Myanmars sikkerhetstyrke har drept, torturer og voldtatt tusenvis av muslimer, ofrene inkluderer barn og babyer så små som åtte måneder. Tre år senere har lite blitt gjort. En konflikt få snakker om lenger, og som mange har glemt fortsatt eksisterer. tekst og bilder: Fay Laith, Internationale studier bachelor Denne artikkelen handler om … Les mer
tekst: Amalie Moen Eidet, Engelsk årsenhet illustrasjon: Catrine Kanestrøm Et stort auditorium med rader på rader av stoler. Et virvar av mennesker som henger over hverandre og lyden av latter og ivrige stemmer som brer seg utover en majestetisk sal. Kaos. Morgenen er såvidt i gang i forelesningssalen, og klokka slår. En … Les mer
FNs kvinnediskriminerings-komité har kritisert norsk voldtekstlovgivning for å stride med menneskerettighetene, våre skandinaviske naboland har vedtatt en samtykkelov, og Stortinget har allerede vedtatt Istanbul-konvensjonen. Likevel er det omstridt å endre Norges voldtektsbestemmelse i samsvar med internasjonal rett. tekst: Julie Axelsen, Statsvitenskap bachelor & Matilde Bernués Heiskel, Fransk årsenhet illustrasjon: Susanne … Les mer
Sør-Europa har lenge vært et av de største turistmålene i verden og var tre av de femte mest besøkte landene i verden i 2018, ifølge «World Tourism Organization». Det reiser for eksempel hundretusenvis av skandinavere til «Syden» hvert år. Middelhavsland som Portugal, Spania, Frankrike, Italia og Hellas, har alle hundrevis av kilometer med hyggelige strender. Selv om sør-europeere ofte blir referert til som vennlige og åpne, er ikke alt bare en dans på roser. For de som bor i turistområder, kan denne industrien være både levebrødog ruin. Hvordan vil disse landene tilpasse seg den omveltende endringen i turisme som følge av pandemien SARS-COV-2, kjent som Covid-19? Hvilke utfordringer står de ovenfor nå og hvordan kan de løse dem? Er det mulig at Syden ikke lenger blir det himmelskeparadiset som vi kjenner?
Verdensomspennende turisme har en pris å betale og befolkningen i Venezia har lidd av dette i flere tiår. Venetianere har sett byen sin synke på grunn av et overflod av cruiseskip som ved den italienske havnen, og har mobilisert seg i grupper mot masseturisme i noen år nå. Det samme kan observeres i Spania hvor demonstranter har mobilisert seg mot turister. Eksempelvis i 2017, da flere restauranter og yachter ble angrepet i byen Mallorca, av den anarkistisk og anti-turist-gruppen ARRAN. Den britiske avisen EXPRESS.CO.UK beskrev hendelsen som «shocking movement» gjennomført av «furious protesters». Nettavisen «Express» skrev at over 2.000 innbyggere (byen har bare 50.000 innbyggerne) demonstrertei 2017 mot turismen og benyttet bannere som «Vi skal ikke flytte bort» og «Venexodus».
Er det mulig at Syden ikke lenger blir det himmelske paradiset som vi kjenner?
Byer i Spania har også opplevd hvordan masseturismen innføreren toll på deres historiske bysenter. Vil de lede innenturismebransjen, må de lide med overturisme, fylle-turisme, skade på offentlige og private eiendom. Følgelig fører dette til bekymring blant innbyggerne. Disse anti-turisme-gruppene har forsøkt innføring avskatte og avgifter for å begrense mengden turister, som blant annet hotellavgift. Andre antiturist initiativer inkluderer å begrense AirBnB-tilgjengeligheten og leiligheter for turister, ettersom de har stor innvirkning på det lokale boligmarkedet.
Turistnæringen som har utviklet seg i disse landene har midlertidig ignorert konsekvensene av masseturisme for å sikre økonomisk vekst. Dermed er tilgjengeligheten av jobber i disse regionene ofte usikre og sterkt avhengig av antallet turister de kan tiltrekke seg hvert år. Kombinasjonen av jobber med lav kvalitet, høyere priser enn landsgjennomsnittet, og økningen av den såkalte «fylle-turismen», er det perfekte drivstoff for en økonomisk omvelting som COVID-19 kan utløse.
Ettersom turismen har stoppet over hele Europa de siste seks månedene, som et resultatfor å bremse smittespredning, truer det økonomiske tilbakeslaget nå med å ødelegge økonomien i landene. Vil disse landene bestemme seg for å industrialisere turistparadisene som vi kjenner i dag, eller vil de ta sjansen og la den gå?
«Med delvis nedleggelse av internasjonal turisme i Europa våren 2020, står flere land overfor en økonomisk lavkonjunktur som kan sette hjul i kjeppene på økonomien flere tiår frem i tid»
Ironisk nok, de landsdelene som en gang var fulle av turister og der anti-turisme-grupper begynte å blomstre, skriker de nå etter turisme og den inntekten som følger med. Disse antiturisme-gruppene er formert av en blandet del av befolkningen: både sektorer med høy inntekt og lav inntekt demonstrerer mot turisme. De som jobber utenfor turistnæringen og bor i de rikeste delene av byene lider ofte med forverringer forårsaket av fylle-turismen. Menneskene med lavere inntekter opplever også at varer og tjenester har skyhøye priser. I Spania er gruppene ofte integrert av anarkistiske og antikapitalistiske ungdommer, slik som ARRAN og CUP-gruppene.
Med delvis nedleggelse av internasjonal turisme i Europa våren 2020, står flere land overfor en økonomisk lavkonjunktur som kan sette hjul i kjeppene på økonomien flere tiår frem i tid. Dette gjelder for eksempel land slik som Portugal, Spania, Italia og Hellas. Dette betyr nærmest at befolkningen vil gjenoppleve den økonomiske krisen som startet i 2008. De to tiårene kan være tapt dersom man ser det fra et økonomisk perspektiv. Det burde også stilles spørsmål om hvordan dette vil påvirke den yngste generasjonen.
I Spania jobber rundt 13% av befolkningen i turisme-næringenifølge «Tourism Satellite Account of Spain». Den spanske regjeringen anslår at arbeidsledigheten vil nå opp mot 20% innen utgangen av 2020. Med den allerede svake økonomien i landet, står Spania overfor en hardere lavkonjunktur enn den globale økonomiske krisen i 2008. Det populære ferielandet vil sannsynligvis trenge flere tiår på å forbedre økonomien.
Italia er også en av de mest populære turistattraksjonene i Europa, med dens evige by Roma, som står øverst på pallen av den mest besøkte byen i de romanske-land. Selv om de nordlige regionene i Italia er mer utviklet enn noen annen region i Spania og Hellas, stod fremdeles turismen for 13% av BNP i 2019. Turismebransjen sysselsatte også rundt 13% av Italias totale arbeidsplasser–ifølge OECD sin oversikt over turisme i Italia.
Imidlertid kan det mest dramatiske konsekvensene av koronaviruset skje i Hellas, hvor turismen utgjorde rundt 12% av landets totale arbeidsplasser i 2018 ifølge «Trade Economics» sin statistikk. Dette betyr med andre ord at nesten en femtedel av landets direkte bidrag til BNP avhenger av turistnæringen. Denne bransjen er en modell av en «invertert pyramide», der turismen står nederst og flere næringer levere eller avhenger av turismen. Totaltviser tall fra «Greekreporter» at det samlede bidraget var omtrent 44 % av BNP samme året.
Disse tre eksemplene illustrerer godt hvor dramatisk livet til millioner av europeere har vært de siste månedene. Imidlertid kan disse vanskelighetene bidra til en industrialiseringsprosess hvor turismen, frem til i dag har vært den ledende industrien. Å forandre det som har var en turistdrevet økonomi vil innebære ødeleggelsen av tusenvis av arbeidsplasser. I en situasjon der disse arbeidsplassene allerede er borte, virker ideen om å etterlate en sesongbasert industri mer attraktiv enn noen gang. Vil aversjonen mot masseturisme, som allerede har samlet seg ganske sterk, påvirke politikere og lede en ny bølge av industrialisering i Sør-Europa? Et spørsmål som også kan stilles, er hvordan man reise til Syden hvis det ikke lenger er et «Syden»?■
Den 4. November skjer det noe historisk. For første gang i Norges historie skal et klimasøksmål behandles i Høyesterett – det kan bli et vendepunkt i norsk petroleumspolitikk og potensielt starten på slutten av den norske oljealderen tekst: Simon Balsnes, Lektorstudent illustrasjon: Gina Gylve En bred koalisjon av klima-og miljøorganisasjoner, ledet av Natur og … Les mer
Økende forskjeller i arbeidslivet og nye skillelinjer har lenge vært på fremmarsj i Norge. Da krisen skyllet inn over landet ble det for mange tydeligere hvilke jobber som er selve bærebjelken i samfunnet. tekst: Johannes Bull Haraldsen, Statsvitenskap master foto: Daniel Lee //unsplash.com Mye er allerede blitt skrevet om den enorme omveltningen og … Les mer
I et mylder av sanseinntrykk forsøker vi å orientere oss i en tilsynelatende stadig mer kaotisk verden. På listen av hindre å overkomme står en global pandemi, klimakrisen og sosiale medier som får det perfekte liv til åvirke tilgjengelig for oss alle. Et liv drevet av eksterne faktorer fremheves. Men når skal vi … Les mer
I 2020 ble verden snudd på hodet av et virus. COVID-19 har siden mars påvirket hvert aspekt av vår hverdag. Men har du tenkt på hvordan pandemien påvirker demokratiet? En verdensdel i stadig forandring har særlig fått erfare dette, nemlig Latin-Amerika.
Latin-Amerika en verdensdel fylt av kontraster. I sør kan det bli kaldere enn i Norge, samtidig som verdens høyeste temperaturer også blir registrert her. Det finnes jungel, men også kaktuslandskap, brede strender og høye fjell. Folket i Latin-Amerika er også preget av kontraster. De er kjente for sin dans, sitt gode humør og empati for hverandre. Latinamerikanere er lidenskapelige, både på godt og vondt: de både elsker og hater. Disse følelsene kom til syne i 2019, et år preget av demonstrasjoner og krav om forandring. Det virket som om alt lå til rette for et skifte i mer demokratisk retning. Likevel ble ikke 2020 året mange hadde håpet på, snarere tvert i mot.
Brasil er landet der forandringen allerede var i gang. Jair Bolsonaro kom til makten i landet den 1. januar 2019. Mangt kan sies om denne presidenten, men sikkert er det i hvert fall at han var et signal om forandring i Latin-Amerikas største og mest folkerike land. Valget av Bolsonaro kan beskrives som et uttrykk for frustrasjon blant brasilianere flest, der over 20% av befolkningen lever i slummen. Likevel fikk ikke den nyvalgte presidenten god tid til å utgjøre den forskjellen innbyggerne ønsket seg. COVID-19 kom til slutt også til Brasil, med en president som nektet å anerkjenne alvoret.
Guvernørene stod ganske alene i møtet med viruset, for samtidig som de lokale myndighetene kjempet for å begrense smitten, sådde presidenten tvil om denne forkjølelsen. som herjet verden. Bolsonaro deltok faktisk i demonstrasjoner mot smitteverntiltakene, og da han selv fikk påvist smitte, fortalte han hvordan malariamedisin hadde gjort ham frisk. På tross av alt dette, har presidenten sørget for å beholde sin popularitet. Hvordan? Slik en hver latinamerikansk leder har tradisjon for: krisepakker. På denne måten sikrer Bolsonaro støtte samtidig som han sår tvil rundt de demokratiske institusjonene som jobber mot smitten i landet. Oppslutningen rundt det som fremstår som en sterk og modig leder ser ut til å vinne over institusjonene og de demokratiske prosessene. Slik kan det virke som om demokratiet er i ferd med å bli svekket i et av verdens største land.
Bolivia har de siste årene vært et av de mer stabile landene i Latin-Amerika. President Evo Morales urbefolkningsbakgrunn så dessuten ut til å ivareta en undertrykket gruppes interesser. Popularitet betyr i midlertid ikke at man kan beholde makten for alltid. I 2019 presenterte Evo Morales forslag om å forandre grunnloven, noe som i praksis ville gjøre det mulig for ham . stille til sitt fjerde valg. I den påfølgende folkeavstemningen ble i midlertid forslaget nedstemt. Dette hindret ikke Morales fra å stille til valg, og merkelig nok også vinne, i følge det offisielle resultatet. Folk tok raskt til gatene, og etter uker med stadig mer voldelige demonstrasjoner, så Evo Morales seg nødt til å rømme landet. Dager med forvirring ble raskt etterfulgt av at opposisjonsleder Jeanine Áñez grep makten. Naturlig nok, da Bolivia plutselig manglet statsoverhode. Like naturlig er det nok ikke, at Áñez. fortsatt sitter med makten, snart ett år etter. For valget som skulle komme, kom ikke. I stedet kom corona, som ga en god grunn til å stanse alle demokratiske prosesser. De som ropte om statskupp for snart ett år siden, får stadig mer rett. Og selv om de ikke skulle ha rett, kan faktisk ikke Bolivia regnes som et demokrati uten å gjennomføre valg. I praksis blir viruset som herjer verden en årsak til demokratisk tilbakegang, eller en veldig god unnskyldning til å utvide makt.
“…valget som skulle komme, kom ikke. I stedet kom corona, som ga god grunn til å stanse alle demokratiske prosesser”
Har du sett bilder av hundrevis av mennesker trykket tett sammen, sittende, noen med munnbind og andre ikke? Disse bildene er fra El Salvador, et av verdens mest voldelige land i fredstid. Også her rammet viruset befolkningen, og som de fleste andre steder, gjaldt det å holde seg hjemme. Det skulle vise seg være lettere sagt enn gjort. Kriminelle gjenger ser nemlig ut til å ha benyttet pandemien til å utføre en rekke drap. Drapsbølgen fikk raskt konsekvenser: landets president, Nayib Bukele, ga militæret tillatelse til å skyte for å drepe, samtidig som det ble iverksatt strenge tiltak i fengslene. Tiltakene begrenset volden, noe som har ført til lokal støtte til president Bukele. Folk fra andre latinamerikanske land utrykker også sin støtte til denne måten å stoppe vold på. Ville det vært den samme støtten under normale omstendigheter? Er det mulig at ikke bare de kriminelle benyttet corona til sin fordel, men også myndighetene? Det kan virke som om pandemien gir rom for større handlekraft blant statsledere og regjeringer. Dette har helt klart forskjellig utfall i Europa og i Latin-Amerika, der man sistnevnte sted ser en stadig større bruk av makt og i noen tilfeller vold. COVID-19 bidrar til en normalisering av det hele, og er dermed med på å svekke rettssikkerheten til folk flest.
Det var i januar 2019 verdens øyne endelig ble rettet mot Venezuela. Plutselig visste alle om timene med kø for å få tak i ting som doruller, for å ikke snakke om mat. Folk turte etterhvert å ta til gatene, og opposisjonsleder Juan Guaidó erklærte seg Venezuelas rettmessige president. Maduros dager var likevel ikke talte. Med støtte fra hæren stod han i mot protestene, før et annet fenomen skulle komme til unnsetning: COVID-19. Ikke bare rettet verden øynene helt andre steder, viruset la lokk på den økonomiske krisen, og med mindre oppmerksomhet forsvinner stadig flere medlemmer av opposisjonen.
Chile, et land med helt andre utfordringer, opplevde også massive opptøyer i 2019. Folk i Latin-Amerikas rikeste land protesterte mot ulikhetene og mangel på velferd. Ellers så fredelige Santiago stod plutselig i brann, ikke bare i noen dager, men i flere uker. Til slutt lovet politikerne endringer. Men nok en gang kom corona dem i forkjøpet.
Etter året der folk trådte til gatene og ba om forandring, kom 2020. Året der vi her hjemme måtte holde oss inne og klemmer ble forbudt. Men for Latin-Amerika vil 2020 også bli året der demokratiet tok et steg i feil retning. Der det ble greit å bruke makt og umulig å protestere. Der sterke ledere ble viktigere en demokratiske institusjoner. Spørsmålet er: Hva vil skje etter coronaen? ■
The fall of the Berlin Wall on the 9th November 1989 marked the downfall of the East German dictatorship. This article focuses on how a small but crucial misunderstanding between two politicians drastically accelerated the events of that day.
tekst & illustrasjon: Elisaveta Dombrovski, Geoscience PhD
Die Wende – A Turning Point for Germany
If you take this edition’s theme and translate it into German,you end up with something like ‘Wendepunkt’ or shorter ‘Wende’. However, for Germans,the term “die Wende” refers to a very specific period in time, from May 1989 until March 1990, which was marked by growing political upheaval within East Germany. This up heaval eventually led to the reunification of Germany. The Berlin Wall fell on the night of the 9th November, caused in part by massive protests in front of the closed border gates. Not only were these protests the beginning of a new era of freedom for the East German population, but they also marked the unofficial ending of East Germany as its own country.
Miraculously, the protests occurred almost without violence or force from either the protesters or the governmental forces. This is especially remarkable considering that the Ministry of State Safety, commonly referred to as ‘Stasi’, was well known for shooting down fugitives and torturing people whose ideology was suspect. In this article, I want to give an insight into the circumstances that led to the peaceful revolution of 1989 and into how a simple miscommunication within the ruling party had far-reaching consequences.
A Short Roundup of German History
After the defeat of Germany in 1945 at the end of World War II, the country was divided by the Allies into four separate zones: three capitalist zones led by the USA, Great Britain and France, and one socialist zone led by the USSR. Due to growing economic disparity and the emergence of a cold war between the occupying powers, Germany was officially split into two countries in 1949: West Germany or, the ‘Federal Republic of Germany’ (BRD), and East Germany, or the ‘German Democratic Republic’ (DDR).
The ideologies of the two new countries were not the only thing that divided them. In the 1950s, West Germany experienced a surprisingly fast economic recovery, which led to a new self-confidence within the country. Dailylife within the BRD was very much oriented towards American culture, which was also reflected in traditional gender roles. In contrast, economic growth in the DDR was much slower and standards of living remained low. For instance, the variety of groceries available in the DDR was limited to what grew or was produced in the Soviet Union. Also, all major purchases in the DDR, such as cars, had to be approved by the government which could take many years. Despite this, the educational system in East Germany was well-established for both men and women, especially within the technical field, making East Germanshighly sought after employees on the rising Western industrialmarket.
Berlin was the capital of both countries and was therefore also partitioned into east and west. However, due to its geographical location,West Berlin formed an exclusive enclave within East German territory and therefore served as a window for East Germans on to the Western lifestyle. As a result, many East German citizens thought about leaving their country, which the “Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands” party (SED) tried to prevent by establishing a five kilometre-wide prohibited area with automatic guns along all western borders. Finally, under the guise of protecting the East German citizens from ‘fascist-western-influence’, the infamous Berlin Wall was built in 1961.
The 9th November 1989
The year 1989, which ironically also happened to be the 40th anniversary of the founding of the DDR, was characterized by significant dissatisfaction within the East German population. Many citizens were fed up with continuous electoral fraud committed by the leading party SED, the omnipresent monitoring of the population by the government, and especially by the feeling of being trapped in their own country. As a result, many fled through third-countries, such as Hungary or the Czech Republic. Nowadays, it seems hard to believe that for several weeks German refugees were living in tents on the hopelessly overcrowded property of the German embassy in Prague. Internationally, these events cast a negative light on the ‘seemingly-perfect’ socialist state of the DDR and resulted in considerable pressure on the government to reform travel policy.
“Many Germans still describe the night of the 9th November 1989 as one of the happiest moments of their lives”
10.00
A governmental subcommission headed by Gehard Lauter, head of the Department of Passports and Registrations, was assigned to create a new travel policy. The new policy made it legal for anyone with a passport and visa to leave the country. Those wishing to leave were no longer required to explain their departure, but the application process could still take several months. However, those who left the DDR would not be allowed to return. The policy was designed to give other countries the impression that the DDR was more liberal than it was. In reality, the government knew that it would only have a small effect, as most East German citizens had well-established lives which they were unwilling to desert. For the majority of citizens who wished only to travel temporarily, the law was useless.
Concerned about a potentially negative reception of the new policy, Lauter and the others on the subcommission decided to completely discard the ‘no return’ condition from the text, despite lacking the authority to make such major changes. The policy was supposed to be released to the public during a press conference scheduled on the next day and come into force one day after that, which would have given that Lauter had enough time to seek approval for the new policy. Little did he know, his suggestions would contribute to the fall of the DDR only hours later.
16.00
Egon Krenz, leader of the DDR, and several other government representetives assembled prior to a scheduled press conference. Although the new travel policy was discussed, its recent modification and potential impacts were not raised at this meeting.17:30 Günter Schabowski, the top DDR spokesman, joined the meeting just before its end. Hewas provided with documents that he was supposed to present to the media a couple of minutes later. In amongst these documents was the modified, and unapproved new travel policy that Lauter and his subcommission had altered only hours earlier.
18.00
The press conference was well-attended by both national and international media representatives, impatiently awaiting news of the new travel policy. Over the past few days, the DDR had gone from a country where people were afraid to share their opinions in public, to a country experiencing demonstrations with well over a million participants. It was clear that major political changes were required if the state were to survive. However, Schabowski did not mention travel policy at all during the hour-long press conference. It was only in the subsequent round of questioning, when an Italian journalist asked specifically for news regarding the travel situation, that Schabowski remembered the document that he had received earlier, a document that Schabowski himself had still not read.
18.45
After searching for the document for several uncomfortable minutes, Schabowski started reading out loud the information that was written on it. When the journalists asked when the new policy would come into effect, Schabowski, not aware of the unapproved status of the document, announced that the policy was now in effect. He left the press in a state of disbeliefand massive confusion. Meanwhile, Gerhard Lauterwas on the phone to the Minister of Justice, discussing the rephrasingof the new policy. He was absolutely unaware that the law was being released to the international press at that very moment. Suspecting no further political activity until the next day, he spent the rest of the evening at the theatre. Unsurprisingly, the news of the new policy revealed at the press conference,‘Free travel for everyone -The Wall is down!’,was immediately broadcasted in both the DDR and the BRD, and internationally. Many of the leading politicians concerned, including the Soviet Union minister in Berlin, only learned about the new policy the daily news.
It took only twenty minutes for the first East German citizens to show up at the border gates, expecting to finally be able to visit West Berlin. The border control officers however, who had not received any updated instructions, refused to open the gate for anyone not in possession of an official visa. Within a couple of hours, several thousand EastGermans had made their way to the gates and were demanding passage with growing impatience. Meanwhile, the completely overstrained border control officers desperately sought orders from higher authorities, only to find that their superiors were unaware of the events of the last few hours, and therefore failed to understand the gravity of the situation.
21.30
The border control officers received instructions to allow five hundred of the loudest troublemakers pass. However, they had no intention to allow these individuals to travel freely. The first East German travellers were to have their passports stamped, but denied entry should they attempt to reenter the country. This was an attempt to simultaneously deescalate the situation and to get rid of troublemakers. It is important to be aware that, as these events occurred at night, many of the ‘lucky’ first travellers had children and other family members sleeping at home back in the DDR. If the East German officials had had their way, they would most likely have never seen their loved ones ever again.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, West German citizens gathered in front of the gates to welcome the new arrivals. Many bars offered free drinks to everybody with an East German passport, as well as free public transportation to facilitate sightseeing. To the surprise of the West Berliners, the majorityof East Berliners still were not able to cross the border, despite media reports that the gates were open. In a show of solidarity with the East Berliers, some students from West Berlin climbed the wall and added their voices to the protests in the east. In contrast to the increasingly volatile atmosphere on the eastern side, the atmosphere on the western side was festive, with people drinking champagne and sharing food. Both East and West Berliners began to try and break through the border. Luckily, the outnumbered border officers understood that violence had to be prevented at all costs. Even a single shot fired could have led to a tragedy of immense proportions.
22.30
Caving under pressure from the protesters, the first DDR gate opened completely and gave up attempting to stamp passports. Other gates soon followed and the fate of the Berlin Wall was sealed. Gerhard Lauteronly learned that the Wall had fallen after he finally came home from the theatre.
30 Years on German Union: The Situation Today
This year on the 3rd October 2020, Germany celebrates the 30th anniversary of the official German reunification. Compared to other countries, Germany’s national day is strikingly recent, well within the living memory of many citizens still alive today. Many Germans still describe the night of the 9thNovember 1989 as one of the happiest moments of theirlives. This is readily understandable if one watches one of the innumerable video recordings made by both press and private persons at thattime. These recordings show people crying and hugging each other, people dancing and celebrating the beginning of a new era under the Brandenburg Gate, and people enjoying exploring their neighbouring country for the first time. Today, almost every German citizen who was alive and not too young back then, can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard about the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“Many citizens were fed up with continuous electoral fraud committed by the leading party SED”
Even though Germany is now one country again, thirty years of division have left a clear mark on today’s society. A survey by the Bertelsmann foundation published on 7th September 2020 says that that there are still crucial differences between the former East and West. For instance, the German reunification was perceived as a radical change by most former East Germans, even more radical than the changes caused by the current global pandemic. In contrast, most former West Germans do not consider the changes that occurred due to reunificationas very drastic. This may be be due to a commonly-held feeling that reunification did not lead to the creation of a new country by uniting two cultures, but instead led to the takeover of East Germany by West Germany. As a result, many former East Germans claim that they still feel treated like second-class people that were ‘kindly adopted by the west’. Former East Germans also tend to believe that the reunification was caused by their peaceful, but powerful protest movement. Former West Germans on the other hand, believe that the unsustainable economic situation within the DDR was the main trigger for reunification.
Some people argue that it was only a matter of time before the DDR regime collapsed, even without the infamous misunderstanding between Lauter and Schabowski. Unarguably though, their misunderstanding accelerated events in a way that could not have been foreseen by anyone at the time and that ultimately made the 9th November 1989 a truly unforgettable day.■
Det multilaterale verdenssystemet som har regjert de siste tiårene har produsert relativ global fred og velstand, men inntrykket til så og si enhver som følger med på globale institusjoner de siste årene er at systemet er i ferd med å rakne. tekst: Sofie Sjaastad, Statsvitenskap foto: Mat Reding // unsplash.com … Les mer
Dette året har vi måtte tilbringe mer tid hjemme enn de fleste av oss er vant med, hvordan har det påvirket vårt forhold til hjemmet? tekst: Signe Landsverk Holst, Statsvitenskap master illustrasjon: Lotta Köhler Vi kommer nok til å snakke om koronakrisens påvirkning på samfunnet i lang tid. Allerede nå snakker viom et før og etter. … Les mer
MDMA, principle ingredient in the illegal drug ‘ecstasy’, may soon be legally administered as part of a radical new psychotherapy. We caught up with Ivar Goksøyr, clinical psychologist at Psykologvirke and board member of the Norsk Forening for Psykedelisk Vitenskap, to find out more.
tekst: Dominic Munton, Psykologi profesjon
Can you tell us a little about yourself and your professional career?
I finished my studies at the University of Oslo in 2009 and I’ve been working as a psychologist since then. I specialised in clinical psychlogy with the Norsk Psykologforening. I started working in mental health public care services, and for the last five years I’ve been working in private practice. I’m also affiliated with a unit at Sykehuset Østfold called Psykforsk, which researches into innovative treament modalities. Technically, I’m specialised in an intensive form of psychoanalysis called ISTDP, intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy, but I also do general psychotherapy work with adults.
Foto: Ivar Goksøyr
How did you first hear about MDMA as a therapeutic tool?
My first relationship to MDMA was, like anyone else, through its identity in the media as a dangerous party drug. What opened my eyes to MDMA’s other identity, was listening to the histories of patients who had experienced its therapeutic effects. Once I started digging into the science of it, I was shocked to discover that MDMA and other psychedelics had a history of therapeutic use that no-one ever talks about.
I’ve always been interested in trying to reach the deeper levels of the psyche. Depth psychology is fascinating, and yet at the same time it is so difficult to really get access to the deep unconscious material of the mind. Throughout my career, I’ve become steadily better at working with these dimensions, and I do succeed in reaching people by conventional methods, but some patients are still really difficult to help, especially those who have been stuck for a long time or from a very early age. When I read in the literature that there were agents that could help us more readily access this unconscious material, I was more than interested.
“MDMA is like a pharmacological bridge to deep psychological landscapes which are otherwise difficult to access”
Existing medications tend to blunt or supress not only anxiety or depression, but also other feelings too. It seems like MDMA and the psychedelics offer the potential to work from the opposite direction, opening up and revealing instead of disconnecting. I really like that! This is the way that I like to work because I believe that it has the potential to yield deeper healing and more longlasting effects.
Most of us are used to hearing about MDMA or ‘ecstasy’ in the framework of recreational drug use and abuse. How did we get from potential therapeutic tool to illegal drug and now back again?
In the late 1970s, MDMA was initially used therapeutically, not in night clubs. Early use was primarily oriented towards healing and self-development; an estimated half million doses were used in this context. It wasn’t until later that MDMA was commercialised as ‘ecstasy’ and distributed as a party drug.
Up until the mid-1980s, there were dozens of therapists using MDMA together with psychotherapy in some several thousand sessions. There were no controlled scientific studies at this time, but there were some uncontrolled studies and many reports which gave indications of MDMA’s potential therapeutic value, at least within certain populations.
“Psychedelic science has moved from stigma to cutting edge within the last five years”
Then, in 1985 the US regulated against MDMA. The next year, the World Health Organisation regulated in line with US wishes for corresponding controls at a UN level. Despite classifying MDMA as a schedule I drug, the WHO noted that MDMA was of potential scientific significance and encouraged member states to continue researching into its therapeutic properties. However, since then it has been very difficult to do research, due both to difficulties in financing and in getting protocols approved. In the early 2000s one study was approved, but it was forced to shut down after only six patients had been treated due to political pressure.
2011 saw the publication of the first well controlled study on MDMA. Although the study demonstrated highly promising results, its findings were inconclusive due to its small size (twelve participants). Since then much more research has been carried out, especially into the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to treat PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). So far, 107 patients have been treated in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, and the effect size looks good. Furthermore, remission rates in long-term follow-ups are looking very good, especially in difficult to treat populations. Right now, the evidence looks highly promising, but we still need much more of it. This means that it is not currently possible to draw further conclusions about MDMA’s therapeutic value in terms of rigorous scientific standards. That said, most clinicians and patients who have experience of the drug agree that it demonstrates potential.
How does MDMA-assisted psychotherapy compare to other treatments for PTSD?
As of today, there are other good treatments for PTSD, but many patients still respond suboptimally and there is a lot of suffering. There is a general consensus that we need to improve clinical implementation of scientifically-validated treatments, but we also know that no single modality is effective for all patients at all points on their healing journeys. This means that we need a bouquet of different methods with which we can reach different people at different stages in their development.
In recent years, other medical disciplines have shown significant improvements in their treatment methods: people are dying less, and new treatments and even cures are being developed. In contrast, mental health has developed into a largely palliative discipline where treatment focuses on symptoms, not root causes of illness. There are clear indications that MDMA and other psychedelic therapies have the potential to work with core psychological issues, not just symptoms; hopefully the data will confirm these early observations.
Furthermore, although many people respond well to existing treatments, these treatments also have a high dropout rate because treatment is extremely psychologically challenging. Patients must confront their deepest fears in order to heal, and it is easy to become overwhelmed. The closer a patient gets to their trauma, the higher the risk that they dissociate or become overwhelmed.
MDMA seems to work by reducing activity in the amygdala, the brain’s fear centre, and stimulating the release of oxytocin, the ‘love hormone’. This means that patients get additional resources that increase their chances of successfully engaging with their trauma. During an MDMA-assisted therapy session, the patient can process their trauma and help their body re-experience and integrate their traumatic experiences. Once the drug effect has worn off, fear and avoidance of traumatic issues are still lessened. MDMA is like a pharmacological bridge to deep psychological landscapes which are otherwise difficult to access.
“Therapists Marcela Ot’alora and Bruce Poulter conduct MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in Boulder, Colorado.” Courtesy of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (www.maps.org)
Do you experience stigma in your professional life as a result of your interest in MDMA-assisted therapy?
Not anymore. I would say that these days, people read their journals, and they see for themselves that this is a legitimate and important area for research. We are not in a position where we can simply dismiss any promising modality on the basis of our preconceptions. In fact, I have the impression that psychedelic science has moved from stigma to cutting edge within the last five years.Nowadays, I get a lot of recognition and a big thumbs-up. Personally, I find it unethical that anyone be fundamentally against conducting research. And what we’re saying right now is not that psychedelics are ready for use in clinical practice, and certainly not in recreational settings, but that more research is called for.
With increasing media focus on the therapeutic use of psychedelics, do youthink there is a risk that people will get confused ideas about what these substances are and how they can be used?
Yeah, I think that there is a potential for that. What we need to do is to avoid underestimating the risks, but also avoid overestimating them. We should also be careful not to idealise these modalities as therapeutic agents. Most people that have tried psychedelics would probably agree that whilst they experienced some benefit from them, they were not a magic bullet that resolved everything. Therefore, it is important that we take care to communicate both potential benefits and risks. I want to underscore that the clinical use of MDMA or other psychedelics is clearly different from recreational use. In the clinic, we know exactly what the compound is, exactly what dose we are using, and we can control the circumstances to create a safe environment. On both MDMA and psychedelics, individuals can potentially get in touch with deep and frightening aspects of the unconscious. This can lead to destabilization, which in rare cases could be dangerous outside of a safe container.
What are the differences between the different kinds of psychedelic therapy?
Classical psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin-containing mushrooms, mescaline and ayahuasca work by dis-integrating the brain’s standard information processing networks. When this happens, there is less of an “I” through which information is processed, and we experience less attachment to our habitual ways of perceiving ourselves and the world. Classical psychedelics could be likened to a fresh snowfall on a winter’s day: prior to the snowfall, the old snow is patterned with movements and footfalls that reflect our everyday mental behaviours. When fresh snow falls, everything is fresh and new. We can find new patterns, and we don’t fall into old ones so readily.
“I want to underscore that the clinical use of MDMA or other psychedelics is clearly different from recreational use”
However, classical psychedelics are not anxiety regulating, so whilst they can give rise to therapeutic experiences, they can also be really frightening. In recreational settings, such challenging experiences can potentially become a ‘bad trip’. In a clinical setting, such experiences need not escalate to the same extent, but there can still be a lot of anxiety to work through.
In this sense, classical psychedelics could be described as ‘mind opening’, whilst MDMA would be a ‘heart opener’, as the patient feels much less anxiety under its influence. The state of consciousness experienced on MDMA is actually not so different from what we experience every day, apart from including a greater sense of safety, love, empathy and compassion towards oneself and others. Psychotherapeutically, this is a really good state to work with.
In addition to your clinical work, you are also on the board of directors for the Norsk Forening for Psykedelisk Vitenskap (NFPV).Could you tell us a little about this organisation and its work?
We work to promote the scientific exploration of psychedelic substances because we believe that past censorship and stigma has made it difficult to do research with them. We’ve been running for about a year now. We find that there is plenty of academic interest in this area from multiple disciplines, but that researchers are often isolated. We serve primarily as a networking point so that academics can get in touch with each other, share research ideas and get their projects up and running. We also inform our colleagues and the public about the current status of psychedelic science and hope to encourage those who might be interested in a career in the field. So far, we’ve held a variety of lectures and seminars, and we have a conference planned in the near future.
We offer a significantly reduced membership fee for students who wish to participate. I would really encourage students to get involved because, due to past restrictions on research, this is an almost untouched field. Today, the field is really opening up, and there will be a lot to do over the coming years. For students interested in psychedelic science, joining the forening is a great way to start networking and get the ball rolling on a future career.
How do you see the future of psychedelic science in Norway overthe next five years?
Sykehuset i Østfold just received approval for Norway’s first-ever study on the treatment of PTSD with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy; research and recruitment will start this October. Treatment of depression with ketamine is also part of this movement, and implementation in clinical practice has just begun, for example at Sykehuset i Østfold. There are more and more international psychedelic research centres popping up and psychedelic publication rates are at an alltime high, so we can expect to see many more articles over the coming years. As far as clincal use is concerned, we hope to have MDMA-assisted psychotherapy approved for clinical use here in 2024: the US is heading towards approval in 2022, and current phase 3 clinical trials in Europe are only a few years behind. Assuming that current research continues to follow the same positive trend, we can expect to see MDMA-assisted psychotherapy rolled out in Norway within five years.
Millions worldwide do not respond to standard treatments and are still suffering. We owe it to them to clarify the therapeutic potential of these agents as soon as possible, no matter what the science ultimately tells us. ■
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