Friday, December 23, 2022

Op-ed: Green Leaders for Sustainable Development - Michael Briguglio

In my last op-ed for 2022, I put forward a proposal related to Malta's 2050 sustainable development consultation process.

Best wishes for Christmas and New Year to all readers of this blog.

Link to article:

https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2022-12-22/blogs-opinions/Green-leaders-for-sustainable-development-6736248389

Picture: United Nations


Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Sociological Publication on Malta's LGBTIQ movement

"Repoliticising Movements: The Case of Pro-LGBTIQ Rights in Malta", co-authored by Michael Briguglio and Maria Brown, appears in this new peer-reviewed book:

Democratic Crisis Revisited The Dialectics of Politicisation and Depoliticisation. Edited by:

Meike Schmidt-Gleim, Ruzha Smilova & Claudia Wiesner, 2022, Nomos (Politics-Debates-Concepts. Politik-Debatten-Begriffe, Bd. 8). The Volume is informed by COST programme Action CA16211 RECAST (Reappraising Intellectual Debates on Civic Rights and Democracy in Europe)


Link:

www.nomos-shop.de/isbn/978-3-8487-7286-5

 

Electronic Format:

https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/index.php?doi=10.5771/9783748912941




Monday, August 01, 2022

Live at the Farsons Beer Festival

This Wednesday 3 August I will be playing live at the Farsons Beer Festival with my brothers in Fire, namely Kenneth Calleja (Vocals), Robert Longo (Guitar), Pexja (Guitar) and Gino Micallef (Bass). This will be  my first ever live performance with Fire. I joined the band during the final months of 2019, and then the pandemic hit us. 

The last time I played drums in concert was precisely three years ago, when the latest edition of the Farsons Beer Festival took place. I played with Dripht, in what ended up being my last performance with the band after leaving it later on during the year, after almost two decades. I salute my brothers in Dripht and other former band Filletti & Friends. Cheers goes to my brothers in Norm Rejection, which is approaching its 30th year of existence...

Hope to see you on Wednesday. Fire will be playing at 11pm on the Alternative Stage. Viper Soup Complex and Mirage will playing before us on the same stage. 

Let's Rock! 


A word of thanks

I am no longer involved in politics or activism, as I had decided to prioritise sociology and drums in my public life. Perhaps this allows me to look at politics and civil society in a more objective and measured way. In both pursuits I met all sorts of people in a 25-year journey, from those whose friendship is not seasonal to those whose dagger is ready to stab you if it suits their agenda, no matter how 'holy' or 'just'. 

Robert Arrigo and David Agius, who relinquished their respective political posts as Deputy Leaders, are gentlemen in my books. They are common mortals with no pretensions, and above all they encourage and recognise the work of colleagues. Respect to both and to others who practice this ethic.


Thursday, May 12, 2022

Op-ed: Malta's new parliamentary season

In today's Malta Independent I propose some guidelines for Malta's new parliamentary season:

Link: 

https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2022-05-12/blogs-opinions/Malta-s-new-parliamentary-season-6736242878

Image by User:EL3504 - Parliament diagram tool, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=117416910


Thursday, April 14, 2022

Op-ed: Climate Change 2022 - Michael Briguglio

In my op-ed in today's Malta Independent, I discuss the latest IPCC report and some policy implications for Malta as a small-island EU member state. 

Link:

https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2022-04-14/blogs-opinions/Climate-Change-2022-6736242209


By Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2019, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91394814


Thursday, March 31, 2022

Op-ed: Malta’s 2022 election - Michael Briguglio

In my op-ed in today's Malta Independent, I give my interpretation to the results of Malta's national election. Link:

https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2022-03-31/blogs-opinions/Malta-s-2022-election-6736241892

Image by KingWither - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116486800


Sunday, March 27, 2022

#Ħsibijiet (92): Kriżi PN

Meta klikka elitista ippruvat tirrovina kap elett demokratikament li ma nzertax magħżul minnhom, u meta għamlu l-istess ma' min iddefenda d-demokrazija, il-PN tilef mhux biss ir-rispett ta' bosta attivisti tiegħu stess, iżda ukoll ta messaġġ lil poplu li għalih hemm min hu 'magħżul' u min le. Minflok ma ppruvat tifhem lis-soċjetà Maltija u għalfejn il-PL baqa' jkabbar il-maġġoranzi , baqgħet tirrepeti narrativa sfiduċjata mill-poplu u tassumi li ħaddieħor bilfors injorant jew midneb. Min ippruva jtejjeb l-affarijiet bil-kelma t-tajba ingħata l-ġenb, u kultant anke stallett.

#Ħsibijiet (91): Verstehen

100 sena ilu, is-soċjoloġu Ġermaniż Max Weber ippreżenta il-kunċett ta' "Verstehen". Kien qed jirreferi għall-analiżi li tifhem l-motivazzjonijiet tan-nies fis-soċjetà. Dan jibqa' kunċett ta' importanza kbira: minflok ma tassumi li għandek il-monopolju tal-verità u li ħaddieħor huwa injorant, tkun saqajk ma' l-art. Is-soċjetà hija dinamika, magħmula minn nies riflessivi.



Tuesday, March 08, 2022

#Ħsibijiet (90): The most boring election ever?

Various voices in Malta's media sphere are noting that the 2022 general election looks conspicuous by how boring it is. The frenzy which usually characterizes elections in Malta, also seems to be missing in the streets. Of course, these observations leave out what is possibly happening behind the scenes, for example in house visits and closed meetings. What makes the news headlines and the social media rounds are not necessarily what reflect public sentiment. The 2017 general election was a clear example of this. 

I propose that the 'boring' hypothesis should be accompanied by other hypotheses, which, in turn, can intersect. For example, does a boring election reflect a maturing democracy? Does it reflect growing disenchantment, relative to the Maltese context? Is this due to what, according to surveys, looks like a clear victory for Labour? Is this due to external factors, most notably the Ukraine war and striving for 'normality' in this phase of the Pandemic?  

By User:Cavewiki - Parliament diagram tool, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91622354


Thursday, March 03, 2022

Wednesday, March 02, 2022

Sociological publication on protests in Malta

'Protests in a Small Island State during the Year of Covid-19: The Case of Malta’ is my  latest peer-reviewed publication, in international scholarly journal ‘Protest’ (Brill)

 This paper relies on protest event analysis (pea) to study protests held in Malta during 2020 and analyses specific features of those protests, namely issues, organisations, coalitions, venues, and types of protest. The study verifies how Malta’s status as a small state impacts protest, especially in terms of networks of activism and in the context of the covid-19 pandemic.

Findings show the environment as the most prominent issue, followed by the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and human rights, respectively. The most active actors were Repubblika and Occupy Justice on the Daphne Caruana Galizia issue; Movement Graffitti on the environment; and irregular migrants without organisational set-ups, who protested human rights violations. This study emphasizes the importance of considering the characteristics and opportunity structures of Malta as a small state. Such factors are not only reflected in the protest repertoire, but also in the way organisations and activists invest in social networks.

Despite certain trends regarding protest numbers, there was no correlation between covid-19 and the number of protests. Furthermore, the main issues characterising protests were similar to those of previous years.

The paper may be accessed at:
 
Individuals are eligible for free access to ‘Protest’ journal until 31 December 2022: Link:
Citation: Briguglio, M. (2022). Protests in a Small Island State during the Year of covid-19: The Case of Malta, Protest1(2), 299-328. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/2667372X-01020005

Monday, February 28, 2022

#Ħsibijiet (89): Awtogowl

Id-diskors li jżeblaħ u li jqis lil persuni bħala 'inferjuri' minħabba l-għażliet politiċi tagħhom, m'huwiex biss xhieda tat-tribaliżmu li taħkem lil Malta, iżda huwa elitist u intitolat, bħall li kieku hemm xi persuni b'dritt divin fuq l-oħrajn. Awto-gowl kbir.

Thursday, February 24, 2022

#Ħsibijiet (88) Covid, Freedom, Votes

The political discourse of 'freedom' with respect to Covid19 undermines the common good to scrape votes. What this promotes is the survival of the fittest. With freedom comes responsibility, and most of Malta has so far practiced this.

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

#Ħsibijiet (87) Politiċi anzjani

L-atitudni li politiċi u kandidati anzjani huma inqas validi hi waħda diskriminatorja. Il-kwistjoni hi jekk dawn humiex kompetenti u ta' min jafdhom fil-poter, lil hinn mill-età etc... Il-votant għandu jagħżel dan, u mhux xi klikka wara l-kwinti.

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

New book: Social Welfare Issues in Southern Europe


'Social Welfare Issues in Southern Europe', co-edited by Maria Brown and Michael Briguglio from the University of Malta has been published by international academic publishers Routledge and is available for pre-order.


This volume is the first of its kind to discuss social welfare issues using case studies from a broad range of Southern European countries, both large and small, a decade after the financial crisis. It identifies similarities and differences in the ways in which Southern European countries engage with specific welfare issues and examines whether Southern European welfare is distinct from that of the rest of the continent. The book also engages with the impact of COVID-19 on the social welfare issues under investigation. The volume is divided into four sections, each examining in detail issues including employment, education, health, sexuality, globalization, social movements and migration.

With its contributions from experts in the field, the volume is recommended for academics, researchers and students of sociology, social policy, economics, education, politics and social movements.


Open Access Chapters - Click here.

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Op-ed: The Case of Victor Vella - Michael Briguglio

My op-ed in today's Malta Independent discusses the suspension of Victor Vella from his role of editor in the General Workers Union's newspapers.

Link:

https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2022-02-17/blogs-opinions/The-case-of-Victor-Vella-6736240702

Image: The Malta Independent


Thursday, February 03, 2022

Thursday, January 27, 2022

#Ħsibijiet (86) Is Malta normal?

The ideological discourse which condemns #Malta for not being a 'normal' country is analytically unhelpful, politically elitist, and rather neo-colonial. I believe that such vital criticism and critique should be empirically grounded, politically productive and socially contextual.