democracy & power: all articles

Control over people's lives is shifting beyond the grasp of traditional institutions. Democracy is embraced as a vision, but can be endlessly frustrated or disappointing in practice.
Friday 16th October

What was communism?

Fred Halliday, 16 October 2009
A lasting judgment of the system that imploded in 1989 needs a large view. Fred Halliday's your man

Silvio Berlusconi: the last battle

Geoff Andrews, 16 October 2009
Italy's showman-premier faces a struggle that will test his "postmodern populism" to the limit
Wednesday 14th October

The Armenia-Turkey process: don’t stop now

Kerem Oktem, 14 October 2009
The critics of the Yerevan-Ankara protocols neglect their potential benefits

DR Congo: arc of war, map of responsibility

Martin Shaw, 14 October 2009
A new assessment illuminates the roots of conflict in Africa's most complex region
Tuesday 13th October

Barack Obama’s poisoned shirt

Godfrey Hodgson, 13 October 2009
A Nobel peace prize intended to encourage the US president may do him more harm than good

Armenia-Turkey: genocide, blockade, diplomacy

Vicken Cheterian, 13 October 2009
A bad agreement cannot turn old adversaries into good neighbours
Monday 12th October

The writing on the wall: media wars in Latin America

Ivan Briscoe, 12 October 2009
A clash over media is at the core of the region's bitter divides, pressing left and right into new shapes

Armenia and Turkey: forgetting genocide

Juan Gabriel Tokatlian, 12 October 2009
The Armenia-Turkey accord entails a pragmatic and dangerous silence over the events of 1915
Friday 9th October

Battling over Georgia’s media

Robin Llewellyn, 9 October 2009
While wooing the West with talk of democracy, President Saakashvili has ruthlessly pursued his goal of controlling the media, especially television, says Robin Llewellyn
Tuesday 6th October

Turkey's political-emotional transition

Carsten Wieland, 6 October 2009
Ankara is renegotiating its pro-west commitments and its Islamic family-ties
Monday 5th October

'Go ahead George, change it all': George Papandreou interviewed

openDemocracy and George Papandreou, 5 October 2009
George Papandreou, today with a majority in the Greek parliament, talked to Anthony Barnett in December 2004 as he set out to transform Greek politics
Friday 2nd October

A dissident in the USSR, a dissident in Putin's Russia

2 October 2009
Alexander Podrabinek, a former Soviet dissident, provoked a furore when he criticised pro-USSR revisionism on his blog
Wednesday 30th September

Barack Obama’s great test

Godfrey Hodgson, 30 September 2009
The American president's political instincts undermine his capacity to make change
Tuesday 29th September

Ireland’s European referendum: second take, high stake

John O'Brennan, 29 September 2009
The Irish people's second vote on the Lisbon treaty reveals a serious "democratic deficit"

The jihadist style-journey: Germany’s election and after

Ben O'Loughlin and Mina Al-Lami, 29 September 2009
An al-Qaida militant calls on Germany to leave Afghanistan. But why does he wear a suit and tie? 
Monday 28th September

Andorra’s model: time for change

Fred Halliday, 28 September 2009
European pressure is forcing its microstates to adapt. But Andorrans seek their own reinvention
Friday 25th September

Beijing’s credibility crisis

Li Datong, 25 September 2009
Hu Jintao walks tall in the world, but at home China's anniversary party is shadowed by fear 
Wednesday 23rd September

Neo-conservatism: Irving Kristol’s living legacy

Cas Mudde, 23 September 2009
A pioneer has died, but the intellectual-political current he led is strong inside and outside the citadel
Tuesday 22nd September

Japan’s election: the tides of history

James C Farrer, 22 September 2009

A political tsunami in Tokyo has implications for Washington and Beijing too

Thursday 17th September

Ergenekon: power and democracy in Turkey

Bill Park, 17 September 2009
The legal contest over an ultra-nationalist conspiracy in Turkey is about politics rather than justice
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