Dirk-Jan van Baar
Dirk-Jan van Baar is a historian and journalist, writing for the Dutch news magazine HP/De Tijd and news blog De Dagelijkse Standaard, among others.
Updated: 18 January 2017
By Dirk-Jan van Baar
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Israel-Palestine: Do not focus on the colonies
De Volkskrant (Amsterdam) 22 -
Nobel Prize: Another push for peace
De Volkskrant (Amsterdam) 38 -
Geopolitics: It’s too early to write Europe off
De Volkskrant (Amsterdam) 4
In Europe, Israeli settlements are often portrayed as the greatest obstacle in Middle East peace talks, which are to resume on August 14. In the view of a Dutch historian, this is a mistaken perception arising from an overly simplistic understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 
On December 10, the EU is going to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The question is whether this award is justified, given the ongoing euro crisis and the growing discontent. A Dutch historian argues that the award offers the perfect opportunity for Europeans to remind themselves of the European pacification process because now is the time for them to realise that European peace is not a matter of course. 
Economic power is not the only criterion for global power. What matters is how political systems respond to new crises. And from this perspective, the EU is still in with a chance, writes Dutch historian Dirk-Jan van Baar.