Clik here to view.
Orenburg 2013: ring out the old, ring in the new!
Regional journalist Elena Strelnikova takes a wry look at some of the events of the departing year. ‘When I was a child, I remember waking up in the morning and smelling the pancakes my mother would...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Qatar and national identity
Up until 2008 Qatar had always marked its National Day celebration by commemorating the day the British upped sticks and left the country in the hands of the Al Thani to rule fully independently. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
All armies - the Syrian regime, the FSA and Islamist - are thieves
It has become evident that the armed conflict in no shape or form is directed towards the interests of the Syrian people. We cling to the hope that time will eventually bring forth a genuine Syrian...
View ArticleAusterity, corporate tax evasion and human rights: why we European citizens...
Is corporate tax evasion an issue for the EU-ECB-IMF Troika? It seems not – they’re too busy dismantling public services to worry about public revenue, unless it takes the regressive form of increasing...
View ArticlePostcard from Albania, December 2012
Interestingly the change-over in 1991 is described by many as the ‘arrival of democracy’, but there is little perception of improvements and less of having much say in the way the country is run. And...
View ArticleDeath in school in the post 9/11 America
The Newtown school shooting has re-awakened debates not only on gun control and mental illness, but also on the role of law enforcement in detecting and eliminating emerging threats. Quietly emerging...
View ArticleAfter Doha: rejecting dystopia by default
Fear and insecurity is filling the void left by our governments' inaction on climate change. But framing Climate Change as a security problem, rather than one of justice or human rights, may only...
View ArticleLithuania: a road between misery and austerity
For the last two years, the Baltic states have been role models for pro-austerity organisations such as IMF or EU. But there is an increasing and urgent need to deflate the myth of the austerity...
View ArticleJimmy Savile and the BBC: The Pollard Report
The BBC commissioned a £2 million investigation into why it failed to broadcast what it knew about Jimmy Savile, possibly the most famous TV personality of late 20th century Britain, and instead...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Russia's 2013: Macbeth, or the Comedy of Errors?
2012 started in a huge upsurge of opposition activity: street protests, marches, arrests and imprisonments. A year later the scene is much calmer. Daniil Kotsyubinsky considers the future for the...
View ArticleA tribunal exposed: leaked correspondence suggests a "disturbing pattern"...
The domestic tribunal created to end the culture of impunity following the 1971 independence war continues to lose credibility, victim of partisan politics and judicial corruption. The latest scandal...
View ArticleThe year of not living dangerously
ETA's 2011 ceasefire was a historic marker for the 40-plus year struggle. As the group struggles for political legitimation, has Spain entered its post-terrorism era in which ETA and its sympathizers...
View ArticleJimmy Savile and why the BBC must change
The UK's Jimmy Savile scandal is hugely important. The most popular working class hero is now revealed to be a serial rapist and child-abuser. Yet he was turned into a 'national treasure' by the BBC,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2012: the year the Kremlin lost control of the script
Throughout the Putin heyday, Russian political discourse was invented, manipulated and owned by a handful of Kremlin spin doctors. Over the last year, that changed. Though they failed to make real...
View ArticleSyria, weapons vs politics
The growing challenge to Bashar al-Assad's regime raises the issue of Syria's chemical weapons, and whether there are any feasible military options in addressing it. Here, the decisions of the United...
View ArticleTop Ten Drug War Stories of 2012
From the dogged reporting and statistics of Drug War Facts, this year has seen a dramatic change in drug policy, though it is still business as usual when it comes to enforcement.In some ways, 2012 has...
View ArticleInstitutionalising the Arab Gulf Governments
For the Arab States of the Gulf there are two kinds of reforms, those that are acceptable and those that are off limits. Off limit calls for reform include calling for a constitutional monarchy....
View ArticleClik here to view.
This week's window on the Middle East - Year In Review
20 columnists from the Middle East have provided Arab Awakening with their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the region. Here is a summary of some of the best weekly columns from...
View ArticleopenSecurity looks ahead to 2013
The articles gathered in this special feature reflect both issues that are urgent now, and trends that we believe will be important in the year ahead.As a New Year is celebrated across much of the...
View ArticleWhat do we mean by Islamism?
The British media and political landscape have done much to obscure a proper in-depth understanding of Islamism, the ideology, as separate from the Muslim faith. Two books can be a small help -...
View Article