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Russian vodka and Czech crown jewels
Despite his vow to uplift Czech political life, new president Milos Zeman made no excuses for his 'tired and emotional' appearance at a highly symbolic state event. His call for closer ties with Russia...
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Politics, punditry, and the foreign gaze: the crisis in Portugal and the media
Porous boundaries between politicians and pundits, rigid austerity and a zealous attempt to please foreign observers can only have a destructive effect on Portuguese society.A man reading a newspaper...
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Real democracy still missing
Those of us who were actively working for a sustainable and democratic society in Iceland have always wondered when the window of opportunity opened by the 'pots and pans revolution' would close. Did...
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Spain’s attacks on fighting back
The Spanish government's violent campaign against the grassroots Platform for Mortgage Victims is a dangerous turn against freedom of speech and association. These attacks must stop.A protest against a...
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Europe’s seven most endangered species of monuments and sites
How best to preserve the archaeological record of the past, which so often obtrudes on political objectives of the present? And what happens when nation states are effectively bankrupt? Are its...
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The British legal profession has a duty to help ensure justice for all
Legal aid and Law Centres are under threat in the UK, along with the principle of equal access to justice. Geoffrey Bindman QC says it's time for the legal profession to dig into their pockets and help...
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Russia's paedophile hunters
Combatting child sexual abuse in Russia involves some unexpected players – on the one hand, vigilantes who hunt down online child abusers, and on the other, the Kremlin, anxious to discredit the...
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Dying and killing, killing and dying
Our columnist explores the language and the headlines of dying and killing, from Tibet to the United States to Iraq. Headlines. It is hard not to be obsessed with death these days. I have never laid...
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Nigel Farage, the Scottish debate and the future of Europe
UKIP's rise is the clearest sign yet of the crisis of Britain as a progressive, liberal project. Nigel Farage's trip to Scotland and his prickly reception helps us understand the difference between the...
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Two notions of liberty revisited - or how to disentangle Liberty and Slavery
The modern liberal concept of liberty has roots in Roman law and the Roman understanding of the master and the slave. We need to unpick that heritage to imagine a better basis for our political...
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UK immigration policy: more than an enforcement issue
The enforcement culture that frames Home Office immigration policy has manifested itself in a defensive and largely negative approach to policy. Meanwhile public anxiety about immigration in the UK...
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Unpacking the idea of “Islamophobia”
The term “Islamophobia” is everywhere, but its meanings work at cross purposes - to liberals, it refers to discrimination and hate crimes that can be addressed through existing laws, but to...
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Beyond war: women transforming militarism, building a nonviolent world
If we want to ensure that humanity is not doomed to repeat it’s bloodiest century, the logical move would be to mount an international campaign to see that competent women are swiftly accepted into...
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Building a culture of love: replacing a culture of violence and death
What unites people's movements from the Arab 'spring' to Occupy, is a new consciousness that a good life, with dignity, freedom, fairness and human security, is their right - and by the law of love...
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Sexual violence, access to justice, and human rights
The patriarchal framework of justice which reflects gendered stereotypes, cultural and traditional prejudice has to change. Whilst there is slow progress in implementation, international law is...
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Why politicians can’t be honest about the EU
Responding to Stuart Weir's recent article, Damian Hockney says the EU's supposed benefits are as illusory as the supposed damages the UK would suffer from leaving. Stuart Weir speaks of the need of...
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Glass ceiling and rock bottom: women in 2013 Britain
Gender equality is on the rise amongst the British elite. But outside of this bubble, women are suffering disproportionately from austerity and its fall-out. Ask what factors are preventing women in...
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Washington and Caracas: hegemony vs maturity
Venezuela's presidential election presents the United States with a historic choice, says Juan Gabriel Tokatlian.A wise comment made by Sandra Day O’Connor, who retired from the United States supreme...
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The foundation of human security in every society
The social fabric of a group is woven, in the first place, by the efforts of women. After war, the surest way to rebuild society is to protect and empower those who will re-weave the torn social fabric...
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Sri Lanka's BBS: an old spectre in new garb?
Though interreligious violence in Sri Lanka is not new, the emergence of the well-organized, well-connected Buddhist radical group reflects a broader problem today - the alarming shortage of critical...
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