Trinity Frontier, Issue 3

Politics, Culture and Travel

Issue 3 November 2017

CONTRIBUTIONS ON: GERMANY, UKRAINE, THE UK, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, IRELAND, DENMARK, RUSSIA, POLAND, SCOTLAND AND BELGIUM

Neasa Candon

TREASURER: Tamaki Marumo

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND POLITICS EDITOR: Navika Mehta

SOCIETY AND CULTURE EDITOR: Laura Thomas

TRAVEL EDITOR: Catherine Hearn

PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER: Hannah Rieger

COPY EDITOR: Hester Malin

ONLINE EDITOR: Paul Gorby

DESIGN EDITOR: Carol O’Brien Cover Image: Copenhagen

EDITORIAL TEAM

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

EDITORIAL Welcome to the third edition of Trinity Frontier

magazine! We are a student publication that revolves around the themes of international affairs and global perspectives. Founded in 2016, Trinity Frontier has gone from strength to strength in showcasing the best in student journalism and travel writing. As a unique voice on campus, we aim to be a platform for students to share their thoughts, ideas and stories from across the globe. We cover a broad range of topics, in a broad range of styles; everything from political and cultural analysis to travel narratives and tips. We hope, over time, to continue to grow to become an established feature in the catalogue of publications here at Trinity.

We hope you have enjoyed this issue. We would

love to hear your feedback, and to those of you considering submitting a piece next term – please do! I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each and every member of the Trinity Frontier team for their hard work and dedication this term, without which the standard and quality of this issue could not have been achieved.

Finally, this issue would not have been possible without the support of Trinity Publications; sincere thanks for your guidance and encouragement.

Thanks for reading, Neasa Candon, Editor-in-Chief

This publication is funded partly by DU Trinity Publications Committee.

This Publication claims no special rights or privileges.

All serious complaints may be directed towards chair@trinitypublications.ie or Chair, Trinity Publications, House 6, Trinity College, Dublin 2.

Appeals may be directed to the Press Council of Ireland.

To get involved with Trinity Publications email secretary@trinitypublications.ie or get involved through our social media.

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CONTENTS

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Germany’s Election: Where Does the True Victory Lie?

By Ciara O’Connor Why is the West failing to act in the Ukrainian conflict?

By Pierre-Louis Boczmak Uncertainty — A commentary on Theresa May’s leadership of the conservative Party

By Andrew Prylowski The Three President Dilemma

By Hana Efendic

SOCIETY AND CULTURE A Rising Far-Right in Ireland? One Lamp Post at a Time

By Adam Spollen What Makes Denmark a Happy Place?

By Hannah Rieger People, Places, and Things: One Kiwi’s Experience in Dublin (so far)

By Jess Balu Languages: a New Take on Common Learning Tips

By Luiza Dubicka

TRAVEL Moscow Beyond the Headlines

By Phoebe Eddleston Choose Life, or Why You Should Get a Job at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

By Alanna MacNamee Warsaw

By Christian Dunne Photos Through Germany

By Suzanne Flynn Why you should visit Brussels this Christmas

By Amanda Cliffe

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GERMANY’S ELECTION: WHERE DOES THE TRUE VICTORY LIE? WORDS BY CIARA O’CONNOR PHOTO BY SEAN O’REILLY

Germany’s recent general election is certainly one for the books. Angela Merkel made history by getting elected to her fourth term as German Chancellor, but not without a few bumps in the road. The spotlight was stolen from Merkel by the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) - the first far-right party to enter the German Parliament in 60 years.

While Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party experienced its worst election result since 1949, AfD managed to bag themselves 12.6 percent of the vote – almost tripling from 4.7 percent in 20131 . This is a party who want Germany to leave the Eurozone, ban women from wearing burqas and to have Angela Merkel prosecuted for her ‘open door’ refugee policy – it’s no wonder that the results of this election have shocked many of us, as we’re left wondering why this relatively new feeling of post-election fear has become all too familiar.

Meanwhile, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) along with its Bavarian sister party - the Christian Social Union (CSU) - won over 30 percent of the vote, it is certainly a comparative win nonetheless. The CDU suffered a loss of close to 1 million votes to the AfD, who is now the third largest political party in Germany. Martin

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Schulz’s Social Democrats (SDP) also saw its worst result since World War II with 20 percent of the vote and has made it clear that it has no intentions of forming a coalition with CDU. However, it’s not all bad news. The anticipated ‘Jamaican’ Coalition (CDU/CSU, FDP, and the Greens) – the party colours matching the Jamaican flag - would prevent the xenophobic, nationalist AfD from becoming the main opposing party. Having said that, one question remains on everyone’s lips: just how did AfD do it?

Immigration It’s certainly no secret that Merkel’s ‘open door’ policy in regards to immigration has received major backlash over the past two years and thus is unsurprisingly on top of the list of reasons as

GERMANY to why she lost so much support to the far right in this election. However, it seems Merkel has made recent attempts to redeem the situation by reaching a compromise with her sister party leader, Horst Seehofer, to cap refugee numbers at 200,000 a year2. While Merkel has also stated her intentions of reaching out to those who voted for the far-right, it poses the question of to what extent has the damage already been done or is there potential for redemption.

became the popular mantra of the demonstrators outside AfD’s election party. The eruption against the overtly nationalist party even led to bottles being thrown as the German police attempted to keep them away from the building. Protests also broke out in Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Cologne, albeit on a smaller scale.

“For East Germans, AfD is an outlet for those who, even 27 years after reunification, still feel left behind.”

Two Germanies There are certainly a number of reasons why such a controversial party surged in Germany’s election but one interesting result to note is the sharp difference between AfD’s support in East and West Germany. While only 11 percent of the west voted for AfD, the anti-immigration party surged to first place in East Germany.

Additionally, Merkel and Schulz’s centrist parties received much more support from West Germans than East Germans. The rise of support in the east seems to unsurprisingly stem from the aforementioned immigration situation. For East Germans, AfD is an outlet for those who, even 27 years after reunification, still feel left behind.

To quote the actor, Harvey Fierstein – “Nothing binds a people to their leader like a common enemy”. In this case, that enemy is Germany’s beloved ‘Mutti’.

Reactions also came from other leaders with similar ideologies. Both, UKIP leader Steve Crowther and far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, congratulated the political extremists by calling it a “brave move” as well as a “new symbol of revival for the European people” 3. Brave, indeed.

While Germany attempts to make its way out of the rubble of this political earthquake, Merkel is still in a dominant position of power and will remain there for the foreseeable future. If anything this is a vindication of Merkel’s politics – and while a rocky road lies ahead, there’s no doubt that the Chancellor still has a few tricks up her sleeve.

Ciara O’Connor is a Senior Sophister Business and German student and a lover of all things German.

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/world/

europe/germany-election-merkel.html 2.https://www.ft.com/ content/105d6460-acbf-11e7-aab9-abaa44b1e130

3. http://uk.businessinsider.com/german-election-

protesters-raise-middle-finger-after-afd-wins-seats-

Immediate Aftermath Hundreds of protestors took to the streets of Berlin – waving signs which read ‘Nazi Pigs’ and ‘Hate is no alternative’ – in reaction to the far-right’s political gain. ‘All of Berlin Hates AfD’

2017-9?r=US&IR=T/#afd-is-no-alternative-this-signsaid-5

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WHY IS THE WEST FAILING TO ACT IN THE UKRAINIAN CONFLICT? WORDS BY PIERRE-LOUIS BOCZMAK

There has been an ongoing war in Ukraine since March 2014, one which has prompted little action from the international community in spite of the large-scale violence, destruction and displacement that it has caused. There was, however, a recent development in the conflict, the Russian President Putin has suggested to deploy a UN peacekeeping force for the Donbass region of Ukraine — which was understandably received by many with scepticism given Russia’s continuous backing of the rebels since the very beginning of the war1. The question is why, to this day, there is neither a peacekeeping nor a peace enforcement intervention in eastern Ukraine in spite of the great suffering caused by the war and the existence of several international organizations specifically designed to prevent these.

Peacekeeping is defined as the “deployment of international personnel to help maintain peace and security”2, it has been used by the UN in both inter-state and civil wars since its creation

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in 1945, in the aftermath of World War II. The peacekeeping doctrine states that all parties involved in the conflict in question should consent to the intervention, and that peacekeepers should be impartial and use force only in self-defence, making such operations theoretically much more political and humanitarian than military3.

Peacekeeping operations have, however, taken a much broader scope over time, especially since the end of the Cold War, leading to mandates with more civilian tasks of state-building, and, most importantly, increased use of force2. Peace enforcement emerged from such evolution of the peacekeeping mandates issued by the UN. While peacekeeping missions require a peace to have been brokered between warring parties prior to any intervention, peace enforcement is a type of mission designed to help parties broker such peace and limit violence2. Peace enforcement not only differs from peacekeeping in terms of its goals, but also with respect to its means and actors. Peace enforcers must indeed be able to fight as coherent units, and must therefore

UKRAINE

speak the same language, undergo intensive joint training, and be appropriately equipped for heavier use of force — in other words, they come closer to soldiers than peacekeepers. Since peace enforcers take part in battles, they do not have to be impartial either. Most importantly, peace enforcement is not carried out by the UN directly (although it generally requires the UNSC’s prior approval) but rather by states, ad hoc coalitions of states, or regional security alliances such as NATO3. Although peacekeeping operations were not originally designed for the use of force, the UNSC has since 1999 consistently been issuing mandates stating otherwise in order to assert its legitimacy vis-à-vis the international community4. This is causing great confusion between both types of intervention and has resulted in unsuccessful peacekeeping missions which means, in terms of equipment and military training, do not match their peace enforcementlike goals3.

Regarding the rather stalled Ukrainian conflict, both peacekeeping and peace enforcement could be considered in order to stabilise the country and foster a long-lasting peace. Each type of intervention would however face significant obstacles. For a peacekeeping operation to be envisaged, a peace would first need to be brokered between the warring parties (the Ukrainian government and the Russian-backed separatists). While a ceasefire should have followed the February 2015 Minsk II agreement, soldiers and civilians are still killed each month on the contact line, more than two years after1.

But even if the said ceasefire was effective, both the UNSC and the warring parties would have to consent to such intervention — this cannot be taken for granted. While it is possible to assume that the warring parties could be convinced by their respective backers to broker a peace, the prior approval of the UNSC seems far less obvious. Indeed, the permanent members of

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IR + POLITICS the UNSC have strong and diverging positions in this conflict, reflecting their respective national interests — Russia directly arms and funds the rebels, and the Ukrainian government is backed by the United States, France, and Great Britain.

Russia does not want to see Ukraine lean any more westward and will therefore not support the pro-West government that emerged after the ousting of pro-Russia Yanukovych — this is what Charap and Troitskiy have identified as the Ukrainian integration dilemma, whereby Russia feels threaten by the prospects of a ‘westernised’ Ukraine5. Additionally, Russia fears that it might lose its strategic naval base in Sevastopol as Ukraine’s interests shift towards the West6. In the event of the approval of the UNSC for such peacekeeping operation, it would still prove difficult for the UNSC to arrive at a consensus regarding the practical aspects of the mission’s

knowing that the success of peacekeeping missions largely rests on the ability of the forces on the ground to conduct with flexibility their day-to-day operations7. A peace enforcement operation outside the UN framework would realistically be pursued through NATO since an OSCE-led mission would encounter the same gridlock faced by the UN. NATO’s involvement in the conflict would however be rather contentious, and although it does not have to defend Ukraine, it has showed in the past that it was willing to give assistance to non-member states (Kosovo in 1999 and Libya in 2011). By intervening in Ukraine on the Ukrainian government’s side, NATO would assert its legitimacy by matching its actions with its rhetoric, and show its commitment to the democratic and liberal values it has promoted since its creation in 1949. A NATO-led intervention would also mean provoking Russia even further and would certainly not bring more stability to the region. Charap and Troitskiy have indeed argued that NATO’s expansion was the reason Putin took Crimea in the first place, interpreting it as a defensive move against a threatening NATO seeking to expand in what Russia still considers its sphere of influence8. The ongoing debate thus revolves around whether it is best for the West to look weak, or to escalate tensions with Russia.

“While a ceasefire should have followed the February 2015 Minsk II agreement, soldiers and civilians are still killed each month on the contact line, more than two years after.” mandate, as showed by the latest Russian proposal1, and to monitor the impartiality of the forces on the ground. If one can imagine that the UN troops could actually be impartial, there is so much at stake that the UNSC permanent members would still have strong incentives to closely monitor the actions of peacekeepers.

This has been showed to be counter-productive,

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Whether it is a peacekeeping or peace enforcement operation that is contemplated, it will face a new challenge in the covert cyberwar Russia is waging against Ukraine. Russia has indeed demonstrated its ability to cause significant physical damage in Ukraine, affecting all sectors of its economy and administration8;

UKRAINE “The real deadlock is found at a higher level, where the shots are called by outside actors with little regard for the populations directly affected by the ongoing conflict.” and as there is no precedent for such types of cyber-attacks, there is no obvious way to fight them.

Pierre-Louis Boczmak is a Junior Sophister PPES student, currently on exchange for a year in Georgetown University, USA. He is passionate about International Security and Foreign Policy.

In short, peace enforcement should be used to bring the peace while peacekeeping seeks only to maintain it. This theoretical divide has however become blurred over time, peacekeeping being increasingly used in ongoing conflicts. Most recent peacekeeping missions have indeed been trying to fulfil mandates leaning towards peace enforcement with peacekeeping means, often unsuccessfully. With regard to the Ukrainian conflict, it seems like both types of interventions are not easily feasible — this is most likely the reason why no meaningful action has been taken by the international community since the beginning of the conflict in March 2014.

While they each encounter their own specific obstacles, one constant remains: Russia and the West have strong and conflicting interest in Ukraine’s alignment. I believe that there are no insurmountable practical difficulties in the implementation of a peacekeeping or peace enforcement mission in Ukraine, and that the real deadlock is found at a higher level, where the shots are called by outside actors with little regard for the populations directly affected by the ongoing conflict.

1. Pifer, Steven. 2017. “Test Putin’S Proposal for U.N. Peacekeepers.” Brookings. https://www.brookings. edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2017/09/13/test-putinsproposal-for-u-n-peacekeepers/ (6 November 2017).

2. V. Page Fortna and Lise M. Howard. “Pitfalls and Prospects in the Peacekeeping Literature.” Annual Review of Political Science. Vol. 11, January 3. Lise M. Howard. “Peacekeeping, Peace Enforcement, and UN Reform.” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. Vol. 16, No. 2, 2015, pp. 7-13.

4. Lise M. Howard and Anjali K. Dayal. “The Use of Force in UN Peacekeeping.” International Organization.

Forthcoming, 2018.

5. Samuel Charap and Mikhail Troitskiy. “Russia, the West, and the Integration Dilemma.” Survival. Vol. 55, No. 6, 2012-13, pp. 49-62.

6. Daniel Treisman. “Why Putin Took Crimea.” Foreign Affairs. Vol. 95, No. 3, 2016, pp. 47-54.

7. Lise Morjé Howard. “UN Peace Implementation in Namibia: The Causes of Success.” International Peacekeeping. Vol. 9, No. 1, 2002, pp. 99-132.

8. Andy Greenberg. “How an Entire Nation Became Russia’s Test Lab for Cyberwar.” Wired.

June 20, 2017. https://www.wired.com/story/ russian-hackers-attack-ukraine/

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UNCERTAINTY — A commentary on Theresa May’s leadership of the conservative Party WORDS BY ANDREW PRYLOWSKI PHOTO BY NEASA CANDON

“Brexit means Brexit”. The phrase uttered by Theresa May, last July, left many confused. The current Conservative inhabitant of 10 Downing Street, has seen a leadership marked by an indecisive platform and mocking. Her speech at the Conservative Party conference in October was filled with interruptions from Boris Johnson’s P45, a coughing fit, and letters on the backdrop continuously falling with the message “Building a Country That Works for Everyone”. While she received applause and backing from the party in attendance, these setbacks only led to the creation of an image of a failing Prime Minister.

Repeated use of the phrase ‘Strong and Stable’ during campaigning seemed to be a failed promise, as doubts were cast over the ability of the government.

May was handed the task of leading the country out of the EU following the resignation of David Cameron in June of 2016, having won the leadership election, with the backing of a large majority of Conservatives. She was quick to distance herself from the previous cabinet set up by Cameron, with a reshuffle which involved

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firing many important ministers including George Osbourne, a key figure in the last government. But like Cameron, May supported the Remain campaign and voted to remain within the EU. This caused some backlash from voters who saw her as a hindrance rather than an aid to Brexit. Leave voters preferred a candidate who promoted their campaign, such as Boris

U.K. Johnson. Yet May promised that there would be no second referendum, that the United Kingdom was indeed going to leave the EU. Recently, however, the Conservative Party is undergoing a tricky time. The issues seem to lie not only with May, but also with the party as a whole. There are rumours of divided opinions regarding May’s capabilities as a Prime Minister within the party. Prominent figures such as the former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and the rising Jacob Rees-Mogg, are reported to be losing confidence in May, with hopes of getting the leadership for themselves. Johnson, as the Foreign Secretary in May’s government, is publically calling for a harder and faster Brexit than the one proposed. This outward dissent against the leader furthered rumours of his

demotion or resignation, but Boris continued to show absolute support for May. Rees-Mogg, a very conservative and controversial politician, has become a recent favourite for the leadership, following a campaign called ‘Moggmentum’, yet he also backs May to enact a full Brexit. Despite this, he continues to challenge her on any issue that he sees as going against Brexit.

But this public show may purely be, well, a public show. Talk of the apparent feelings of unrest within the party would only be given fuel if prominent Tories were to come out totally against May’s leadership.

“The Prime Minister continues to be unable to show concrete and believable plans for a complete exit.”

The weakness of the Conservative Party was seen during the last snap election of this year, with a loss of confidence amongst many voters. What was originally predicted to be an increase in seats, instead saw them lose their ability to have a majority government and a further increase in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party’s share of seats.

Were it not for the controversies within their own party, from the suitability of their far left leader to the accusations of anti-Semitism held against members, there could have been an even larger disaster for May. The results of the election caused May to seek out the support of another party. She needed the ten seats won by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland in order to form a minority government.

Criticism came not just from the billion pound pay-out to the party (working out at a hundred million pounds per seat) but also from the DUP’s links to the Troubles; being founded by fervent Unionist Ian Paisley. Criticism from all sides came,

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IR + POLITICS again including Jeremy Corbyn, despite having his own dubious links to supporting sectarian violence. Public support on all sides of the political spectrum continued to fall for the Conservatives.

A BritainElects poll showed that the voter base for the Tories had once again fallen, now on the same level as Labour, and now even more members of the public disapprove of May than those who approve of her.

on her to lead Britain out. Brexit heavyweight Nigel Farage claims that May still does not support the vote, and should not be the one to negotiate an exit. Returning again to the phrase ‘Brexit means Brexit’, the question is whether May herself knows what this means?

The government under Theresa May is a ship battling the tumultuous seas without navigation and with rumours of mutiny abound. But the Prime Minister has made it clear that she is going to remain strong and stable, and fight through the disputes, reaching the promised land of an independent UK in full control of itself. Her government hangs in a precocious balance, but it has not yet collapsed. Being the first ‘Brexit Prime Minister’, May’s legacy will speak little of the success or failures she faces in the internal affairs of her government, and instead it will be defined by how she handles Brexit. The date of departure for Britain is the 19th of March 2019, but as each week passes it looks less likely that May will be the one who is in charge when that day comes.

She has weakened her party’s power in the Parliament, become a target of easy mockery for her opponents, and has made little progress in gaining a fair EU exit deal. Her future, like that of the country she leads, is shrouded in doubt and uncertainty, one which will, essentially, go to ruin unless there is some change and fresh vision.

“May’s legacy will speak little of the success or failures she faces in the internal affairs of her government, and instead it will be defined by how she handles Brexit.”

But the key issue that dominates British politics, one that cannot be escaped, is Brexit. The Prime Minister continues to be unable to show concrete and believable plans for a complete exit. At a speech in Florence in September, May introduced plans for a ‘twoyear transitional period’ beginning in 2019, in which the UK would continue trading with the EU and following its laws. Many view this as leaving the EU in name only. Negotiations with the EU have also been an issue of hot contention.

Debates have arisen over many issues, including whether a trade deal can be reached, what to do if there is no deal and a hard Brexit and paying a multibillion-pound bill given to the UK just for leaving. Relations with other EU countries have been strained, such as with Ireland over the imposing of a border with Northern Ireland, stopping the free flow of people and trade.

Recently on an LBC radio show, Theresa May was interviewed and asked whether she would vote in favour of Brexit if the referendum was to be held today. She refused to answer the question, leading to backlash from the people depending

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Andrew Prylowski is Senior Freshman History student.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

THE THREE PRESIDENT DILEMMA WORDS BY HANA EFENDIC Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country located in the Balkans, with a population of 3.5 million. It has historically been occupied by foreign rulers including the Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and has seen many different cultures, conflicts and ethnicities cross into its borders.

For many years now, there has been relatively little economic development as compared to the European countries surrounding it. Bosnia and Herzegovina has witnessed some extremely crucial ethnic fragmentation and religious segregation. The tension lies between the largest groups within its society: the Bosniaks, Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs, which is further

Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Image from Wikipedia.

demonstrated by the three presidents who represent these ethnicities in the government.

On the 1st of March 1992, Bosnia and Hercegovina announced independency from Yugoslavia, establishing its own state through a referendum that saw a 64% turnout with 99% of voters in favour of sovereignty. At this time, there was a tripartite coalition government consisting of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS), representing the main ethnic groups. Radovan Karadzic, the leader of SDS within the Bosnian parliament didn’t recognise the results of the referendum and 37 days later, backed by the Serbian state, declared war on the newly autonomous Bosnia & Hercegovina, claiming to destroy it. After three and a half years of war and over 12,500 Bosnian citizens dead, the war ended with the signing of the Dayton Agreement by the presidents of eight countries, including Bosnia itself, Croatia, Serbia and the United States where it was drafted. This agreement gave Bosnia a new constitution, making it a federal state with the north and east of Bosnia becoming Republika Srbska (The Republic of Serbia) where the majority of Bosnian Serbs reside.

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IR + POLITICS The constitution brought by the Dayton Agreement officially gave the Bosnian Federation three languages: Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian which are very similar except for a few minor differences in pronunciation and spelling. It says that within the Bosnian parliament, there must be three presidents, one for each of the groups, with a rotating chair of every 8 months. The presidents must agree on matters together which after 22 years, is still proving to be a challenge.

Unfortunately, there is more focus attached to

Catholics and Bosnian Serbs are Orthodox Christian. These groups live in isolation from one another, deepening the segregation. As is seen in the two pie charts, the ethnic composition within Bosnia and Hercegovina in 2013 was very similar to the religious composition, showing that there are approximately 33% Bosnian Serbs and 36% Orthodox Christians. The same goes for Bosniaks and their connection with Islam, and Bosnian Croats with the Roman Catholic Church. This means that religious affiliation by

Ethnic and religious composition of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Images from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. https://www.britannica.com/place/Bosnia-and-Herzegovina

what each ethnic group will get, rather than what is good for the citizens overall of the country as a collective whole. When this constitution was being drafted, it was seen as only a short term solution to the problem of war but since then it hasn’t been changed and doesn’t seem as if it will because of the agreement that must be reached in parliament and the lack of co-operation that already exists between the parties.

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birth leads to the determination of which ethnic group one belongs to in Bosnia and Hercegovina, this is further strengthened by the private sphere at home, the area within the country that one is brought up in, and the political system.

The reason for such division among the people and the reason why the people of the Bosnian

Overall, the atmosphere among the people within Bosnia and Hercegovina is dispirited and pessimistic, with it having one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe at 44.3%. Many young people are emigrating to places such as Germany, Austria and other neighbouring

state do not all want to be simply called ‘Bosnian’ is due to the different religions that the three ethnicities associate themselves with. Bosniaks are typically Muslims, Bosnian Croats are Roman

countries in search for work and a more secure future. According to the World Bank, 44.5% of the Bosnian population lives outside its borders.

The majority of citizens see the political system

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BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA as being the cause to problem, with its very individualistic culture, but yet conform to it especially during election times when members from an ethnic group feel obliged to vote for ‘their’ representative in government. For the most part, living in this society isn’t based on meritocracy and receiving what you deserve in life, but it is about which party you support, from which a lot of corruption stems.

The solution for the segregation and economic instability in Bosnia and Hercegovina is neither easy nor a quick process. It is something that needs to be worked at over time, whereby each ethnic group accepts the other and starts focusing on the similarities between each of them, not the differences. It would be a situation where people would want to start co-operating and do something for the better of the country and not just feed off hatred and distinction. Changing the constitution could help to improve the situation,

creating a country where everyone is referred to by the same term regardless of their religious/ ethnic background. A party to encompass all the different ethnic groups could be a solution, rather than having separate ones, so that ethnic fragmentation doesn’t occur.

In the present context, there will never be peace among the citizens of Bosnia and Hercegovina.

In this context, people will never see each other as equals or as one collective unit, which will always hinder the development and progression of this country. Presidential elections will be held in October next year which will indicate if the citizens will follow the same route as they have been for the past 22 years or will show their dissatisfaction and fight for a better one.

Hana Efendic is a Senior Freshman Economics and Political Science student; a wanderer who likes to write and question, love and laugh and take their time in life.

Sarajevo. Image by Hana Efendic.

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A RISING FAR-RIGHT IN IRELAND? ONE LAMP POST AT A TIME WORDS AND PHOTOS BY ADAM SPOLLEN The various installations on the streets of Dublin and beyond have long been a blank canvas for a variety of images and messages. Recent years have seen such examples from the likes of League of Ireland supporter groups with the aim of claiming territory, social movements looking to spread awareness for their cause, and even from fans of pop group Jedward, the twins’ faces being unavoidable in the city last year, plastered on the streets in a possible attempt to cling to relevance.

While the latter of these examples is included in jest (not to disregard the efforts of Jedward fans) the use of such graffiti to spread a message

‘Defend Europe’ graffiti at a Dublin DART station 2017, originally accompanied by Celtic cross, symbol with long history of use by far-right and white supremacy groups.

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is extremely common. Some of these messages may be considered quite niche and somewhat irrelevant to those not ‘in the know’. For example, the previously mentioned actions of League of Ireland fan groups who cover the symbols of rivals with their own symbolic images, a production and reproduction of a collective identity and attempt to create a territorial hierarchy, is perhaps likely go unnoticed to the average passer-by. But, other messages which contain symbols of social and cultural relevance prove to be immediately recognisable, with such images being utilised by social movements to keep their cause in the mind of the public. Recent campaigns such as Yes Equality, and the current movement to repeal the 8th Amendment, being the first examples which spring to mind, arguably demonstrating the success of the two groups’ urban iconography.

It is credible to propose that the visual representations of these specific movements have become a cultural feature of the Dublin cityscape, their symbols ever-present on various walls and windows. The response to the 2015 Yes Equality referendum, notably among the youth of Ireland, was something never seen before in Irish politics. Similarly, the movement to repeal the 8th Amendment has gained significant traction amongst the Irish youth, one need only

IRELAND look to the exponential growth in support for the annual March for Choice for evidence. It would be disingenuous to discuss the burgeoning support for such movements without looking to the initial emergence of collective identity through which they began. Taking the 2015 Yes Equality referendum as an example, the process of collective identification which led to such action began years before the campaigning and canvassing of 2015.

The mechanisms at play in this process are discussed in detail by Stuart Hall, who suggests that identification is a construction, one which is produced by means of a proposed common origin or shared characteristics with a person, group or ideal. An understanding that the identities created by this process of identification are not viewed as essentialist is vital to Hall, as he highlights that they are constructed across intersecting positions, often fragmented and ever-developing. In applying this approach to identity to the formative years of one of the movements central to the Yes Equality campaign, GLEN (Gay and Lesbian Equality Network), the mechanisms proposed by Hall may be seen in action. Men and women, of various ages and socio-economic backgrounds, identifying with one and other collectively, and going on to campaign for legal equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Ireland, is something which GLEN have done since 1988. A co-director of the Yes Equality campaign, Brian Sheehan, was himself an Executive Director of GLEN for nearly ten years. Two years have passed since the

‘Defend Europe’ – Generation Identity in Dublin 2017, alongside Jedward and the IRPWA.

historic referendum and the iconic symbols of Yes Equality may still be seen to this day on the streets of Dublin.

An unfortunate and ever-increasing feature of the Dublin cityscape is another example of graffiti seeking to gather support for a proposed ideal, and that is the symbols and messages of the farright. Under no circumstances does this article intend to conflate the ideals of movements such as Yes Equality with the politics of the far-right, the use of this example is simply to show the mechanisms of collective identity at play, and to demonstrate the political power that collective action may wield. It is thankful that, thus far, such political achievements remain significantly removed from the reach of the Irish far-right,

“...the visual representations of these specific movements have become a cultural feature of the Dublin cityscape, their symbols ever-present on various walls and windows.”

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SOCIETY + CULTURE though as this article will now show, it is not for want of trying.

announcing this to O’Loughlin personally, in a slightly more physical manner. O’Loughlin Ireland’s history of far-right also stood for election; in 2016 groups and individuals he accumulated less than 200 attempting, and fortunately votes and has seemingly faded failing, to establish a credible from relevance since. foothold may be traced These examples show that through the history of the the organisation of an Irish state. While such movements far-right has been thankfully were short lived, some of unsuccessful, though images their actions proved historic: and messages of extreme antitales of bishops blessing immigrant sentiment continue blueshirts in Dun Laoghaire to appear in abundance. They ‘Support Apollo House’ Dublin 2017. before going to fight alongside are usually offensive, and often Franco in the Spanish Civil War are recounted under the name of new movements- be they in the music of Christy Moore, a military effort homegrown or Irish branches of established which was led by the first leader of Fine Gael, European groups such as Génération Identitaire, Eoin O’Duffy. A more contemporary account whose bigotry has migrated here- internalised of far-right activities in Dun Laoghaire was the and reproduced by those who identify with it.

1992 General Election campaign of Michael The current trend in Europe of a rising far-right Quinn, a ‘Pro-Life Independent’ whose historical is significant and highly worrying, and while significance is somewhat less than that of the establishment of a credible Irish movement O’Duffy. Quinn managed to poll at just under has remained absent thus far, the continuing 3% of his constituency’s vote, and his political attempts to organise should by no means be presence has been rather limited since this 1992 overlooked. With knowledge of the mechanisms peak. He has however persevered, going on to be at play in collective identity and the potential involved in groups such as the ‘Democratic Right power that collective action may achieve, the Movement’ and the ‘National Party’, his presence attempts of the far-right in Ireland should at recent Rally for Life events along with some of be continuously challenged. And if the antihis far-right literature has been documented by immigrant stickers continue to appear, the glue independent publication Rabble. is usually quite weak, a set of keys tends to do the trick.

A more recent attempt to establish a credible farright was the attempted launch of an Irish branch Adam Spollen is a final year sociology student with a of the European far-right organisation Pegida wide range of interests, namely European movements

by Identity Ireland’s Peter O’Loughlin in 2016. A of socio-political significance, clothes and Shamrock counter-protest to this launch firmly informed the Rovers. organisers that an organisation such as Pegida 1. Rabble, (2014). ‘Irish Far-Right Targets Pro-Choice is not welcome here, with some individuals Supporters’. Rabble.

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NOVEMBER 2017

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SOCIETY + CULTURE

WHAT MAKES DENMARK A HAPPY PLACE? WORDS AND PHOTOS BY HANNAH RIEGER

As someone who has spent many a summer and autumn break in Scandinavia, I have always been curious about why people in Sweden, Norway and particularly Denmark appear to be friendlier, happier and less stressed than other nations. It therefore came as no surprise to me when Denmark topped the World Happiness Report once again in 2016, but it did seem to trigger the interest of

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the international community that is constantly looking for the key to happiness. So why is it that Danes are happier than almost every other nation, and how exactly do we know this?

The World Happiness Report is issued by the United Nations and measures happiness by examining six key factors from different aspects of life. These factors include GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support,

trust, perceived freedom to make life decisions, and generosity. Social support is evaluated by measurement of ‘having someone to count on in times of trouble’, while trust is defined as ‘the perceived absence of corruption in government and business’, meaning that social foundations play a major element of life evaluation in the World Happiness Report.

DENMARK A good work-life balance is critical for economic efficiency as well as the overall wellbeing of the nation and the individual. The average Danish working week is 37 hours and employees get 5 weeks of holidays each year.

Denmark also has a high level of parental support, as child care can be accessed at a low cost or even for free. Danes in both the education system and in working life are supported by the state, which reinvests its high taxes in schools, universities and healthcare.

In addition, students benefit from monthly grants for up to seven years and the Danish welfare-system conveys a sense of security, as employees feel confident that they will be supported by the state if they become ill or unemployed.

Gender equality is another keyfactor to wellbeing in Denmark.

In the public sector, 43 per cent of the jobs are held by women.

A sense of safety and security also contribute to high levels of happiness in Denmark. There is little corruption in Danish government and business, and a strong emphasis is placed on protecting the environment.

Cycling is, in part, key to Danish happiness, as bikes are not only a very affordable and environmentally friendly means of transport, but also provide a sense of freedom while simultaneously assisting Danes to stay fit and healthy.

Low crime levels allow Danes in

the countryside to leave their doors unlocked, and parents to leave their babies unattended in strollers outside in the fresh Danish air.

Leisure time is at the heart of Danish culture. The generous work-life balance allows time for social, cultural and physical activities. Time spent with family and friends, playing sports or attending cultural

“Hygge is a Danish word that describes a special feeling or moment of cozy happiness.” events is often given more importance than excessive work by means of working overtime or taking work home.

Cozy family dinners are an important part of each day in most Danish households and

contribute to the happiness of many Danes, who appreciate the atmosphere as well as the food.

The concept of ‘hygge’ (pronounced hue-guh) has become increasingly popular throughout Europe and the USA recently. Hygge is a Danish word that describes a special feeling or moment of cozy happiness. It can be felt at home or out, alone or with friends and family, and can involve an ordinary or extraordinary moment. This feeling of wellbeing, contentment and conviviality is crucial to Danish culture. You cannot buy the ‘hygge lifestyle’ or eat ‘hygge food’, but you can strive to appreciate the small things in life and be conscious of a warm atmosphere and the feeling that comes from enjoying the good things in life.

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is home to many happy Danes and many tourists visit this popular European

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city each year to experience Danish lifestyle and culture.

Even though Copenhagen is not the most affordable city to live in, it has been praised for its sustainability and many other factors that improve life in the city centre as well as the outskirts. The city ties together work life, cultural appreciation and tourism. It allows its inhabitants and visitors to indulge in culinary and cultural delights, offering anything from nightlife to family events. Copenhagen has good infrastructure and efficient public transport and is shaped

wellbeing of the Danish people.

Many people living in Denmark value their social life too highly to be workaholics, and time spent with family and friends is highly valued. While most of us will not be able to move to a Scandinavia to experience their way of life, we can all thrive emotionally and socially by feeling and appreciating ‘hygge’. It is also clear that other countries can learn from the Danish policies regarding work, education and environmental planning, which contribute to the overall happiness of the people of Denmark.

Hannah Rieger is a second year TSM student from

2. “Happiest People in the World” (2017). VisitDenmark:

Germany, studying Jewish and Islamic Civilisations and

London.

Spanish. She enjoys getting to know countries through

3. Gray, Richard (2016). “Revealed: Denmark is officially

language, photography and food.

the world’s happiest country (again) while people in

1. Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2017). World

Burundi and Syria are the least content” Mail Online.

Happiness Report 2017, Sustainable Development

Associated Newspapers Ltd: London.

Solutions Network: New York.

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to accommodate safe travel for cyclists and children on their way to school. In the different parts of the city you can not only find museums, restaurants, green spaces, and innovative architecture, but also a theme park called Tivoli that combines features of an amusement park and a pleasure garden. A stable economy, social security and environmental planning are only a few of the factors that make Copenhagen an attractive city for visitors and locals alike.

Overall, a complex interplay of factors contributes to the high level of happiness and

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IRELAND

PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS: ONE KIWI’S EXPERIENCE IN DUBLIN (SO FAR) WORDS BY JESS BALU PHOTO BY NEASA CANDON

When you leave the shores of the land of the long white cloud to travel the path of many who have gone before - New Zealand’s rate of emigration is second to Ireland in the OECD you’re inevitably asked, “what do you miss?”

The correct answer is in the call and response ingrained in our very bones: he tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. It is people, it is people, it is people. Kiwis may not want to admit it, but we’re a sentimental lot. Perhaps it’s drawing together because there are so comparatively few of us in the world. We come together and feel we’ve known each other for an age, with the good and the bad that may bring. In honesty, we probably do know each other somehow – there’s a reason for the quip that there are only two degrees of separation in New Zealand.

(As an example: I met E once I moved here, only to find we’d lived around the corner from each other. And that was before we both heard the strains of an old local band playing through the bar speakers and lit up with delight.)

People are the most important thing in the world, and you will miss them because of the sheer distance and tyranny of time zones. Not the green hills and winding roads, not the howling winds and horizontal rain, not the chirping tui and vibrant kōwhai trees.

(Especially in Dublin, a work colleague pointed out with the gravitas of experience and only too eager to impart his knowledge. Ireland is very

green and very similar in climate, and it won’t take long before you visit very rural areas and beautiful natural scenery. Never mind that the conversation was taking place between two people who had lived in cities all their lives.)

But what they don’t tell you is that New Zealanders and Australians will be bitter rivals (or at least that’s what New Zealand schools will teach you) until you’re on the other side of the planet and someone finally understands your references. They also won’t mention your sense of patriotism will find a second wind: a mention

“Your te reo Māori is going to improve, and you’ll inexplicably know all of the words to every Crowded House and Bic Runga song.

You’ll see a Kiwi celebrity on screen and feel an odd sense of pride.” of rugby? You’re now an expert – never mind the last time you watched a full ninety minutes was when you had no choice. Your te reo Māori is going to improve, and you’ll inexplicably know all of the words to every Crowded House and Bic Runga song. You’ll see a Kiwi celebrity on screen and feel an odd sense of pride.

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SOCIETY + CULTURE (They don’t tell you the strangest feeling of all; that even when there are days you don’t feel like a Kiwi in your own country due to your family’s origin, you always, always introduce yourself as a New Zealander first. Your great-grandparents are probably despairing in the next life.)

“It’s much more difficult to miss people when you make strong connections to make the days a little brighter.”

They don’t tell you that what you’ll miss is the unremarkable things. The custom of thanking bus drivers as you disembark onto the street. The pleasure of walking from the centre of the city to a beach in less than five minutes. The Instagram posts back home of avocado on Vogel’s bread will have you biting your lip with envy.

It’s not all bad news, of course it isn’t; you don’t relocate intending to spend your days looking at your past through a rose-tinted lens.

The drinking culture is remarkably similar. The general air of friendliness makes first interactions feel comfortable, albeit with different accents and less “yeah, nah”. The sardonic humour that is a calling card makes it easy to converse. The sheer access and proximity is mind-blowing, and even with expensive city prices the cost of some things is unbelievable- in a good way. And yes, the weather is a familiar friend (although perhaps even milder than expected, which is a pleasant surprise).

(A good way to describe my time so far has been walking over the Liffey, music blaring from pubs and a mild chill in the air, conversations of all types and a merry-go-round of multi-coloured lights, and thinking this is exactly where I want to be).

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And the tāngata whenua (people of the land) here in Dublin have been wonderfully kind and patient and friendly, willing to entertain a slightly mad Kiwi with her tendency to ramble and flail as though attempting to dance and failing. It’s much more difficult to miss people when you make strong connections to make the days a little brighter. The conversations over pints and coffee cups have been challenging and illuminating and filled with laughter. I may have only travelled to Dublin, but those conversations traverse many more cities and continents.

So when you ask, “what do you miss?” the response will always include the people, be it family or friends or those that have shaped lives.

But the question “what do you appreciate most about this place?” will have the same answer – and isn’t that one for the books?

Jess Balu is an MPhil (Sociology: Race, Ethnicity, Conflict) student from New Zealand who is on the hunt for that elusive perfect cup of Dublin coffee to get her through dissertation season.

LANGUAGES

LANGUAGES: A NEW TAKE ON COMMON LEARNING TIPS WORDS BY LUIZA DUBICKA Languages are living organisms: they contain clues as to a people’s history, way of life, traditions. They open up new ways of seeing the world. They are treasure maps to a country and its people.

I’ve taken some of the most common tips I’ve come across in my years of learning languages and adjusted them to suit a real-life experience of language-learning.

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SOCIETY + CULTURE 1. Common tip: Travel to a place where the language is spoken.

Revised tip: By all means do, but not just on holidays. Integrating and immersing yourself in a place, in the locals’ way of life, and in their customs, cannot be achieved if all you do is politely observe and admire like any good tourist does. If possible, spend some time studying or working there – or both.

2. Common tip: Try to imitate the native speakers’ accent.

Revised tip: Sure, put some effort into making your accent sound better, roll them “r’s” and pronounce the vowels the way they’re supposed to be pronounced. But don’t torture yourself while doing it. Unless you work with a speech instructor or are a five-year-old child, your accent is never going to be exactly like the natives’.

Get over it and speak anyway! Otherwise, you might get stuck in a rut where you are too afraid to speak because you aren’t sure if you pronounce everything correctly. A native speaker will probably understand you anyway.

3. Common tip: Always have your textbook on hand.

Revised tip: Take everything your textbook says with a pinch of salt – unless your textbook is called This is How People Really Speak, and even then, you shouldn’t believe it all blindly. That is unless your only purpose in learning a language is to later write a textbook in that language…

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4. Common tip: Talk to native speakers.

Revised tip: Especially at first when you’re still not completely comfortable speaking the language, pick your natives with caution: children make for excellent interlocutors. They will shamelessly correct you, point out pronunciation mistakes and they’re less intimidating than big scary adults who first of all, will be too “polite” to correct you and second of all, aren’t as cute. Also, you know you rock at this language thing when you give out to a child in a foreign language.

5. Common tip: Translate what you say in your head first.

Revised tip: Try to think in another language.

While you’re “people-watching”, try to describe every person you see. This should be done silently, you don’t want to freak anyone out.

6. Common tip: Read and watch the news in the language you’re learning.

Revised tip: Watch Friends/Harry Potter/Star Wars in that language (or whatever other TV series or film you’ve seen a time too many and know off by heart). Preferably films and series that are dubbed – and avoid putting on English subtitles (you’ll end up focusing on them). You could leave the audio in English and put on subtitles in another language, but you might end up ignoring the subtitles altogether. When it comes to watching the news, politics and business are great if you’re into them, but don’t force yourself to read up on the latest affairs in another country if you barely take interest in what’s going on in politics at home. Also, YouTube channels. A goldmine of content.

LANGUAGES 7. Common tip: Talk to native speakers #2.

Revised tip: Go for a pint with them – (statingthe-obvious alert!) alcohol loosens your tongue and makes you feel more confident. You don’t need much more to start speaking a language.

You will be surprised when you find yourself using words you didn’t even remember knowing.

8. Common tip: Talk to native speakers #3.

Revised tip: Find a person who is also learning that language and speak to them. This is far less intimidating than talking to native speakers and builds up your confidence in speaking the language (for instance, I am more confident speaking French when I speak to someone who I know isn’t a native). And don’t worry about mistakes, they’ll get corrected once you do speak to a native (provided they’re a child: see point number 4).

9. Common tip: Learn a couple of new words every day.

Revised tip: Don’t force-feed yourself vocabulary! Instead, develop a natural curiosity for the language and build up your vocab through real life situations. This will happen naturally if you’re living in a place where the language is spoken. At home: see point number 5. If you think of a word you don’t know, make the effort to look it up: again, curiosity wins and will make you remember better than artificial lists devoid of context. Life happens in context and so does language. Test me on my Italian cleaning vocab after I spent three weeks as a cleaner in a B&B in Italy, or French arts and crafts words after I worked as a kids’ animator in France. Language does not exist in a void.

10. Common tip: Weekend-getaway the heck out of the most beautiful cities – travel will naturally improve your language skills.

Revised tip: Not all travel. When you go to a country, avoid big cities. Don’t get me wrong: by all means check Rome and Paris off your list. But afterwards, find your accommodation in a town outside of the city, get your summer job in a remote village with not one English speaker within a ten-kilometre radius. People are creatures of habit, our brains will naturally search for what is known and safe, i.e. people who speak English. Also, short stays look great on Instagram, but they won’t get you speaking the language (see point number 1). That usually takes a while.

11. Common tip: Get yourself a boyfriend/ girlfriend who is a native speaker.

Revised tip: That, but make sure they don’t speak a word of English (otherwise, see point number 10: habit, convenience etc.) Trust me.

Luiza Dubicka is a Senior Sophister, TSM Italian and French student, with too many languages in their head.

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TRAVEL

MOSCOW

BEYOND THE HEADLINES WORDS AND PHOTOS BY PHOEBE EDDLESTON

“I would want to live and die in Paris if there were not such a place as Moscow.”

- Vladimir Mayakovsky The first thing people usually asked me when I told them I was moving to Moscow for a year was: “What the hell are you doing that for?” Their reactions were somewhat understandable. With its harsh winters, heavy traffic, and Mr. Putin’s less than rosy international renown, Moscow does not seem a very appealing place to visit, let alone to live in. But if you take the time to get to know Moscow you will find a city rich in history

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and culture, a buzzing metropolis bursting with energy, and people with a weird but wonderful sense of humour. Moscow is in many ways very European, with just as much to offer as London, Paris or Berlin. Yet Moscow is also uniquely Russian and surprises await you at every corner.

Whether you fancy a slightly out of the box city break or an exciting and challenging move, Moscow has heaps to offer.

RUSSIA

Architecture and History Walking around Moscow (or rather taking the metro due to of the sheer size of the place) is like traveling through time.

At its heart lies the Kremlin, which at over 800 years old is the oldest part of the city.

Inside and around the Kremlin you will find centuries old churches and monasteries, like the famous Saint Basil’s Cathedral, or smaller churches as you head out of the Kremlin towards Kitay Gorod. Rubbing shoulders with these medieval gems are pre-revolutionary townhouses and eighteenthcentury theatres such as the Bolshoy, which transport you to the world of the Tolstoy-era elite.

Opposite (and in complete opposition to) the Bolshoy, an imposing statue of Karl Marx announces a whole new realm of Soviet architecture. Scattered

around the city, seven imposing wedding-cake like skyscrapers (known as Stalin’s Seven Sisters) stand tall and proud, dominating the skyline. As you head underground seemingly endless sets of escalators lead you not only to one of the most amazing metro systems in the world (with trains arriving almost every thirty seconds and taking passengers to 206 different stations over 12 lines) to what could be considered underground palaces.

Moscow’s metro stations are filled with chandeliers, mosaics and murals, with hammers and sickles engraved on the walls, and busts of Lenin standing casually in the corner.

All stations are unique and beautiful, although sometimes quite overwhelming.

Although not as grand, but equally as fascinating, stand the monuments to 1920s

avant-garde architecture such as the Shukhov Radio Tower and the Mosselprom Building (with panels by renowned Soviet architect Rodchenko), as well as remainders of the short lived collective housing experiment, such as the Narkomfin building.

At night, on the west bank of the river in the glitzy “Moskva City”, watch the lights of Moscow’s modern skyline shine in the distance. The bright lights and huge skyscrapers scream capitalism, and look out of place in this city where statues of Soviet heroes still fill the streets. But the dichotomy works, as buildings spanning time and ideologies cohabit in a somewhat chaotic but beautiful way.

Art and Culture Moscow is an absolute dream for anyone interested in art, with hundreds of great

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TRAVEL museums and galleries, both old and new. Perhaps the most famous is the State Tretyakov Gallery, home to one of the most extensive collection of Russian art in the world. The original Tretyakov in the centre of the city houses paintings from the 11th until the early 20th century, whereas the new Tretyakov, a huge complex located next to the river in the Muzeon Park of Art, takes care of anything from the beginning of the 20th century onwards. Inside Muzeon you will also encounter the bizarre “garden of the fallen monuments”, where discarded statues no longer deemed appropriate or necessary go to spend the rest of their days.

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, on the “Golden Mile” of Moscow’s wealthier

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inhabitants, houses one of the largest world art collections.

The works exhibited span time and space, from Ancient Greek and Egyptian art to 19th century French impressionist painting. Just nearby, but a very different concept, is the Multimedia Art Museum, a modern institution showcasing art in all its forms but focusing particularly on 20th century Russian photography Head over to Red October, a reconverted Soviet chocolate factory, where you’ll find the Lumiere Brothers Centre for Photography. MMOMA (Moscow Museum of Modern Art) is another fantastic modern art institution, with five different complexes across the city. Their exhibitions focus on 20th and 21st century art, with a special emphasis on the development of the Russian avant-garde movement.

Perhaps one of the most interesting c u l t u r a l institutions in Moscow is Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, the brainchild of Roman Abramovich’s wife Dasha Zhukova. This huge, futuristic

looking building located in the middle of Gorky Park hosts cutting edge exhibitions, film screenings, conferences, and workshops, and is also home to a free public library dedicated to contemporary art, the first of its kind in Russia.

Entertainment and Food A lot of people turn up their noses at Moscow’s cold winters, preferring Western Europe’s somewhat milder Januarys.

But the snow and frost doesn’t stop the Muscovites from going about their daily lives. Unfazed by the sub-zero temperatures, they wrap themselves up in extravagant fur coats and parkas fit for arctic explorers.

From early November, the city’s parks and gardens are transformed into winter wonderlands. Gorky Park’s hundreds of paths and lanes are frozen over, creating a maze of ice skating tracks weaving past cafes and restaurants, which usher skaters in for warm hot chocolates. Sokolniki Park in the north of the city hosts a winter sports fair with cross country skiing tracks and artificial hills for tobogganing and snowboarding. People with their own skates can even just head to one of the frozen ponds in the city centre (Patriarch’s Ponds and Chistye Prudy) where I have more than once spotted people skating with their dogs. (Fortunately, the dogs were not wearing skates).

RUSSIA When the snow eventually melts and the days start getting longer and warmer (yes, it does get warm in Russia!), the parks attract anyone who is not too busy working to come and enjoy the eighteen hours of sunlight a day. You’ll see people cycling, skating, running, walking, playing music, eating, drinking, dancing, singing, and boating. Summer in Moscow also features open air cinemas, rooftop bars and outdoor parties, where the dancing continues even as the sun rises.

In terms of food, Moscow has more to offer than just borsch, potatoes and beef stroganoff.

The city has experienced somewhat of a culinary revival in the past few years with trendy and innovative eateries popping up all around. In the recently revamped Danilovsky and Usachevsky markets, you can sample some of the best Israeli, Vietnamese and Korean cuisine and drink coffee made by some of Moscow’s most talented baristas.

The craft beer movement (yes beer, not vodka) is taking Moscow by storm. With sanctions forcing the price of foreign brands up, Russian brewers are coming up with delicious alternatives. More and more of Moscow’s beer bars now offer a large selection of Russian made craft beer, with delicious yet sometimes whacky flavours, such as lemon meringue pale ale or a coffee stout.

Living there So why should you move to Moscow? Why not just visit?

Moscow is a fantastic city, especially for recent graduates who are trying to figure out what they want to do next.

Living in Moscow as a native English speaker can make for a very comfortable lifestyle.

Parents will pay anything from 30 to 100 euros per hour for you to teach their children your mother tongue. What’s more, you’re not confined to a nine to five job, and have a lot more time on your hands to pursue other interests, should it be an unpaid internship, something in the creative arts, or volunteering. The cost of living is a good bit lower than Dublin or London, with a monthly metro-pass coming in at around 30 euros per month, taxis being dirt cheap, and food and drink also being very affordable.

Moscow’s nightlife isn’t limited to bars and nightclubs, and walking around at 3am you’ll be surprised to find pretty much everything is 24 hour:

supermarkets, kebab joints and even florists, catering to the Muscovites’ flower obsession.

Horses and their owners wait around in the fanciest parts of town to give anyone willing to pay a ride around the block.

It’s not unusual to see horses trotting down the main streets late at night, carrying on their backs tipsy businessmen in fits of laughter.

This is not London, Paris or even Berlin. This is Moscow, a city that dares to be different. If Saint Petersburg is the perfect, well groomed, charismatic younger brother, then Moscow is the rebellious, quirky older sister. Nothing is quite as it seems in Moscow, and that’s what makes it so special. Moscow does not try to be anything it isn’t: this city is chaotic and crazy, and unapologetically so, and it never ceases to amaze me.

Phoebe Eddleston is a 4th year European Studies student who is passionate about the great cities of the world, and eager to put Moscow back on the map.

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TRAVEL

CHOOSE LIFE, OR WHY YOU SHOULD GET A JOB AT THE EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL WORDS BY ALANNA MACNAMEE PHOTO BY NEASA CANDON

Choose life.

Choose Fringe.

Choose drinking lukewarm Lambrini from plastic cups with your friends in a disabled toilet, shoving the bottle in the tampon bin under some toilet paper.

Choose shoving flyers at people who hate you in George Square Gardens for ten precious pounds an hour, and then hating anyone who tries to push flyers at you when your two hours finally end.

Choose to blow most of your twenty quid on a sorry soggy vegan burger from one of the food trucks outside Assembly.

Choose having no straws in your bar because environment.

Choose strawberry hand sanitiser from Superdrug and emptying slops down the drain by the Cowgate underpass, watching your ambitions, dreams and will-to-live pouring out with Chieftan Pale Ale, Smirnoff and San Pellegrino (orange).

Choose charging Laura Whitmore two pounds fifty for a bottle of still water, giving your mates twenty percent discount and trying to act cool

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when you see someone who was once on Eight out of Ten Cats Does Countdown.

Choose sweeping up fag ends one rare sunshiny afternoon while the main boss loudly tells your manager that she’s spent the last few days dying with a UTI. Choose cranberry juice from Lidl.

Choose Irish people obsessed with being Irish, some old bitch snapping her fingers at you and trying to figure out whether your friend’s brother went to school with some lad’s cousin in Sligo.

Choose the man who asks whether you and Neil Delamere grew up eating spuds together in a caravan.

Choose going to see free shows because you’re cheap, shows so awful that even downing cans of cider in the park like a teenager beforehand can’t make them bearable. Choose spending more on these bloody shows than you would on paying shows, because you feel bad for the tortured gay New York comic who has just spent the last hour telling you about the successive deaths of his father, friend and dog, and the resultant existential crisis that saw him banging his head off a wall and saying ‘thud, thud, thud’ while re-runs of the Steve Wilkos Show played on a loop in the background.

SCOTLAND Choose RuPaul’s Drag Race, no tea, no shade and watching Courtney Act slay onstage in a giant purple blow-up cow, more fabulous, more fierce and more woman than you’ll ever be.

Choose mainlining caffeine and selling White Russians in takeaway coffee cups because how else can you expect tech staff to get through eighteen hour working shifts?

Choose extortionate rent and draping your knickers over the bookshelves for three days because your top-floor flat has no clothes line.

Choose Strongbow Dark Fruits on draught, cheesy nachos, the Tesco meal deal and Weatherspoons.

Choose the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle and never going up Arthur’s Seat even though you’ve talked about it for approximately 27 of the last 30 days.

Choose an almost-famous Canadian comedian tipping you ten pounds because you told him he shouted in your face when you were late for his show even though it wasn’t your fault, because front-of-house staff. Feel bad about this.

Choose wearing sunglasses in the rain.

Choose Hive ‘til Five, but only once because it smells like puke, Lynx Africa and the end of all that is meaningful in life.

Choose soya milk, gender neutral toilets and Brewdog Craft Beer.

Choose tabs on masking tape in orange marker and discovering that pickle juice is the best ever chaser for Jameson whiskey.

Choose a show where a middle-aged Australian man with a ginger beard and a bald patch gives a hand job to a cucumber. Choose his used-to-be-a-Mormon cousin getting you to stand on your chair and shout that ALL VAGINAS ARE BEAUTIFUL. Choose Art and not being an arsehole.

Choose shuffling into ‘VIP bars’ like an idiot

while your friend looks around excitedly for Jack Whitehall.

Choose falling asleep at Late ‘n Live (twice) and having a mental breakdown on the steps by the museum after a solid fourteen hours at work. Choose drinking Sainsbury’s brand gin with FeverTree Tonic.

Choose blacklisting R Kelly and being followed home by a middle-aged man with a briefcase at three in the morning, ringing your friend from the gay bar down the road and the relief of lemon and ginger tea back at your flat.

Choose Abba karaoke, reggaetón at Boteco and the crushing disappointment when you see that the ridiculously good-looking comedian whose posters are plastered on all the buses is about five foot five IRL. Choose not getting tickets to Shit-Faced Shakespeare.

Choose club stamps that are still there the next day. And the next.

Choose having the best month of your whole life and knowing that you will come back for more of the same not just next August but every August. Forever.

Choose Fringe. Choose life.

Alanna MacNamee is a JS English student who enjoys the weird and wonderful side of travel, and also appreciates a glass of sangria (or three)...

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WARSAW WORDS AND PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN DUNNE Why Warsaw? In the age of Ryanair, cheap flights, interrail and Erasmus, it’s hard to find anyone not city-hopping across Europe. The big capitals like Berlin and Budapest attract most, of course, but plenty venture to less-seen corners of the continent too. Although a large city and a capital, one of these forgotten gems is the oftenoverlooked Warsaw - and it’s a city that’s going places.

Upon arrival, Warsaw springs a surprise. We arrived by train and as we emerged from the station, an impressive skyline greeted us, dominated mainly by the intimidating Palace of Culture and Science. A masterpiece of Socialist Classicist architecture, the palace was a gift of sorts from Josef Stalin during the fifties, and it is frankly rather imposing. As menacing as it is awe-inspiring, the building brings to mind communist Warsaw, a dour city lagging behind the west - poor, grey and devoid of inspiration.

This is perhaps what we were expecting, but what we found there couldn’t have been more different.

The first striking thing about the city is its atmosphere. Although dotted in parts with communist apartment blocks and reminders of the recent past, the streets, for the most part, seemed laid back and cultured. We stayed in Hostel Chillout, a beautifully-kept hostel housed in a grand building on Poznanska street.

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A ten-minute walk from the centre, Poznanska is one of Warsaw’s trendiest neighbourhoods.

Densely lined with bars and cheap food, the street heaves with young locals and tourists. Go here for inexpensive food and drink in a casual setting; don’t expect to pay more than two or three euro for a pint or a glass of wine.

A stroll along the Trakt Krolewski (Royal Route) is a must. This grand roadway stretches several kilometres from the Old Town to Wilanow, the royal residence, and it is bustling with activity; restaurants and cafés open out onto the pathway as laid-back locals lounge and drink coffee. Stop here and take a moment to appreciate the sheer grandeur that Warsaw has to offer. Krakowskie Przedmiescie, the northernmost part of the Trakt

POLAND Krolewski, is home to countless ornate buildings and magnificent churches. The titanic and elegant St. Anne’s Church reminds us that Warsaw as an Eastern European backwater is a modern idea and that this was once a fiercely grand city. Pop inside to admire the baroque architecture and countless frescoes decorating the walls, each one a symbol of the city’s beauty and its past wealth.

“Although appearing medieval - and beautifully so - the square is not yet a hundred years old; having been completely destroyed in the Second World War, it was meticulously rebuilt” At the end of the Royal Route you are rewarded with the sight of Warsaw’s Old Town. Although appearing medieval - and beautifully so - the square is not yet a hundred years old; having been completely destroyed in the Second World War, it was meticulously rebuilt to appear as it had before. Although the square is lively and bustling, of more interest is the Vistula river which lies beneath it. Lined with sandy beaches, the Vistula has become a hotspot for bars and nightlife. A manmade beach near the national stadium allows public drinking and is a nice area to spend an evening drinking and hanging out, but if that doesn’t take your fancy, wander along the riverbank and stop at one of the pop-up river bars or floating barge clubs. These tend to be packed with young Varsovians and will continue through the night - check out Cud nad Wisla for drinks along the banks.

has a lot more to offer and it would be a shame not see some of the sites. Particularly impressive is the Frederic Chopin Museum; entrance here will cost around €13 with a student card and it’s well worth the cash. The museum covers the life and work of Chopin, the famed Polish composer, and it is curated beautifully. A dimly-lit, elegant space, the museum is highly interactive and allows the visitor to become truly immersed in the life of Chopin. There’s no need to be familiar with him or his work; just take a seat, put on the headphones and get lost in his music.

Nicely relaxed and heading back out into the air, make the short trip down to Lazienki Park. With its origins in the seventeenth century, this park is a relic of grand Poland. Pick up a coffee or an ice cream from one of the vendors on the way in, and people-watch on a bench or wander through some of its seventy-six hectares. The park is beautiful and impressive - it feels Parisian in its splendour - and as squirrels and peacocks strut their stuff, it’s the perfect place to sit for a while.

Keep an eye out for music or cultural events which often take place in the park.

At the end of your stay, as you make your way back to the city centre, you’ll notice the Palace of Culture and Science looming in the distance and once again you’ll be reminded of Warsaw’s difficult past. But what’s past is passed, and this is no longer a glum city defined by political oppression but rather one of vibrant youth. With flights currently at around €30, you’ve no excuse not to visit.

Christian Dunne is a Junior Sophister Single Honors History student who is interested in the European cities,

Although there are enough bars and cafes to keep anyone occupied during a stay in Warsaw, the city

particularly their history and culture.

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PHOTOS THROUGH GERMANY WORDS AND PHOTOS BY SUZANNE FLYNN

Last summer, I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to Au Pair in Frankfurt, Germany. The city of Frankfurt, known to many as “Mainhattan� (in reference to its similarities with the real Manhattan in NY) is idyllically situated along the river Main. Much of the architecture, some of which dates back to the 12th century, is elegant and typically German, and lies in stark contrast to the sky scrapers which dominate Frankfurt city centre.

Mainz was my first excursion outside of Frankfurt. Arriving into Mainz, I expected to find the city moving at a lazy Sunday pace. As it turns out, Mainz hosts an array of markets every weekend; the streets were filled with happy market goers, picking up fresh bread, cheese, fruit and veg, enjoying the live music and meeting friends and family.

Churches and cathedrals populate the city centre and are certainly worth visiting, if only to have a look at their astounding architecture and immense attention to detail.

I bought German magazines and books to read, to fully immerse myself in the language that was being spoken around me.

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GERMANY My travels brought me to Heidelberg on my next weekend off work.

Situated in Baden -Württemberg in south western Germany, the town seemed like something from a fairy-tale. A choral festival was taking place when I visited, showering the streets with harmonious music.

The Würzburg Residence, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, is a palace built for the Prince Bishops of Würzburg in the 18th century. Despite suffering terrible damage during the Second World War, the grounds and building have been restored and it’s a beautiful place to spend a few hours. The gardens abound with flowers, fountains, statues and walk ways, all of which complement the view of the palace beautifully. A site not to be missed, the residence added a succinct charm to the unforgettable town of Würzberg.

Like most students who choose to visit Germany, Berlin was a must see for me. The remnants of the Berlin Wall still haunt the city, with the colourful painted areas of the wall showcasing the liberated artistic expression that saturated the city after 1989. The bare greyscale concrete slabs of the wall that still exist serve as a stark reminder of Berlin’s troubled past. The so called Errinerungskultur that exists in Germany can be seen in pockets of each German Bundesland, but Berlin is definitely the most obvious example of this, as it embraces the wounds of its past more readily than other parts of Germany.

Suzanne Flynn is a second year Law and German student, who is interested in writing and photography and will spend next year on Erasmus in Germany!

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WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT BRUSSELS THIS CHRISTMAS WORDS BY AMANDA CLIFFE PHOTO BY SEAN O’REILLY

The season to be merry is fast approaching and many of us have been admiring the beautiful lights hanging above the streets of Dublin.

Christmas in Dublin is indeed very special, but other European capitals like Brussels also know how to celebrate Christmas in style… And they’re only a few hours away. So instead of spending your Christmas holidays curled up on the couch watching Elf and Narnia on a loop (and studying of course), why don’t you organise a trip to Brussels?

Brussels is the hidden gem of Europe.

Although not quite as famous as its neighbouring

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countries’ capital cities like Paris and Amsterdam, it can be just as magical, especially at Christmas.

Its small size only adds to its charm. It is separated into nineteen communes, of which the central one is the city centre and the other eighteen are suburbs.

Many suburbs have their own Christmas celebrations, but the most impressive are to be found in the centre, also called Bruxellesville. Plaisirs d’hiver is the name given to all the Christmas events held in Brussels. They last from November 25th to January 1st. A diverse array of events are organised throughout the

BELGIUM festivities, the most significant probably being the Christmas Market. This is held every year, and stretches through the winding streets of the city centre for over 2 kilometres. Most of the market stalls are situated in the Marché aux poissons or fish market, a long avenue which stems from the Place Sainte Catherine, with its beautiful church of the same name. At the other end of this street stands the Grande Roue, an impressive ferris wheel which offers views out over the city centre.

The market continues in Place de la Monnaie, an elegant square home to the national opera building. Stalls there mostly sell beverages and tickets for the ice skating rink, which opens once a year for the Christmas market. Down the street from the Place de la Monnaie is La Bourse, a stunning baroque building used to host cultural events. This is also surrounded by market stalls, as well as an exhibition, the topic of which changes every year.

An impressive diversity of goods is sold at the market; most of them are traditional seasonal items such as hats and scarves, baubles, candles, etc. but local artisans can also be sought out, selling unique products like handmade slippers and jewellery.

The food stalls are amazing and they attract tourists like flies thanks to their wafting odours.

Most of them sell traditional baked goods, such as speculoos (a sort of gingerbread which is typically Belgian) as well as waffles, be it the gaufre de Bruxelles (light and crispy) or the gaufre de Liège (sweet and chewy). Cheese stalls are also rife, offering an array of local produce as well as gourmet cheeses from various countries.

Alcohol stands are plentiful, especially around the Marché aux Poissons, selling many varieties of mulled wine and Belgian beer. Belgium is home to a large number of beer manufacturers, such as Leffe, Kriek and Duvel. However, due to recent

trends, more and more stalls have started to sell craft beers instead of the mass produced ones.

The Christmas market truly is a great way to get a taste of Belgium but also to taste foods from around the world. Belgium serves as a crossroads for so many European countries, and has a very large expat population. The diversity of the population is reflected in the array of stands, selling products from around the world. German stands are amongst the most popular foreign stands, mostly selling pretzels, cheese and mulled wine. Spanish stands are also common, selling cheese, chorizo and other meat products.

Though the market is delightful, there are of course other sights to be enjoyed in Christmassy Brussels. Just past the Bourse building is the Grande Place, the most central part of the city.

It is over 300 years old, though it has been reconstructed several times due to wars and bombings. The Grande Place is a UNESCO world heritage site and is considered one of the most beautiful plazas in the world. At Christmas, a giant spruce tree is erected in the middle of the square, and the buildings are lit up in what is called the “spectacle son et lumière”, a light show organized every evening of the festive season.

The streets surrounding the Grande Place are equally as incredible, and are home to a large number of chocolate stores and waffle stands.

Other Belgian cities host their own festive events, such as the Christmas market in Liège.

This is the oldest and biggest in Belgium, and is definitely worth a visit if you have the time.

So what are you waiting for? Visit Brussels this Christmas, even if just for a weekend! You will be blown away by one of the most beautiful and charming cities in Europe.

Amanda Cliffe is a second year Law student from Belgium with a passion for all things European.

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