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About David Hayes

David Hayes is deputy editor of openDemocracy, which he co-founded
in 2000. He has written textbooks on human rights and terrorism, and was a contributor to Town and Country (Jonathan Cape, 1998). His work has been published in PN Review, the Irish Times, El Pais, the Iran Times International, the Canberra Times, the Scotsman, the New Statesman and The Absolute Game.

He has edited five print collections of material from the openDemocracy website, including Europe and Islam; Turkey: Writers, Politics, and Free Speech; and Europe: Visions, Realities, Futures. He is the editor of Fred Halliday's Political Journeys - the openDemocracy Essays (Saqi, 2011)

Articles by David Hayes

Friday 13th January

Margaret Thatcher, between myth and politics

David Hayes, 13 January 2012
A sympathetic film portrayal of Britain’s most divisive modern prime minister fits a broader mood of reappraisal of her years in power, says David Hayes
Thursday 8th December

London, the intimate megacity

David Hayes, 8 December 2011
London’s mayoral election might be overshadowed in 2012 by royal and Olympic pageants, but it’s more revealing of the city’s heartbeat than either, says David Hayes.
Tuesday 1st November

After St Paul's: the smoke this time

David Hayes, 1 November 2011
An encampment around St Paul’s cathedral in London casts a new light on this icon of British wartime defiance. But the epic days of the 1940s may have something to teach the protesters in return, says David Hayes.
Monday 19th September

England, a country of the mind

David Hayes, 19 September 2011
The tendency to press reality into a heritage mould traps England in political aspic, says David Hayes.
Wednesday 7th September

9/11, ten years on: reflections

David Hayes, 7 September 2011
A terror-filled day of mass murder in the eastern United States imprinted itself on the world's consciousness - and became the prelude to a decade of further violence. openDemocracy writers reflect on the impact and legacy of the events of 11 September 2001.
Friday 19th August

England’s two solitudes

David Hayes, 19 August 2011
A four-night outbreak of riotous disorder in London and other English cities in early August 2011 is a potent argument for social repair. But lack of agreement on fundamentals could soon prove fatal to progress, says David Hayes.
Friday 5th August

Derick Thomson at 90: Gaelic poet in the world

David Hayes, 5 August 2011
Ruaraidh MacThòmais (Derick Thomson) has as poet, scholar, teacher and editor made a profound contribution to Gaelic literature over six decades. The quality and range of his work deserve belated recognition in the context of the culture he has done so much to enlarge, says David Hayes.
Thursday 7th July

The London bombs, five years on: a digest

David Hayes, 7 July 2011

The coordinated bomb-attacks on London’s transport network on 7 July 2005 (“7/7”) left dozens dead and hundreds wounded, and marked the lives of millions in the city and beyond. The political, intellectual and security issues raised by the event were extensively discussed on openDemocracy in the ensuing months. A retrospect of unforgettable days, by David Hayes.

(This article was first published on 7 July 2010)

Friday 17th June

The foreign correspondent: James Cameron, 1911-85

David Hayes, 17 June 2011
A voice of wry observation and quiet authority that made humane sense of distant events to a domestic public helped James Cameron become the most respected international journalist in post-1945 Britain. But is there room for his world-reporting craft in a very different media age, asks David Hayes.
Tuesday 24th May

Bob Dylan at 70: revolution in the head, revisited

David Hayes, 24 May 2011
The most influential and original musician of the 1960s generation remains a figure of protean creativity half a century on. The wealth of attention devoted to Bob Dylan as he reaches his 70th birthday is testament to a career of astonishing range. It also reflects the complex legacy of a formative decade which Dylan’s songs and persona helped to define, says David Hayes.
Monday 23rd May

Bob Dylan: a conversation

David Hayes, 23 May 2011
The celebrations of the 70th birthday of the great American musician Bob Dylan include many personal journeys through the archives of memory. Here, David Hayes recalls a thrilling series of concerts Dylan performed in 1981...and a late-night encounter.
Thursday 12th May

In with the bricks, out for life

David Hayes, 12 May 2011
A recollection of openDemocracy’s early days, by David Hayes.

Ten years, ten articles: a retrospect

David Hayes, 12 May 2011
openDemocracy is ten years old. Its deputy editor David Hayes chooses his favourite articles from the archive, one from each year of publication.
Saturday 7th May

Cornelius Cardew: a life unfinished

David Hayes, 7 May 2011
Cornelius Cardew (1936-81) was one of the most influential modernist composers of his generation. On what would have been his 75th birthday, some who knew and worked with Cardew reflect on a protean figure
Sunday 17th April

Thinking of Cambodia

David Hayes, 17 April 2011
On 17 April 1975, the entry of Khmer Rouge soldiers into Phnom Penh forced Cambodia’s people into a nightmare that would last for four years
Monday 11th April

The Arab spring: protest, power, prospect

David Hayes, 11 April 2011
What is the “Arab spring” becoming? After three months of upheaval, repression and conflict, the democracy wave in the region, including Iran, is at a crucial stage. openDemocracy authors offer concise perspectives on a complex and fluid political moment.

(The first contributions in this series were published on 4 April 2011)
Monday 21st March

Fred Halliday: an unfinished voyage

David Hayes, 21 March 2011
The core themes of a new book of Fred Halliday’s openDemocracy columns underline his work's enduring vitality, says David Hayes.
Monday 14th March

Japan: from tsunami to change

David Hayes, 14 March 2011
The effects of the catastrophic earthquake in Japan’s northeast will be felt for years to come. How Japan responds will help to define its capacity to meet other 21st-century tests, says David Hayes.
Wednesday 12th January

The 2011 outlook: ideas and agents

David Hayes, 12 January 2011

Where are the sources of inspiration that can improve global and national prospects in 2011? openDemocracy writers across the world offer their thoughts.

(The first contributions in this collection were published on 3 January 2011)

Tuesday 14th September

A free media: Tasneem Khalil’s project

Timothy Sowula and David Hayes, 14 September 2010
The work of a Bangladeshi journalist offers a different perspective on some of the professional and ethical dilemmas raised by the WikiLeaks project, say Timothy Sowula & David Hayes.
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