The British think tank Demos has put this short video out arguing the merits of allowing 16 and 17 year-old citizens the right to vote in Scotland.

Politis is keen to understand how we talk about citizenship and politics. Our friends over at The Week have come up with this essential lexicography of early 21st-century Washington-speak. snollygoster — A politician who will go to any lengths to win public office, regardless of party affiliation or platform. dummymander — A gerrymandered district drawn […]

By Katharine Welch Note of the Editors. Katharine “Katie” Welch is a freshman at Northeastern University majoring in Political Science, studying abroad at ACT and interning at the Dukakis Center. She is from San Francisco, California. On Wednesday October 5, the Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service hosted a round table discussion on “Voting […]

“The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation, and respectful dialogue. Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell, BPC combines politically-balanced policymaking with strong, proactive advocacy and outreach. As the only Washington, DC-based think tank that actively promotes bipartisanship, BPC […]

According to the 7:26 PM GMT entry of the Guardian’s live blog on the situation in Cyprus, “The Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades announced plans by his government to appoint investigators ‘to find out where responsibility lies’ in relation to what has happened in the country over the past two weeks. In a television address in […]

What: Debate on US Democratic primaries, premiere of get-out-the-vote campaigns, selection of the best «Vote here» signs, mock exit poll, masterclass in social media, and more When: Monday, May 23, 7-9 pm Where: La Place mignonne, Ethnikis Aminis 4 click here for the map     Who: Alec Mally (former US Consul General of Thessaloniki, Democrats Abroad Greece) […]

By Krysta Kalachani Here is a lovely little article full of irony and mockery. Just the way to start my day. The staff at To Kolouri dare to mock members of Golden Dawn in New York City, pointing out that they have committed suicide after they realized that New York is not Greek and that […]

By Krysta Kalachani “I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free.” “And what is the highest command? Deny all consolations-gods homelands, ethical, truths – and be left to conjure, with only your power, a world that does not shame you heart … take upon any responsibility…” — Nikos Kazantzakis Sometimes I cannot seem […]

TechCrunch has announced its pick of Coursera as the 2012 Crunchies’ Best Overall Startup. Their rationale: “because more than anything else our country is heading into a period where higher education and job training is not catching up with the pace of innovation, where the creative part of “creative destruction” has not yet overwhelmingly kicked in.” […]

An excerpt here of a very strange story from today’s Washington Post, which offers a real challenge to notions of citizenship within the same country. “The Supreme Court decided Friday to take on a case after considering a petition from adoptive parents Matt and Melanie Capobianco, who would like to regain custody of 3-year-old Veronica, returned to […]

By Jiya Pinder Some weeks ago, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras made the decision to shut down the state broadcaster, The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. The decision has sparked the discussion of social media role and origins in Greece. Rachel Donadio, the author of “Greeks Question Media, and New Voices Pipe Up” in the New York […]

On Dec 19 the Anatolia Christmas charity drive will take place. Volunteers will be collecting food with a long shelf life (packaging must be intact) and personal hygiene products and household detergents (used and half full items can be donated). There will be collection points throughout campus, look out for the collection bins with signs […]

By David Wisner I was interviewed on local TV some weeks back about possible ways out of the economic crisis that has gripped Greek society. Before closing out the interview the journalist asked me why, as a foreigner, I stay in Greece. I fumbled a little for an answer, having been caught off guard. Why […]

By Nikos Chrysoloras It is now official: Cyprus will pay a heavy toll for turning its economy into an offshore financial haven and allowing its banking sector to hyperinflate. But if the purpose of the dramatic eurozone all-nighters was not just to punish and make an example of the island, but to solve the issue, […]

Three stories in today’s Guardian show all the contradictions in looking at the roles women play in contemporary public life around the world. First, Yvonne Roberts laments the small number of women in public life in the UK. According to a report entitled Sex and Power, to be published Monday, “women make up only 22.5% […]

By Katinka Barysch The German idea of sending Athens a ‘budget commissioner’ was daft. Berlin itself could not tolerate such interference in its fiscal sovereignty (the constitutional court would never allow it). But to restrict such budgetary oversight to Greece alone would be disdainful and a political non-starter. The idea predictably caused outrage in Greece. […]

By David Wisner This past Sunday I finally had an opportunity to experience a car-free waterfront. I went down to Leoforos Nikis and sat with some students — young people who were born and raised in Thessaloniki — to enjoy the hush and feel the energy of citadins taking their morning promenade. We got to […]

How’d we do? Not especially well if we give credence to the methodology of the recently published Pew Charitable Trusts’ Election Performance Index. Scores of near-systemic flaws were reported throughout the US in 2008 and again in 2010, giving rise to doubts about the integrity of the voting process across the country. Even states which […]

The Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service and Ianos Bookstore Cordially invite you to a presentation of Greek Urban Warriors: resistance and terrorism 1967-2014 by John Brady Kiesling Athens: Lycabettus Press, 2014 Monday, March 2, 2015, 7 PM Ianos Bookstore, Aristotelous 7, Thessaloniki Moderator: David Wisner The event will take place […]

By David Wisner Researchers Robert Epstein and Ronald E. Robertson have prepared a paper in which they argue that an Internet search engine, not Google necessarily but  “a future Google,” might be able to manipulate search results in such a way as to impact the outcome of an election. “In a controlled experiment,” they write, […]