This text covers my experience writing a PhD in a mid-career phase of my life. The experience is of course specific to me, but it might help other people contemplating this move. I sometimes sought such reflections online, when I felt lost, and rarely found anything useful.
I have not yet defended my dissertation (that will happen on 26 January 2023) so it may be a bit premature to share this experience, but whatever the result of my defence, the trajectory leading to it will remain the same.
Over the past years, most of my visits to contemporary art exhibitions have ended in disappointment. I consider myself an ex-curator: after my last show in 2015 I decided to step out of the art world. I usually tell people I enjoyed working with artists but increasingly disliked the art world, in both its commercial and institutional aspects. But this Biennale has left me inspired and hopeful for the art world – reviving my old hope that artists give creative expression to the deep undercurrents of collective development, giving an indication of where we are heading. This impression was left especially by “The Milk of Dreams” show curated by Cecilia Alemani, but surprisingly also by many of the national pavilions and some of the collateral events.
On 11 May, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke for one hour, through video connection, to the students of Sciences Po; students from other universities were also present. It appears to be the first time Zelensky addresses foreign students since the war began.
Screenshot of Zelensky speaking to students of Sciences Po. Banner image above: excerpt of work by the Ukrainian-born Israeli artist Zoya Cherkassky (Courtesy WithDraw the War: Art Fundraiser for Ukraine)
Noting that he had been briefed that at the end of his speech, five students would be allowed to ask a question, he said he found that a bit unfair towards other students, and that he preferred a dialogue. In his 15 minutes introductory speech, Zelensky asked a few pointed questions to the political science students:
Alors les Français, vous avez voté? Avez-vous l’impression d’avoir participé démocratiquement à élire votre président? Ou alors vous sentez que vous avez été roulé dans la farine? C’est quoi cette farce? Pourquoi on appelle ça une ‘démocratie’?
Pour commencer, on savait depuis longtemps que Macron sera élu pour un nouveau mandat. Tout le monde était d’accord là-dessus. Donc vous savez déjà qui sera votre prochain président: le même que l’actuel. Voilà pour votre capacité d’élire votre chef d’état.
Le spectacle à la télé est en continu, on analyse, on donne des consignes de vote, on spécule sur le second tour, même si on sait déjà qui va le gagner. La démocratie, c’est devenu ça: ce spectacle. Selon les règles de jeu, vous, les Français, vous devez vous rattacher à un des groupes identitaires qu’on appelle ‘partis’. Si vous ne le faites pas on vous accusera de ne pas vous intéresser à la politique, ou de ne pas croire en la démocratie. Voilà pour les 26% qui n’ont pas voté aujourd’hui. Votre refus d’aller voter n’est pas pris pour un geste politique, mais ‘anti-démocratique’, et vous vous êtes mis hors-jeu.
I have come to Khartoum for a cultural mapping. The European Union has decided to expand its support of the Sudanese cultural sector. The EU, wired to support the state of Sudan, has no partner to work with since the military coup of Oct 25, five months ago: it does not recognize the military government. After several months of efforts to help reconstitute a civilian government, the EU delegation in Sudan has decided to increase its assistance program towards the support of civil society. One of the components of civil society is the cultural sector, supported over the past years through EUNIC. I am glad that sometimes the European Union does use its money wisely. My goal is to help them invest strategically into the cultural sector, in a way that builds it up instead of making it dependent on external funding.
As a result I’m in an intense round of consultations with all kinds of actors in this sector. Artists, directors of private organizations, commercial or non-benefit, institutions, researchers… everybody is speaking about the political and economic crisis, and are thinking about what the cultural sector can do to contribute to an outcome. In the following I will present some of their views on the double failure of the state and the economy, and how they are reacting to this crisis now. But first an explanation about the current situation in Sudan.
The five posts below are the first of a new series called ‘A Plan for the Future’ which I’m publishing on substack. Please sign up here.
1. Time to replace the state
10 March 2022
The world is going up in flames, but our states are getting ready to fight each other. It is time we humans reorganize to get rid of our states. The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change really pulls on the alarm bell, but our governments seem not to be listening. We should be radically cutting our emissions, reorganizing the global economy and preparing for extreme climate events. Instead, Western governments are rearming, getting ready to pump even more greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, reallocating funds to armies and warfare and doing nothing to curb the growing inequalities in the global economy.
For the full article (in French) see The Conversation here. I also gave a 20-minute interview in French on the Belgian Radio programme ‘Au Bout du Jour’ by Eddy Caekelberghs on 28 Feb 2022 (link here)
Il y a trente ans, tandis que la Somalie sombrait dans la guerre civile, la partie nord-ouest du pays a fait sécession. Elle s’est déclarée indépendante sous le nom de Somaliland. Depuis, ce pays a construit un État, un ordre démocratique, sa propre monnaie et une économie. Il a surtout connu la paix, à la différence de la Somalie voisine.
Le Somaliland, grand comme la moitié de la France, est peuplé de trois à quatre millions de personnes. Il commande une position stratégique sur les rives sud du Golfe d’Aden, une des zones majeures du transit maritime mondial.
Depuis trente ans, ce pays cherche la reconnaissance diplomatique, en tant que bon voisin et en respectant les règles internationales. Pourtant, il n’est pas reconnu. Pourquoi ?
Le marché du bétail à Aynabo. Robert Kluijver, Fourni par l’auteurContinue reading →
The international intervention in Afghanistan since 2001 has been an outright disaster. After twenty years of chaos and warfare, the Taliban have returned to power. NATO members spared no expense: despite the most sophisticated warfare technology and special forces straight out of a Hollywood movie, they were defeated by men with Kalashnikovs on motorbikes. The US invested a trillion US dollars, and the rest of the world probably an equivalent amount, but the Afghan economy is in shambles and its population on the brink of starvation. Where did that money go? Not a single person in a prominent position in Western countries has been held accountable for what appears to be a giant scam, mostly in favour of the US Defense Industry and the private military sector.
Instead, the people and institutions involved in Afghanistan have moved on, and one barely hears about the country any longer. Whatever happens there now is considered the fault of the new government. Has anybody paused to think about this disaster, and try to draw some lessons from it? A public process in the democratic arena whereby accountability is sought and responsibilities assigned would help, at the very least, prevent a similar catastrophe occurring somewhere else.
There are other good reasons to reflect about what happened in Afghanistan. A new type of state has emerged within the current world order, and it may soon be joined by others. Simply ignoring it – ‘Don’t Look Down’ – is not a solution, nor is dealing with it by military means or by cutting it off from global financial circuits. A growing community of global citizens disenchanted with the current world order (not only ‘jihadis’) are extracting lessons from this defeat. That they cannot be seen or heard in Western centres of power (including mainstream media) does not mean they don’t exist.
Today I tried to send money by Western Union to a friend in Afghanistan. At their office on Louise square, Brussels, I was told that the Afghan government had banned transfers to the country. The director came to confirm that it had been a decision of the Taliban; the employee shook his head sadly in commiseration with the Afghans. Later I managed to transfer the amount on the company’s online platform. It was just not possible in dollars anymore, only in the local currency. That makes sense, because there are not so many dollars left in Afghanistan, and they are needed to buy things from abroad – such as food. Edit 10 November: my donation arrived in the Afghan bank but my friend had to come every day to stand in line, and each time he was told the money was there but they had no cash to pay him out. After three weeks I recalled the money and then sought out an Afghan money trader in Belgium that could send the money to my friend through the hawala system. Transfer costs are a bit lower than with Western Union and my friend could pick up the money from Kabul’s money market the same day.
The EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, said in a press statement this afternoon that a serious lessons learnt exercise was needed within the EU to reflect on the results of twenty years of statebuilding efforts. He also stated the EU should engage the new Taliban government (underlining it is not the same as recognizing them), overriding some member states who rather not even talk to the Taliban. He congratulated Europe on increasing the humanitarian aid available to Afghans to 200 million Euros. The Taliban government, in turn, yesterday thanked the world for the 1.2 billion USD pledged in Geneva to aid Afghanistan. But no European aid will be delivered through the Afghan government. The Ministries of Education, Health, Rural Development and others will have insufficient funds to confront the looming crisis.
A camp in the outskirts of Kabul for people displaced by the fighting in Southwest Afghanistan, visited in 2013. Photo by the authorContinue reading →
As the dust settles after the Taliban takeover of the Afghan government, diplomats, donors and aid agencies are already wondering: how will we deal with the new government? I argue here that the West should engage the Taliban for the sake of the Afghan population.
Street view in Kabul’s old city, near Asheqan wa Arefan; 2013 (photo by author)
The EU has stopped its development aid, as have USAID and other major Western donors. This aid provided more than half of the Afghan government’s budget and no Western donor wants to appear to be propping up the Taliban regime. Instead, more humanitarian aid has been promised by the EU (increasing it from 50 to 200 million Euros) which it plans to disburse through the UN, to help fleeing Afghans as well as those staying in the country. Humanitarian assistance is typically disbursed through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and is therefore seen as not supporting the government. This is highly problematic as I shall argue.
Likely security cooperation between the West and the Taliban
