democracy & terror: all articles

Could democracy be the ultimate antidote to terrorism? In the face of violence, how should democratic values be put into action? openDemocracy writers present their views - join the conversation in the forum to add yours.

This debate is an extension of arguments presented by openDemocracy in the run up to the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security, held in Madrid in March this year. To access the online forum discussion from this earlier period of debate, which is hosted on the Summit site, please click here.

Monday 19th October

Abductions and disappearances in the Philippines

Mark Dearn, 19 October 2009

The west looks away, observes Mark Dearn

Thursday 12th March

Who'll stop the rain?

Swetha Regunathan, 12 March 2009

Trapped in her Chennai home by torrential downpours and floods, Swetha Regunathan had no option but to immerse herself in the spectacle of the Mumbai attacks

Saturday 14th February

Can Pakistan learn from Obama's "age of responsibility"?

Syed Mohammad Ali and Pamela Kilpadi, 14 February 2009

Islamabad must not lose sight of the country's economic and social failings as it fights terrorism

Friday 6th February

Pakistan's failed crackdown

Raja Karthikeya Gundu, 6 February 2009

Pakistan's promised campaign against Lashkar-e-Taiba has had little effect

Tuesday 27th January

Kashmir: the elusive peace

Ravinder Kaur, 27 January 2009

In the wake of the Mumbai attacks, New Delhi is in no mood for compromise.

Sunday 18th January

I’ve turned 25, uh-huh. Wish me luck…

Anastasiya Baburova, 18 January 2009

The blog of Anastasia Baburova, budding journalist - murdered in Moscow

Thursday 18th December

The "new violence" of Mumbai

Ashwani Kumar, 18 December 2008

The recent terrorist attack in Mumbai is not a continuation of politics by other means, but part of an exclusivist, modern project that sees human freedom as superfluous.

Thursday 11th December

The neo-Taliban: a year on

Antonio Giustozzi, 11 December 2008

The success of a reinvigorated Afghan insurgency guarantees that 2009 will be another tough year of combat, says Antonio Giustozzi.

Wednesday 17th September

India’s urban war: through the smoke

Ravinder Kaur, 17 September 2008

A global narrative of Islamist violence risks missing the local dimensions of India's insecurity

Monday 7th July

British Muslims and the Muslim Council of Britain: the next decade

Yahya Birt, 7 July 2008

A rising generation will take Muslims' post-7/7 intellectual ferment forward, testing institutions

Letter from wounded London

Isabel Hilton, 7 July 2008

The bombs of 7 July 2005 wounded London. Our first response warned of damage to democracy too (archive)

Tuesday 10th June

Guantánamo: the inside story

Isabel Hilton and Clive Stafford Smith, 10 June 2008

The legal and human context of the US Supreme Court's landmark verdict (archive)

Thursday 29th May

The mufti and the general: lessons from Somalia

Ram Manikkalingam, 29 May 2008

When to talk to political and violent extremists, and who should do the talking?

Tuesday 27th May

A democracy of suspicion

Dejan Djokic, 27 May 2008

A university colleague's arrest over downloaded research materials reflects a climate of fear

Tuesday 11th March

From the shadows: Spain’s election lessons

Ivan Briscoe, 11 March 2008

A cautious left outguns an intransigent right - just. Now it faces an even bigger political test

Friday 8th February

The Other’s new face: Austria, the Habsburg empire and Islam

Paula Sutter Fichtner, 8 February 2008

Two great states and empires confronted each other across boundaries of imagination as well as arms between the 14th and 17th centuries in Europe. As conflict receded so the vision of the enemy changed. How did this happen, and what are the lessons for today, asks Paula Sutter Fichtner.

Thursday 7th February