I Like / I Dislike Week 14

Every Monday, the Research Trainees of the CERESE assess the news of the previous week. You can read their opinions below:

I like the news that Britain will take part in the military training of Ukrainian fighters. More specifically, the British government stated that although it has not definitively decided on the dispatch of fighter jets yet, it agrees to train Ukrainian fighter jet pilots. In his statement, the Downing Street representative added that the British Prime Minister instructed the Minister of Defense to investigate which aircrafts they will be able to provide. However, he clarified that training Ukrainian pilots is more of a short-term solution, compared to sending aircrafts.

I like the concerted effort of civil society and governments in the eastern Mediterranean region to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian and Turkish citizens affected by last week’s devastating earthquakes. The areas hit are among the poorest in both countries, a fact which combined with government negligence meant that many of the buildings were unfit to cope with a natural disaster of such magnitude. There are already tens of thousands of victims. But solidarity, within those countries and beyond, means that rescue efforts and assistance to the earthquake victims will prevent further unnecessary suffering.

I dislike the news that the lack of labor is fueling violent extremism in sub-Saharan Africa. According to a UN research report, rather than religious ideology, it is the lack of jobs that is enabling jihadist and other extreme violent groups to recruit more and more people in the region. This conclusion goes against the traditional view of what drives people to violent extremism, as it seems that desperation is the main driver of terrorism in many countries with zero job opportunities and low income.

I dislike the news that Hungary’s Constitutional Court issued a ruling that maintains the ban of new applications for legal gender recognition by trans citizens. The decision effectively creates two categories of trans people in Hungary: those who applied early enough to pursue gender recognition before 2020, when Hungary’s Parliament passed a law banning transgender or intersex people from legally changing their gender, and those who did not make the applications deadline.