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“Nuestra Escuela:” bringing love and creativity back into education
Traditional schooling has been wreaking havoc on individuals and communities for 200 years. It’s time to replace it with a new system of self-designed and community-supported webs of learning.Credit:...
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Scotland isn't different, it's Britain that's bizarre
Britain is in a state of self denial, sitting at the bottom of European league tables, but convinced it still rules the waves. The aspirations of the SNP may seem ambitious, but all they are really...
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An American in Maidan
Suspecting that neither Ukrainians nor people elsewhere were being given an accurate portrayal of what has been going on in Kyiv, I felt I had no choice but to travel there and offer an honest portrait...
View ArticleOpposition, the AKP and democracy in Turkey
Political life in Turkey is increasingly undemocratic and authoritarian. How can this institutional weakness be overcome? The latest episode in Turkish politics is instructive on the role of the...
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Occupying the Taiwanese parliament
This could be the last straw that broke the camel’s back.Noted political dissident Su Beng sits in a wheelchair listening to speeches at an anti-government protest over a proposed trade pact between...
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The social democratic dilemma
Centre-left parties in Europe have lost the argument for pragmatic fiscal policy and support for austerity seems to prevail. So where does this leave those who refuse to vote for more austerity?There...
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Why Mubenga trial matters. By ex-Chief Inspector of Prisons Lord Ramsbotham
Yesterday the Crown Prosecution Service said three former G4S guards, Stuart Tribelnig, Terry Hughes and Colin Kaler, would stand trial for the manslaughter of Jimmy Mubenga on a BA plane in October...
View ArticleA tale of two speeches
Vladimir Putin's vision of Russia's destiny has parallels with George W Bush's of the United States in the aftermath of 9/11. This makes the existing crisis over Ukraine even more acute.George W Bush...
View ArticleRacism: troubling truths
Fighting racism in Europe is not easy when Europe has two hands tied behind its back—debilitated by neo-liberal policies on the one hand and the securitisation of minorities on the other.Fifty-four...
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Challenging annexation: in Crimea, the referendum that wasn’t
The time has come – unfortunately in the midst of another political and human crisis – for the international community to develop a rapid assistance framework for nonviolent activists and dissidents...
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The populist appeal – bottom-up perspectives: Dealing with ‘reasonable...
Counterpoint presents excerpts from its citizen consultations in three parts of France where either the Front National has been successful or local tensions could fuel support for Marine Le Pen's...
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The promise of citizenship: autonomy and abject choices
Can we imagine the conditions under which the promise of citizenship could be fulfilled? This is only imagineable ‘after orientalism’, but can we imagine such a state? Let us start from where we are...
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Refugees on the Thai-Burma border: ready for return?
For refugees in camps on the Thailand Burma border to be able to return to Burma, two main issues need to be addressed, the political situation, and the technical arrangements. Neither are even close...
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Organizations as communities: lessons from Deir Mar Musa in Syria
Successful communities welcome disagreement and approach conflict constructively. Maybe the 21st century is the time to think about all organizations as communities, and to see where this radical...
View ArticleWhat happened to the 'Turkish model'?
The only guarantee of a consolidated democracy in Turkey is the emergence of a new coalition to balance the increasing power of the government vis-à-vis society. Turkey blocked Twitter late at night on...
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Feminism in action: Rewriting France's colonial past
Françoise Vergès talks to Kathleen B Jones about her life's work interlinking issues of women's oppression with anti-colonial strugglesFrançoise VergèsLater this week, a conference will be held at...
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Crimea and Kosovo – the delusions of western military interventionism
Vladimir Putin says that Crimea is another Kosovo. Angela Merkel says that they are completely different. Who’s right? In the recent outpouring of condemnation over Russia’s annexation of Crimea,...
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Without tax justice, England's health services will crumble
The budget's failure to clamp down on tax avoidance - centred on the City of London - starves both our own and overseas health systems of desperately needed cash.Image: HM TreasuryWhile George...
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Democratic Wealth: free e-book on building a citizens' economy
openDemocracy and Politics in Spires (hosted by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge) publishes an e-book on building an economy that serves the common good. The collection of essays from around...
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The challenges for Ukraine’s presidential election
On Sunday 25 May, President Putin permitting, 36.5 million voters will go to the polls in Ukraine to vote for a successor to President Viktor Yanukovych, ousted after three months of protests, and over...
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