Martin Gak

Aug 2, 2024 | euobserver.com | William Glucroft |Martin Gak

PodcastIf Israel gets its way, the EU will be dragged kicking and screaming into global security relevance. Israel’s double-whammy assassinations of top Hizbollah and Hamas leaders is yet another drip-drip drop closer to making much of the Middle East look like Gaza. In addition to the mortifying human cost on the ground, that would have serious and scary implications for the European Union, which is once again reminded that it isn’t all that far away.

Jul 31, 2024 | euobserver.com | William Glucroft |Martin Gak

PodcastSay what you want about democracy, but at least it isn’t boring. That may be the most compelling case right now for the Churchillian worst form of governance except for all the others. Autocrats stay in power for decades, making them pretty banal, but democratic politics have become rather ossified, too.

Jul 17, 2024 | euobserver.com | William Glucroft |Martin Gak

A would-be assassin’s bullet didn’t have to kill Donald Trump to fundamentally change the course of the 2024 presidential election in the United States. The incident itself is just the most recent and highest profile example of an apparent increased willingness to resort to political violence. The European Union already felt that in the weeks before its parliamentary elections, as several candidates were the victims of verbal or physical assault.

Jul 16, 2024 | frenchdispatch.eu | Martin Gak |Julien Hoez

Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. I had the great pleasure to have a fun chat with Martin Gak over at Inconclusive Thoughts, where we covered Communications, the need for better civic education to preserve democracy and republican values, and how we hold people's feet to the fire over their knowledge and what they say.

Jul 12, 2024 | euobserver.com | William Glucroft |Martin Gak |Piet Ruig

The results are in and France has gotten itself into a bit of a mess. But seeing that the alternative would have been getting itself deeper into the far right, I guess we can call that a win. But not call it a day — because now comes the hard part. Like most centrist liberals, Emmanuel Macron is no fan of lefty ideas. The left, for its part, is not great at keeping its parts together. So this is definitely a talk-amongst-yourselves moment for all parties involved.