Key issues on the table at the 8th Asia Europe People's Forum
Ahead of the Asia Europe People's Forum (AEPF) which coincides with the official ASEM8 summit this year in Brussels, four TNI scholar-activists - Susan George, Praful Bidwai, Ben Hayes and Walden Bello - discuss some of the key struggles facing citizens from both regions.
The title of the 8th Asia Europe People's Forum 'Challenging Corporate Power, Building States of Citizens for Citizens' highlights the worrying lack of democratic accountability that characterises both the EU and the nature of its bi-regional relations around the world. Led by neoliberal free market ideology, the EU's plans for "Global Europe" have far-reaching implications for people in both regions, meanwhile their voices remain consistently excluded from official forums. In this booklet four scholar activists look toward ASEM8 and the alternative/inclusive AEPF8, and consider some of the major issues that will be on the agenda for discussion: the ongoing crisis of neoliberal capitalism, democracy, evolving security regimes, the environmental crisis and poverty.
- Susan George: European Union: most anti-democratic and neoliberal in history (read article online)
- Praful Bidwai: Power without responsibility? The rise of China and India (read article online)
- Ben Hayes: The EU Security-industrial Complex (read article online)
- Walden Bello: Class and conflict: tensions at the heart of Asia and Europe (read article online)
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