1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Politics

Quadriga

December 20, 2012

2012 - it was an eventful year. Fierce protests in Europe against austerity split the continent in two. The Arab Spring shifted the balance of power in the Middle East and North Africa. And the United States, rocked by crisis, fought to defend its global hegemony against the new powers on the block.

https://p.dw.com/p/176Xz

From the civil war in Syria, elections in the United States, Russia and Egypt, to China's change at the top and the economic crisis in Europe. Quadriga takes a look back at the most important events of the past year.

In North Africa, hopes for a fresh start have already evaporated as fundamentalists tighten their grip on power. War is still raging in Syria's bitter civil war, and the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians seems to have been put on hold..

The Europeans, after having picked up the Nobel Peace Price, are still battling to get their finances in order as the debt crisis there continues to drag on. The financial storm has divided Europe in two. People in the south have had to tighten their belts notch after notch and feel that the more prosperous and fiscally disciplined north is to blame for their misery

Tell us what you think: 2012 - Living on the Edge?
Send an email to: quadriga@dw.de

Our guests:

Tom Goeller – born 1958, he studied American History and Politics at the University of Bonn/ Germany. He has been a journalist for various media, among them BBC and ARD. From 1997 to 2004 he was a political analyst of international affairs with the German Weekly "Das Parlament" and the US correspondent in Washington, D.C. From November 2004 until end of 2010 he was the correspondent for Germany of the US daily “The Washington Times” and of the Egyptian monthly "Egypt Today". He now works as a freelance journalist and political analyst of US and Middle Eastern affairs.

Laura Lucchini – After studying communication sciences at university in Milan and Madrid, she completed a master’s degree in journalism in Buenos Aires. Today, she is a freelance journalist for the Argentinean newspaper “La Nación”, the “El País” in Spain, and the Italian publications “Linkiesta” and “L´Unità.”

Michael Levitin– A California native, Michael Levitin began his work as a journalist in Bolivia where he was an editor of the Bolivian Times. After completing Columbia Journalism School in 2002, he founded a literary magazine in Prague, wrote for the AP wire service in Puerto Rico and freelanced from Barcelona. Now based in the German capital, he is a cultural, political and travel correspondent for magazines and newspapers including Newsweek and Los Angeles Times.