Self-determination and the Falklands
Drawing on his new edition of Iron Britannia, a veteran critic of Parliament's war over the Falklands says that today's 'referendum' of 1,600 islanders is a sad projection of British dreams. So the...
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Below the line, below the belt?
Comments threads democratise online media, but they present their own problems for free speech.Shutterstock/Andrew Sproule. All rights reserved.“Your a ugly whorish slut.” That has to be one of the...
View ArticleRemembering Zoran Djindjic
Ten years ago, on March 12, 2003, a bullet deprived Serbia of a true visionary. Zoran Djindjic’s leadership and vision was crucial for the nation to move forward from its war ravaged past towards...
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Is China more democratic than Russia?
On paper, Russia’s political system is an impressive reproduction of Western representative democracy, while the Chinese system remains an unreconstructed autocracy. The reality of the situation is...
View ArticleIraq after 10 years
It is the marriage of the intimate knowledge of the particular - the only knowledge the particular is susceptible to, by definition - with a moral compass, that should have guided policy towards Iraq....
View ArticleBulgaria’s anger, the real source
An escalating crisis in Bulgaria marked by street-protests across the country forced the government's resignation. But the instant wisdom that financial austerity caused it is misleading, says Dimitar...
View ArticleKajaki, saga of ruin
The story of how an Afghan dam was planned, prepared, fought over and now abandoned symbolises the epic failure of the "war on terror".In the months after the Taliban regime was terminated in late...
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"Currency war" rhetoric obscures the real need for realignment
Global economy remains so imbalanced that significant currency shifts are needed, not only to help pull the West out of its slump but to ensure a stable and viable world for us all.Image: Vladimir...
View ArticleFrom welfare to workfare: how the helping hand became a contract
We no longer regard society as having obligations to the poor, but rather the poor as having obligations to society. When and how did this shift take place?The recent ruling on the cases of Caitlin...
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Kigali 2020: the politics of silence in the city of shock
The Rwandan government have ambitious yet deeply disruptive plans to rebuild Kigali as Africa's Singapore. Despite plans to uproot vast swathes of the city to make way for 'virtual Kigali', the...
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Shenzhen: constructing the city, reconstructing subjects
Shenzhen, one of our greatest contemporary urban experiments, faces huge challenges in integrating the non-urban populations on which the city was built, into the city-proper.Premised on exports and...
View ArticleBeirut: the spaces in between
Film: A short film documenting Beirut's dwindling public spaces.By the Lebanese Economic Association, directed by Rami Rajeh. A short film documenting Beirut's dwindling public spaces.SideboxesRelated...
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The two worlds of Viktor Yanukovych’s Ukraine
Ukraine’s President Yanukovych has completed his takeover of his country’s TV channels, and is making inroads into the internet. As Ukraine faces a choice of whether to align itself with Europe or...
View ArticleCSW: it's time to question the Vatican's power at the UN
In the final days of the UN Commission on the Status of Women summit on eliminating violence against women and girls, the Vatican, in alliance with Iran, Syria and Russia, is working to roll-back...
View Article'A slap on the wrist': Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council
An inteview with Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, President of the Tamil National People's Front, who warns that the Tamil genocide has not been curtailed in post-conflict Sri Lanka. In a hotel by the...
View ArticleChina, the politics of corruption
China's new leader Xi Jinping has gathered more power more quickly than any of his predecessors. The big test now facing him will be to translate his concern about corruption into decisive action - and...
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Banned in Russia
YouTube’s challenge to Russia’s controversial blacklist law could aid activists in fighting Russia's growing control of the web.Protest against internet censorship in St Petersburg. Demotix, Roma...
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Double standards: dispersal and pregnant asylum seekers in Britain
The NHS prides itself on its high standard of maternity care, yet by transporting pregnant asylum seekers between cities, removing them from partners, support networks and trusted midwives, the UKBA is...
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The Great Firewall of China
China’s authorities maintain a tight grip on the web. But with increasing numbers of tech-savvy users, how long can this control last? Index’s China correspondent investigates . Protesters march...
View ArticleThe secret war: British nationals stripped of their citizenship
Stripping those born here of their citizenship by arbitrary acts of government has alarming historical overtones and raises serious questions about the British state. Why have such acts increased so...
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