This article was published 11 years ago in the Salisbury Review - then a small right-wing magazine edited by oD author Roger Scruton. The author wonders why he stands behind the basic position and analysis despite having moved from right to left over the decade
The recurrence of animal imagery in Granta Magazine's powerful collection of fiction and reportage remembering the decade after 9/11, points to the depth of incomprehension and "otherness" that we have been left with
The downgrade of America's Sovereign debt rating is a recognition that the Gingrichite revolutionaries might win their struggle. The only response left must be to persuade voters of an ambitious, worthwhile common project above the levels of the family, locality and church
Plans for a mall on my doorstep reminds me of the malls that Facebook and Google are building on our screens. Email should be part of the strategy to reclaim our public spheres
David Pryce-Jones in conversation with Tony Curzon Price about his latest book on radicals of the left and right whose anger with England and whose traumas led them to seek comfort and revenge in foreign causes. Is there a common thread linking Paine, Byron, T.E. Lawrence and Lord Haw-Haw? Or shou
Liberalism does not evolve and progress according to some internal process, but because of the historical challenges it has faced. Slavery, colonialism, anti-semitism have all been a part of this. How do religious fundamentalism, environment and immigration challenge Liberalism today? A conversati
openDemocracy's first decade opened and closed with economic and financial crises. The first gave us the tools that will be needed to reorganise our politics to avoid more of the same; the second should give us the confidence that seemingly powerful institutions are flawed social mechanisms that o
The ideal of business, media and political separation is never fully achieved. But the trend in Central and Eastern Europe seems to be towards a worrying degradation. A podcast conversation with accompanying presentation. Podcast Powered By Podbean
Yvan Guichaoua, West Africa expert researching non-government armed groups, describes what kind of force Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is, what motivates its members and what are the conditions of its success. Smuggling, fast cars, and the economics of ransoms combine with ideology to create a t
Another debate I worked on, extracted from the Department of Energy and Climate Change's public consultation on Pathways to 2050. I love the idea of district heating – which seems such a natural adjunct to local community control compared to other systems – but can it really be justified independe
