At OurKingdom, businessman David Potter, who served on the Bank of England when the financial crash began, welcomes the enmity of bankers. 

Sadhavi Chauhan investigates Russia-Pakistan relations for oDRussia, Denis MacShane writes one of several analyses as Georgians vote, and Roman Kabachiy spots some young hopefuls in the Ukrainian elections. 

Guest editor Nick Mahony opened his week of debate on ‘Creating publics’, launching the first of this autumn’s openDemocracy editorial partnerships, with some troublemakers - Ludek Stavinoha on the public haunting contemporary global trade politics; Britta Ohm on the Gujarat Pogrom of 2002, and Christoph Haug on the coercion involved in achieving consensus. Andrew Byerley and Jonas Bylund argue that friction is essential to public life, while Helen Graham, finds human courtesy a far better basis than rights for reimagining public services. 

The World Social Forum globalizes politics through its media; while a moving study shows Aboriginal people fighting to participate in Canada’s national polity. Marianne Maeckelberg’s overview on Occupy and Madrid discusses the emerging practices of ‘horizontal’ democracy, while Liza Griffin defends ‘the commons’ from proposals to reform EU common fisheries policy.

A week full of tv, film and film-making includes Jo Tyabji’s first openSecurity video interview with the economic adviser to the President of South Sudan, which joins three angry pieces on discord fomented by Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Cameroon, and a disillusioned former UN expert on Sudan/Darfur sanctions, while the UN once again fails the Syrian people.

Paul Rogers highlights the power contest in Central Asia; Charles Armstrong visits North Korea, Celia Szusterman warns us about ambition in Argentina; Leila Zaki Chakravarti looks at how Egypt’s President Morsi is creating his own publics; and Rebecca Johnson considers today’s nuclear challenges. 

After a week of trouble in Europe, most ominously in Greece, there is added poignancy to Donald Sassoon’s celebration of the life of historian Eric Hobsbawm, as Yudit Kiss also looks back.

We visit the US elections with Ruth Rosen, ponder the probity of Yale University and close the week in Our Kingdom, with worry about UK pensions, disinformation, secret courts and criminalized youth.

openDemocracy will continue to be where the public informs the public, in good days, and bad. 


Don't miss:

• Obama on modern slavery

• Madrid on the brink

• How the mafia is destroying the rainforests

openDemocracy’s week in 1 minute is emailed to Members, Friends and authors who help pay for and create our great content. Please forward this to any contact you think might be interested and want to join or email us ([email protected]).