Links 4/2/15

Politics: 
The London Review of Books on the election victory of Syriza, a left-wing party that has recently appointed a Marxist economic as minister of finance, and its consequences for the European Union. 
Luis de Miranda on the future of Republicanism in France after the terrorist attacks, and Jadaliyya on the history of laïcité. 
CSIS analyses the Australian approach to countering extremism on a community level and its possible implications as a benchmark for US policy. 
openDemocracy on gender clichés in the perception of Ukraine. 
Mitt Romney considered running, then decided against it: which is apparently a sign that forces are gathering behind another Bush (and in a niche of the upcoming election that will probably soon seem like merely an anecdote of history, Republicans would very much like to see Elizabeth Warren run in a Democratic primary). 
Foreign Policy talks to Syrian President Assad. 
Pop Culture: 
"A new comprehensive guide on Sleater-Kinney", meanwhile, one of the fall-outs of No Cities to Love is a general (and wider) interest in a rediscovery of riot grrrl, even if it isn't as critical as the less mainstream archiving was a couple of years ago. 
The AV Club interviews Amber Benson, who is still glad to talk about Tara but also somehow managed to build a pretty amazing career that takes her away from acting.