossible to achieve.  He argued in a calm and well structured way, easily convincing anyone. In this first part of the interview he talks generally about torture, how states justify its implementation and many more interesting things!

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Den 26 april läckte den brittisk-lankesiska artisten M.I.A.:s senaste video, Born Free, ut på internet via videons regissör Romain Gavras. Under de dryga tre veckor som har passerat har videon snabbt blivit sedd av miljoner och länkats runt på diverse sociala medier. I fokus ligger den nio minuter långa videons stötande innehåll, där framförallt grovt våld står i centrum. Videons kritiker har lyft fram det ofokuserade meningslösa våldet, medan de som är positivt inställda till den har hyllat dess raka våldskritik. Vad vill egentligen en erkänt politiskt medveten artist som M.I.A. framhäva med en chockerande video som kallats den mest våldsamma på flera år? Den 17 maj var det ett år sedan LTTE-gerillan lade ner sina vapen och Sri Lankas inbördeskrig kom till sitt slut, vilket gör en fördjupning i den tamilska minoritetens främsta talesperson i populärkulturen än mer aktuell.

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Beijing National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is right around the corner and next in line of those globally celebrated arrangements of tremendous economic, political and cultural proportions commonly referred to as “mega-events”. But much as they are applauded, and often rightly so, for their potential as global collective experiences and sources of unity, it has become clearer with every iteration of these events that their societal impact is bound to comprise some gloomy aspects. One issue that has been plaguing mega-events for several decades now is that of far reaching violations of housing rights, encumbering nationals of the host countries.

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Society is broken - that’s the primary opinion on the state of affairs a British Conservative of today is supposed to hold. It is also the title of the Conservative election manifesto of 2010 and the image Conservatives have sought to establish in the country’s voting population. The general election of May 6 (the final result of which is still at this moment to be determined) was one between a Labour Party which after thirteen years in government appears tired and short of tempting reform proposals on the one hand. On the other there was a Conservative Party bursting of ideas for the, in their own words, extremely urgent improvement of a society broken by the long leadership of before mentioned party. And, surprisingly, on the third (!) hand there was the Liberal Democrats, Britain’s third largest party which finds itself in a never before seen position.

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