The period since 9/11 has renewed global debate about the nature of United States power and influence in a world being transformed by globalisation. openDemocracy writers - American and non-American - bring fresh perspectives to bear on the Iraq war, the question of empire, unilateralism, the "end of history", neo-conservatism, and foreign policy under and after George W Bush
The president's new clothes
George W Bush's seventh state of the union speech offered a series of measures to increase the United States's energy security. Spin or substance, asks Caspar Henderson.
Ahmadinejad, Iran and America
The Iranian president’s reaction to his election defeat is combining with a more assertive United States policy towards Iran to make early 2007 a moment of great regional danger, say Dariush Zahedi & Omid Memarian.
US space policy: big universe, small planet
The Bush administration’s plan to extend American power into the cosmos recalls the visions and violations of the early space-exploration era, says Gerard De Groot.
The US in Iraq: stay the course, pay the price
The Bush administration's new Iraq strategy is the latest phase of an imperial disaster born of ignorance, arrogance and incompetence, says Godfrey Hodgson.
After the Baker report: America's challenge
Three neglected factors – Israel, oil, and American exceptionalism – underpin the United States's foreign-policy disaster in Iraq, says Godfrey Hodgson.
Democracy in America: paths to renewal
An evolving common ground of open-minded, web-savvy citizens is creating a renewed civic culture of dialogue across the United States. It needs support at the centre too, says Michael Edwards.
One week after the storm
“Imperial realists” have gone to work following the American political hurricane, says Norman Birnbaum. Uncertainty and risk lie ahead.
Sparing Saddam: beyond victor's justice
A US call to spare Saddam from the gallows could restore America's reputation for justice, and be a powerful gesture of reconciliation for the middle east, says John Sloboda.
America's election: Daddy's swagger vs Mommy's care
The mid-term political earthquake in the United States was a vote against a macho politics of fear, says Ruth Rosen.
Washington: the earth moves
The mid-term elections in the United States are both a massive rejection of George W Bush and a momentous challenge to the Democratic victors, says Godfrey Hodgson.
American politics: corrosion by the dollar
The money-fuelled abuse and vituperation of the mid-term election campaign in the United States is a stain on American democracy, says Godfrey Hodgson.
Can democracy be exported?
Military action has rarely succeeded in achieving the United States’s main political aims. Daniele Archibugi examines the precedents and explains why carrots work better than sticks.
A liberal manifesto for America
The need to renew democracy after the Bush fiasco has inspired a manifesto reaffirming core liberal values. Bruce Ackerman, the initiative's co-architect, explains its purpose.
South Dakota, sexual politics, and the American elections
This is an "only in America" story that takes place in the small, conservative state of South Dakota. A few months ago, the national media were obsessed with this state's effort to ban all abortions. Recently, the story has faded, eclipsed by other electoral news, most notably the sharply worsening situation in Iraq and domestic scandals. But the effort to forbid all abortions is far from an insignificant matter.
War, law and American democracy
The Bush administration has undermined international law and subverted national democracy, justifying both by the cultivation of fear. Chip Pitts & Bryan Long assess the damage and how it can be repaired.
This week's editor
Europe from the bottom up
European debate
Democratic Wealth
Nuclear non-proliferation
oDRussia at journalismfestival .com
Mali - the plot thickens
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Remote control war
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Conference coverage from 50.50
Articles exploring the themes of the fourth international Nobel Women's Initiative conference May 28-31. Jennifer Allsopp and Heather McRobie will be reporting for 5050
Articles exploring the themes of the fourth international Nobel Women's Initiative conference May 28-31. Jennifer Allsopp and Heather McRobie will be reporting for 5050
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Vron Ware Up in Arms
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Markha Valenta Inter Alia: religion, politics, culture
Paul Rogers on Global security
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Lis Howell On broadcasting
Dan Hancox Revel, Riot and Rebellion
Martin Rose Bliss Was It in that Dawn to Be Next Door
Vron Ware Up in Arms
Jim Gabour Sunday Comics
James Warner Standing Perpendicular, as books do
Markha Valenta Inter Alia: religion, politics, culture
Paul Rogers on Global security
Mary Kaldor on Human security
