Most recent articles by Stefan Buchen
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Germany: Controversy surrounding journalist with Palestinian rootsThe lost honour of Nemi El-Hassan
On 10 September, WDR, the public broadcaster in Germany's most populous western state, introduced the 28-year-old journalist Nemi El-Hassan as the new presenter of its popular and respected science programme "Quarks". Then German tabloid giant "Bild" got involved and everything changed. A commentary by Stefan Buchen
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Western withdrawal from AfghanistanThe symbolic importance of the U.S. defeat
Caught up in discussions on the future of local Afghan forces and new Islamist threats, people are failing to grasp the historic scale of the debacle, argues Stefan Buchen in his essay
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Germany and the Middle East conflictA parallel universe between the Jordan and the Med
The Germans have a fragmented perception of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and their discourse is dominated by certain catchphrases. All the while, there is a danger of losing sight of reality, writes Stefan Buchen in his essay
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France, terrorism and identity politicsEmmanuel Macron's determination to pick the wrong battle
Emmanuel Macron appears to want to rekindle the old conflicts between Occident and Orient. He blusters on about a "crisis of Islam", as if oblivious to the more acute crises society is facing these days, says Stefan Buchen in his essay
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Obituary: Iranian singer Mohammad Reza ShajarianThe voice of the poets
Mohammad Reza Shajarian, the great singer of Persian music, has died at the age of 80. With his passing, the world has lost an outstanding talent and consummate artist. By Stefan Buchen
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Film review: Elia Suleiman's "It Must Be Heaven""Open the door, you ass"
Palestine is disappearing. From the international agenda, from the map, as a concept. The filmmaker Elia Suleiman from Nazareth reacts in the only possible way: using the language of the absurd, says Stefan Buchen in his review
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Refugee crisis on the Greek-Turkish borderEurope's liberal warriors put democracy to the sword
The parties at the centre of Germany's political landscape have often exhorted citizens to distance themselves from the right-wing AfD party. And yet, Europe's response to what is happening on its outer border in Greece shows that the ruling centre has itself assimilated some fundamental nationalist ideas. An essay by Stefan Buchen
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Racist attack on HanauNot the only Nazi ideologue...
The template of the mentally disturbed gunman doesn't fit. Seeing himself as a spearhead, heralding a new rise to power, the murderer of Hanau placed himself squarely in the Nazi tradition, says Stefan Buchen in his analysis
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The longest duelIran and the USA square off
The Iranian people are being held hostage by the confrontation between America and the regime in Tehran. Stefan Buchen considers in his essay whether the country's culture can still continue to flourish in the face of this latest 'high noon'
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Identity politics in the WestIslam – no longer the bogeyman
The champions of white identity are re-grouping. In the West hostility towards Islam has had its day. It is now being absorbed into common or garden racism, says Stefan Buchen in his essay
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Europe's policies in the Middle EastLate-colonial convulsions
The UK has stopped an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar. Italy and France are supporting opposing parties at war in Libya. Germany has other priorities. Europe is doing almost exactly what it did 100 years ago. An essay by Stefan Buchen
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Murder of Saudi journalist Jamal KhashoggiDonald Trump's ersatz reality
The gruesome killing of former Saudi government advisor and journalist Jamal Khashoggi will not lead to dissociation with Saudi Arabia, says Stefan Buchen in his essay. After all, the most powerful man in the West is Donald Trump, one of the murdererʹs best friends