Toxic images or imaging the other

In the aftermath of the Toulouse killings of March 2012, the French state projected a set of 'toxic images' clearly demarcating the republic's enemy in young, Muslim men. 

Private security's new accountability regime?

The professionalisation of entrepreneurs in violence into a legitimate 'private security' industry provokes profound questions for state-citizen relations. Who has the power to hold these companies accountable, and how?

Europe's Middle East policies: a southern European twist

More coordination and strategy are needed in Europe's response to the sinister signs of stolen revolution. The political-strategic impulse has come from the south in the past. In the current economic crisis this should be more the case, not less.

Has Turkey reached a dead-end in Syria?

A bomb blast in Cilvegozu confirmed that free passage for arms and fighters across the Syrian border is creating complex spillovers in Turkey. The administration's humanitarian stance has been uncontroversial, but reports that Turkey has encouraged targeted violence in northern Syria illustrate the interests at play.

Fighting for the high ground

While the Baha Mousa inquiry "may have shone a torch into a dark corner", what is now before the court is more like "a stadium in which we will switch on the floodlights".

Europe needs principles for intervention

Why is Denmark involved in Mali? European leaders should clarify when, why and how to participate in military interventions and warfare abroad. Emerging security challenges in nearby neighbourhood regions, together with a waning Pax Americana, are obliging Europe to reconsider its future global role.

Joycean nightmares, Parnellite politics, and the Northern Irish riots

Attributing the violence associated with Northern Ireland's 'flag riots' to the peace process itself is a capitulation to the view of Northern Ireland as unable to escape the nightmare of its history, leaving questions of social responsibility endlessly deferred.

Causes of the Northern Ireland flag dispute

A decision to restrict the flying of the union flag over Belfast City Hall late last year sparked weeks of protests and riots. The cause is rooted deep in the legacy of the peace process.

Conflict at the EU's southern borders: the Sahel crisis

Gradually, EU systems of governance have extended into the southern Mediterranean, linking dynamics in the Sahel with European interests through its borderlands. This could be a test of the EU's foreign policy ambitions. But is the Union ready and capable to act, and if so, what is at stake?

How close is Turkey to resolving its Kurdish problem?

The most dangerous fall-out of the Syrian civil war in which Turkey also played a significant role seems to be resurgence of the PKK.

When business and the state co-opt ‘independent’ civil society

How can charities and community organisations provide effective advocacy when they are agents of the state or partners in business?

Ten reasons to vote for G4S as the World's Worst Company

The infamous Public Eye award wants your vote on the company that most deserves naming and shaming. Activists from South Yorkshire to the Canton of Vaud are backing security company G4S to win. Here's why.

Al-Qaida, idea in motion

The United States's "remote control" campaign against Islamist targets is intensifying. But behind the headlines, the transnational diffusion of al-Qaida's idea is just as potent.

What do we mean by Islamism?

The British media and political landscape have done much to obscure a proper in-depth understanding of Islamism, the ideology, as separate from the Muslim faith. Two books can be a small help - everyone should read them.

The year of not living dangerously

ETA's 2011 ceasefire was a historic marker for the 40-plus year struggle. As the group struggles for political legitimation, has Spain entered an era in which ETA and its sympathizers can pursue secessionist goals from within the boundaries of legality?

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