“Only war makes it possible to mobilize all of today’s technical resources while maintaining the property system.”

- Walter Benjamin, 1936

About Shilpa Kameswaran

Shilpa Kameswaran is an Indian author and the founding editor of the literary journal Urban Confustions.

Articles by Shilpa Kameswaran

Hoping for a middle path in the US

Shilpa Kameswaran 8 November 2012

After all, the exaggerated chasm created between the Republicans and Democrats is a pre-election political propaganda whipped up by a few irrational melodramatic extremist troublemakers.

Occupy Wall Street: where are the migrants?

Shilpa Kameswaran 28 October 2011

The lack of demographic diversity amongst the protestors and uncertainty about their demands make Occupy Wall Street difficult to take seriously, argues Shilpa Kameswaran from a migrant's perspective

Dealing with diversity the North-American way

Shilpa Kameswaran 11 April 2011

Being ‘caste-blind’ in economically shining India might be a wonderful way to fight caste-demarcations in urban mega-centres. But, being ‘culture-blind’ could prove very short-sighted in the long run. A reply to Rajeev Bhargava

All stations but America: why the US can't fall in love with rail

Shilpa Kameswaran 23 February 2011

There are many reasons why Amtrak suffers from an unenviable reputation: sluggish operating speeds, expensive tickets and long journeys being among the most obvious. But just as important is the American philosophy of ‘individualism’, which has proven incompatible with the idea of nationalized transport.

This week's editor

Niki Seth-Smith is a freelance journalist and co-editor of OurKingdom.

Europe from the bottom up

European Union stars in Paris. Flickr/notarim. Some rights reserved.

A new Europe can only come from the bottom up
Etienne Balibar

A social Europe must be a political Europe
Bo Stråth

As Europe is provincialized: a reply to Etienne Balibar
Sandro Mezzadra

European debate

A republican call for a basic income
Daniel Raventos and Julie Wark

Nuclear non-proliferation

Women and the Arab Spring

oDRussia at journalismfestival .com

Mali - the plot thickens

Remote control war

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Conference. Moving beyond Militarism and War to a Nonviolent World: A Forum Devoted to Sharing Women-Driven Solutions

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Markha Valenta Inter Alia: religion, politics, culture

Paul Rogers on Global security

Mary Kaldor on Human security

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Arab Awakening

In the months following the start of the Arab Revolutions, articles and analysis poured into openDemocracy from contributors across the Middle East and Europe. Gradually, the impact of Tahrir Square began to extend well beyond the Middle East as democratic inspiration travelled from east to west. Arab Awakening tries to capture that inspiration and use it to help us read a rapidly changing world.

"As students of politics is it is vital to study the power of imagination." -Professor Charles Tripp, SOAS

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