Libya and a decade’s war

Paul Rogers 1 April 2011

The west’s military-political strategy against the Gaddafi regime echoes its flawed approach to Afghanistan and Iraq, says Paul Rogers in this, his 500th weekly column for openDemocracy.

Voices from the military abyss – An Introduction to The Skinback Fusiliers.

Clare Sambrook, Rosemary Bechler, and Niki Seth-Smith 28 March 2011
openDemocracy and Our Kingdom are proud to serialiseThe Skinback Fusiliers, a fast, funny and deeply disturbing novel about life in the British army today seen through the eyes of three young men.

Unknown Soldier on the making of The Skinback Fusiliers

Unknown Soldier 27 March 2011
openDemocracy is serialising the novel The Skinback Fusiliers over the next two months. Here, the anonymous author, 'Unknown Soldier', gives an insight into the creation of this fast, funny and deeply disturbing novel about life in the British army.

Sectarianism and conflict in Bahrain

Hayder al-Khoei 16 March 2011
The media and politicians have done Iraq a great disservice by highlighting the overt sectarian identity of the oppressor and the oppressed. It must not make this same mistake with Bahrain.

Kurdistan comes alive

Ranj Alaaldin 16 March 2011
Despite its unique circumstances, Kurdistan has not been immune to the chain of protests across the middle east. Ranj Alaaldin expresses hope that the movement will help build upon, rather than set back, the region's nascent democratic institutions.

Pro-democracy demonstrations in northern Iraq/south Kurdistan

Kamal Chomani and Jake Hess 2 March 2011
The winds of rebellion have reached the Kurdistan autonomous region in northern Iraq, where a series of demonstrations have broken out to demand greater democracy, improved social services, and an end to corruption.
In this interview, a prominent journalist and democracy advocate discusses the origins of the protests and the wider political situation in the Kurdish region

The tragedy that is Iraq

Issa Khalaf 2 March 2011
Totalitarian rule, war, sanctions, invasion, destruction, sectarian suspicions, western manipulation all have brought Iraq to its knees. Any formula that relies on a basic regrouping and reshuffling of a corrupt regime in control of state resources will collapse in violence.

Iraqi protests: aimed at changing the current regime?

Shatha Al Juburi 24 February 2011
Iraqi protesters recently denounced the Islamisation of Iraqi society, demanded better working conditions, and protested the torture of prisoners. But ‘regime change’ has a different meaning in Iraq, and unlike Egypt and Tunisia, these protesters are asking for more support from the current government.

Hariri returns to Beirut as Lebanon teeters on the brink of chaos

Oliver Scanlan 16 January 2011
Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri returns to Beirut in the face of opposition demands that he remain in exile. Years of political repression in Tunisia may be at an end as President Ben Ali flees the country. Iraqi soldiers shoot US counterparts, wounding three. All this and much more, in today’s security update…

The Iraq surge 2007-2008 – what does Human Security have to say about it?

Yahia Said 15 January 2011

The multinational forces succeeded in gaining the trust of communities by changing the focus of the mission from the prosecution of insurgents to protection of civilians. This is a significant departure from past practices

Al-Sadr returns to an uncertain and unstable Iraq

Ranj Alaaldin 8 January 2011
Ranj Alaaldin explores the significance of Muqtada al-Sadr's return to Iraq for the nation's politics, and the US and Iranian stakes in the country.

A rage unquenched: AfPak, Iraq, and the west

Paul Rogers 16 December 2010
A pattern of attacks in the United States and Europe by individual jihadists is deeply connected to both the effects and the perceptions of a decade's war across the greater middle east.

Korean peninsula on ‘the brink of war’

Oliver Scanlan 26 November 2010
On Friday, the official news service of North Korea accused the US and South Korea of pushing the peninsula to the brink of war. Israeli armed forces have been witnessed demolishing a mosque and other buildings in the occupied West Bank. Nouri al-Maliki has been asked by the Iraqi President to form a new government as bomb blasts across Iraq kill nine and injure over fifteen. All this and more, in today’s security update.

Iraqi refugees: problems and prospects

Dawn Chatty 24 November 2010

Iraqi refugees in neighbouring Arab states are unwilling to return to their country and unable to emigrate further west. Their perilous situation needs to be addressed by the powers who created this humanitarian crisis, says Dawn Chatty.

Rights groups call for investigation into violence in Western Sahara

Josephine Whitaker 11 November 2010
Rights groups call for international probe into violence in Western Sahara. Cholera reaches Port-au-Prince, confirming health workers’ worst fears. Iraqi politicians finally negotiate government after months of deadlock. Former Navy admirals slam decision to scrap Harriers, claiming the move will jeopardise the Falklands. All this and much more in today's Security Briefing...

This week's editor

Heather McRobie


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

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

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