South Sudan: grim legacy of neglect
A power-grab by rebels would come with huge civilian casualties and also set a bad precedent in a country with long ethnic rivalries, lacking a professional military and with an armed civilian...
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Anti-ngo legislation in Israel: a first step toward silencing dissent
Ultra-nationalist political parties are yet again trying to crack down on dissenting Israeli NGOs. This is the latest in a longer series of efforts to fundamentally re-define Israel as the “state of...
View ArticleDegrees of privilege
We pretend that the university entry system is broadly meritocratic. But in Britain the privately educated child of a professional family is three times more likely to get into a top university than...
View ArticleBritain's Bulgaria-Romania phobia
The panic in Britain over prospective Bulgarian and Romanian immigration is based on misunderstanding of European rules. It is also at odds with the country's best traditions, says Dimitar Bechev.Does...
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The one that didn’t get away
President Putin’s amnesty which has seen Pussy Riot’s Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova released, as well, perhaps, as the Greenpeace 30, is by no means extended to everyone. Young activist Taisiya Osipova...
View ArticleGeorgia and migration: a policy trap
Europe's politics of migration control are being exported to Georgia with potentially dangeous results, says Gavin Slade. The detention and deportation of immigrants have become key strategies of...
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The ignorance of the Lords on their caste legislation shows how redundant...
Queen Anne in the House of LordsIt has recently been made abundantly clear that several members of the House of Lords ‘turn up for minutes’ in order to claim their almost ludicrous (in the context of...
View ArticleBeware of Islamism with a Liberal Veneer
A furore has broken out in the UK over whether it is permissable for public meetings on university campuses to be sexually segregated. In their claim to exercise this as a right Muslim fundamentalists...
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Human rights in Brazil: international funders must empower David against Goliath
Brazil’s recent economic growth – driven by multinational corporations and supported by the government – is a source of human rights violations and perpetuates social inequality. So why are human...
View ArticleAnti-Semitism, Islamophobia or racism? Anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim racisms...
Both anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish racisms have become part of daily ‘common sense’ constructions everywhere in time of global crisis, expressing insecurity and hostility against ‘the Other’, ‘the...
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Russia's 2013: the year in human rights
The amnesty, presidential pardon and resulting ‘celebrity releases’ might understandably overshadow the rest of 2013, says Tanya Lokshina. But it's far too early to suggest they underpin a significant...
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The blank poster: Russia heading into 2014
Experts agree modernisation and liberalisation present Russia's only chance of enjoying continued economic growth. There is little indication such a programme should be expected in 2014 as Russia's...
View ArticleRe-Branding social consciousness and psychedelic knowledge
How Russell Brand's political activism fuses spiritual consciousness with a resurgent psychedelic counterculture.For a man who has been free of his addiction to drugs for over 10 years, Russell Brand...
View ArticleReally breaking the taboo: ending the war on the right to choose
The 'war on drugs' is more than a war on the people that use some drugs, it is a war on perception, consciousness and human potential. [2,560 word essay]The so-called ‘War on Drugs’ is supposedly the...
View ArticleUkraine, and a Europe-Russia crack
The conflict in Ukraine is part of a wider tussle over eastern Europe's political orientation. The European Union remains pivotal to progress, says Krzysztof Bobinski. In the good old cold-war days...
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Can Putinism solve its contradictions?
Russia today is a hybrid state, combining democratic institutions with authoritarian practices, which coexist in a continual state of tension. Richard Sakwa analyses its contradictions and suggests how...
View ArticleBrazil in 2013: a historic adventure
A big year in Brazil marked by huge street protests and a major corruption trial creates new tests for the country's democracy, says Arthur Ituassu.It has been quite a year in Brazil. The country...
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China and the Great Game
Almost all discussion of Afghanistan after 2014 hinges on the withdrawal of western forces. Yet into that gap a major power is stepping—China. China’s involvement in turn poses major questions,...
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Romania's 1989 revolution redux
This 21 December, around 4,000 people took to the streets of Bucharest to commemorate the 1989 revolution. Protesters were in the streets out of a sense of responsibility for those who died in 1989 to...
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Elections in Chile: a triumphing centre-left and a centre-right at the...
If the Chilean centre-right is interested in surviving and continuing to be a relevant electoral force, it should hear those who promote ideological renovation and resist those who favour ideological...
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