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2013 Italy elections: no winner, only losers
The run-up to the next national elections in Italy (to be held on 24/25 February) is marked by two trends that have already troubled the country's political life in the past years: fragmentation and...
View ArticleBRICS, a new cooperation model?
One of the criticisms made of the emerging economies is that they are using cooperation to gain markets, political influence and access to natural resources. But that is what the countries of the North...
View ArticleSecurity giant G4S rejects ‘World’s Worst Company’ nomination
The world’s leading security company, G4S, says it doesn’t deserve to be nominated for Public Eye’s World’s Worst Company Award. Two activists examine G4S’s defence.The World’s Worst Company will be...
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Revolutionary France and the social republic that never was
After the 1830 revolution, French workers waited for the introduction of the republic into the heart of production. It never came. The struggle that ensued was to shape French politics during the...
View ArticleAlan Gross: time for a negotiated solution
The case of Alan Gross, an American development expert sentenced by Cuba to fifteen years in prison for “acts against the independence or the territorial integrity of the state", is the latest...
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The fable of the eagle, the dragon and the bear
How will Russia react to China’s rapid ascent as a global power? Will it develop its eastern links to spite the West, or join a USA led attempt to freeze Beijing out? Pavel Salin argues that this is a...
View ArticleShould we worry about global quasi-constitutionalization?
The Rule of Law may be being given away as Rule by Laws replaces a comprehensive system of democratically constituted judicial review.Have we seen a potentially new form of global governance quietly...
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Papering over the cracks: China’s newspaper protests are a symptom of its...
As China digests its once-in-a-decade leadership transition, the Chinese media is at a crossroads: the old semi-censorship regime is an awkward one. This status quo is being increasingly challenged by...
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Russia and China: aligned after all?
Are China and Russia destined to form an alliance against the West? Unlikely, thinks Thomas Koenig: any future relationship will be based on economics, rather than politics.Towards the end of last...
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Privileged access vs. public scrutiny - why lobbying transparency matters
Every day, thousands of lobbyists roam the corridors of Brussels to represent business interests, with most of their actions and affiliations hidden from the public. What can be done against the...
View ArticleThe ‘responsibility to respect’: time to look beyond the nation-state?
When it comes to R2P are the institutions designed some 60 years ago still the best way to represent the ‘international community’? International lawyers, activists and diplomats have made much of ‘the...
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Syria: the danger of false dichotomies
How one defines Syria’s troubles determines one’s prescriptions. Evidence that a silent majority did not want violent conflict and preferred a political solution leading to reform is not easily...
View ArticleThe creation of an unbridgeable divide
Syria's civil war is now strongly characterised by militias identifying along sectarian lines. The growing divide between Sunnis and Alawites has profound implications for Syria, and the Middle...
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Election 2013: Reforming the City of London Corporation
In March, elections to the City of London Corporation take place. They could be used to challenge the unaccountable power wielded by this state-within-a-state.On the 21st March the City of London...
View ArticleIsrael votes, and surprises
What Israel badly needs is genuine political leadership of the sort that doesn’t shy away from speaking truth to power. So how did it do in the elections?The electoral campaign leading up to Israel’s...
View ArticleJordan’s year-long vote for regime or revolt
Jordan’s elections do not signal a shift towards a more open political system. They may provide a platform for opposition groups or usher in a weak government.Jordan’s upcoming parliamentary elections...
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Will Russia pivot East or West?
Russia-watchers have long been interested in her place on the international arena. Now, with China at the centre of the growing power game, the question is how Russia will seek to position herself in...
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Decision time for Central Asia: Russia or China?
Vladimir Putin’s attempts to draw the countries of central Asia into his fledgling Eurasian Union creates a dilemma for some of them: if they take up his offer, they might lose their valuable trading...
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A wimpish speech
By choosing to put party politics before national and European interests, David Cameron has above all shot himself in the foot.So, which flag will you choose Prime Minister? Demotix/Allesandro Serranò....
View ArticleMali, and the al-Qaida trap
A decade ago, western leaders' excessive reaction and inflated rhetoric served to amplify rather than diminish the power of Islamist groups. The same danger now overhangs Mali, Algeria and beyond. A...
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