If the current dearth of participation in the first Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales is anything to go by, the new system may provide an opportunity for far right political parties to establish crucial centres of influence.
The absence of Europe on any agenda - as an object of critique, a space of solidarity, or a target of reform - seemed to suggest that, while London may be a global city, it is not, politically at least, a European one. Is this really the case?
Young, male and unemployed: our representation of the typical supporter of European right-wing populist parties is filled with stereotypes. Who does actually cast a radical vote?
Although climate change has seemingly disappeared from the global political agenda, recent signs show we're not that far away from disaster. What will it take for our leaders to finally act?
One year on, the Occupy movement is but the shadow of its former self. Whatever happened to the 99%?
Hyperbole and misinformation swamp the Scottish headlines as the independence referendum draws closer. How can radical thought overcome 'phantom Tories' and provide the framework to overcome the nation’s toxic cocktail of populism and complacency?
Two other fault lines, unrelated to the sectarian issue, need to be taken into account in order to understand the multi-dimensional Syrian conflict.
The demand for politics over markets, a key message in the Occupy and Indignados movements, is also key here. A considerable drop in trust is clear: trust in all national institutions and political actors (parliament, parties, and trade unions).
On 28th October Ukrainians go to the polls to elect a new parliament, but it is already clear that the election will not be fought by fair means. Sergii Leshchenko outlines the various, and sometimes ingenious, methods used to rig the vote.
As the euro crisis becomes increasingly inextricable, European solidarity erodes. What if the new cultural common denominator between northern and southern Europe was contempt for the Union?
If a lesson may be learned from the big live laboratory of democracy that is Italy, it might be the awareness that democracy requires failsafe mechanisms of early-warning to protect the enlightenment of its members.
'The Great British Summer' of 2012 is well and truly over. OurKingdom takes a rollercoaster journey back through the season to close its series.
