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2011, a year between worlds, Keith Kahn-Harris
A profusion of innovative projects guided by an ethic of collaboration holds out the possibility of creative responses to today's multiple crises, says Keith Kahn-Harris. This was a strange year. On...
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2012, an era of uncertainty, Takashi Inoguchi
The tsunami and nuclear accident made 2011 an especially hard year for Japan. But the questions raised by the experience are similar to those being asked across the world, says Takashi Inoguchi. In...
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2012, the age of the citizen , Vidar Helgesen
The dramatic citizens' uprisings and protests across the world this year are signals of an emerging era that demands a renewal of democracy itself, says Vidar Helgesen. It may be unwise to make a...
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Another Rough Beast Slouches toward Bethlehem, Jim Gabour
Our author's latest, most seasonal and bibulous Sunday Comic to date So you’re stuffed with pudding, pie, and a mind-boggling variety of chocolate and cherry treats sent cross-country in a padded...
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Chronicle of a non-violent protest: Jobat, Madhya Pradesh (India), Alessandra...
For more than three weeks over 130 people have carried out the longest occupation of government-owned land ever registered in Madhya Pradesh (a state in central India). With children gathering under...
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Risk: tricky stuff, David Malone
If you are a banker what you want is risky, high interest rate loans without the risk... Sooner or later it follows that what the bankers need to do above all else is to elevate financial contracts...
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Iraq's political crisis and the shadow of sectarian politics, Rachel Kantz Feder
As the US completed its official withdrawal from Iraq, a series of events stoked a political crisis that pushes Iraq toward a precipice. Observers questioned the timing of Prime Minister Nuri...
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North Korea, the arts of succession , JE Hoare
The aftermath of the death of Kim Jong-Il highlights the obstacles in the way of a clear assessment of North Korea's power dynamics, says JE Hoare. Death and taxes are said to be certainties. The...
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America, Israel, Iran: a dangerous moment, Paul Rogers
The tensions between Washington and Tehran are being further fuelled by naval exercises and discussion of strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. This makes the absence of a direct communications...
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Small deeds, no politics, Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan
Moscow’s protest movement is gathering momentum, bringing in greater numbers and a wider constituency of supporters. What is as yet unclear, however, is whether it has the organisational clout to...
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The death of Khalil Ibrahim: what it doesn't mean for peace in Darfur,...
The likely future of the JEM without Khalil Ibrahim is fragmentation and eventual disintegration The death of Khalil Ibrahim, leader of Darfur’s biggest rebel group, has prompted legitimate curiosity...
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Russia’s Smouldering 'White Revolution', Nicolai N Petro
The Putin regime has little to fear from the latest public protests which, despite drawing large crowds, are apolitical. True politics will only become possible in Russia when both the opposition and...
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Armenia-Turkey: the end of rapprochement , Vicken Cheterian
A diplomatic process designed to normalise relations between Armenia and Turkey led to the signing of two protocols in 2009. Its failure is rooted in the miscalculations of both sides, says Vicken...
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Europe's problem, Poland's perspective , Krzysztof Bobinski
The still uncertain outcome of the eurozone crisis makes predictions for 2012 difficult. But its singular impact in the European Union's newer member-states could include a revived appreciation of the...
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Should Brussels resist Hungary's ‘Putinization’? Or do EU member states have...
The Copenhagen criteria for EU accession set strict democratic pre-requisites for any country wishing to join the club. But how should the EU react when members turn anti-democratic? This question of...
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Apologies from America, Bassam Gergi
A member of our editorial team - an American citizen - joins the throng of those who have been saying sorry in 2011… I would like to apologize for the Republican candidates for president. I apologize...
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Is inflation a good tax? can we have an honest political discussion about...
UK inflation at 5% is considered almost a victory by the economic managers of the nation. Yet it is a blunt instrument with strong redistributive effects. So what is a well-managed currency, and can...
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Seven reasons for Palestinians in the West Bank to seek real change, Alaa Tartir
Acknowledging the complexity of the Palestinian situation, it is surely time for a new revolt against the occupation, for the sake of human dignity and freedom. A Palestinian revolution may be on its...
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Some politicians in the first democratic government of Tunisia, Ahmed E....
The three parties in the new coalition government of Tunisia have months, not years, to deliver on unemployment, political reform and economic growth. Exactly two months after Tunisia’s October 23...
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Lebanon: calm before the storm?, Filippo Dionigi
The momentous events of 2011 in the Arab world have widely overshadowed Lebanon. With neighbour Syria continuing to be embroiled in unrest and growing sectarian civil conflict, Lebanon's future is...
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