The row over the publication of cartoons of the prophet Mohammed raises profound tensions – between freedom of speech and mutual respect, ethics of satire and sacrality, shared values and coexistence,
On 27 November 2005 the people of Chechnya will go to the polls to elect a parliament in the capital, Grozny. The process is seen by the Russian Federation of
It is a rare and gloriously perverse alchemy – unless someone in the Swedish Academy has an even wickeder sense of humour than the awarder of the Nobel peace prize to
Each year on 23 August, a small cluster of people gathers in a quiet corner of London – beside the wall of St Bartholomew’s hospital, opposite Smithfield meat market – to
Iran lives the contradictions of 21st-century world politics. In Tehran, a sclerotic, Islamic, post-revolutionary, nuclear state commands a youthful, idea-hungry, proto-democratic, networked society. Iranians everywhere in
The spectacle of politics around the world in the early 21st century presents what might be called a democratic paradox. In western states especially, there is widespread, tangible dissatisfaction with
Untranslatable Words has moved, you can now find the latest word in our columns and on our frontpage.
Menna Elfyn, Welsh poet
glas
I could have chosen hiraeth, an over-
openDemocracys coverage of the extension of the war on terror to Iraq, the bitter worldwide convulsions this would cause, and the subsequent problems of occupation and insurgency, began as
The decision of the British government, led by prime minister Tony Blair, to support the United States’s preparations to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq was extremely controversial
We share with Paul’s closest family our deep shock and sadness at this event. We all have lost not just a precious human being but an extraordinary life-force
The aftermath may be protracted but this Iraqi war is coming to its end.
When did it begin? The simple answer is 19 March 2003. Others would say that 11
It is 12 January 2003 and US president Bush has rallied his troops for what he calls “The first war of the 21st century”. What is your view of this crisis, where, briefly, do you stand? This is the question we are putting to people around the world, especially those with their own public reputatio
