If democracy means rule by the people for the people, it has broken down. At pivotal moments in the past, altering the rules of the political has been a defining trait of the organised left, able to project a new social order out of latent concerns, as well as develop the means to alter the gramma
Arab Awakening's weekly Open Thread provides an opportunity for our columnists, writers, and YOU to share what has caught your attention this week in the Middle East in the comments section.
The punitive language of retribution ignores common sense, justice and compelling evidence of what works, and the new language of the market degrades our penal system, demeaning the tens of thousands of people within its walls.
Algeria wrested independence from France in 1962 after a bitter and extremely violent eight-year struggle. The legacy has continued to shadow its efforts to create a workable model of development and a humane life for its citizens. Francis Ghilès invokes a wealth of memory from his years reporting
Whether they are benefiting or are being harmed by the current situation in Syria, what role do the various regional and international actors play and how do Syrians deal with them? They are fully aware that the external stances with regards to their revolution will not be the most crucial ones fo
We need to re-think the whole relation between the west and the Arabs on moral grounds. The choice cannot be between either a military intervention on the Iraqi model, or a cynical neutral attitude.
Global financial market-driven post-democracy is well able to describe the logic that governs the realities of contemporary markets and politics, but cannot explain why these realities are justified, universally beneficial or sustainable
The current crisis was not imposed by technocratic elites, but by democratically elected centre-right and centre-left governments. It is to a great extent due to the weak response from society that neoliberal capitalism is consolidating further, as governments are imposing exactly the ruinous poli
The common denominator of Greece's and Europe's (and the world's) problems is the uncontrolled power of business. Politics has become privatised. On behalf of ‘efficiency’ the defence of the common good was outsourced to business groups. With the result that is unfolding in front of our eyes.
Arab Awakening's columnists offer their weekly perspective on what is happening on the ground in the Middle East. Leading the week: Rita from Syria tells a harrowing tale of narrowly escaping death and the lesson she learned in the process.
