Arundhati Roy ranges broadly over corruption scandals, Wikileaks' excessive desire for the spotlight, Pakistan/India relations, the twinned perils of nationalism and religious fundamentalism ... and how to deal with negative online comments
A high-decibel debate lasting several weeks in India has forced an agreement on introducing a draconian anti-corruption bill. Anna Hazare’s hunger strike with round-the-clock television coverage has divided the nation. Is there a third way between apathy and messianic fanaticism?
The turn into a neoliberal direction of European integration is at the root of the present crisis. In the search to avoid a global depression, European leaders may be forced to move closer towards a federation. Such steps are fraught with difficulty and will meet nationalist populism head-on in a
A pattern of violence against the Ahmadiyah religious community, in which the perpetrators enjoy near-impunity and official indulgence, is disfiguring Indonesia. It also presents a wider challenge to the country’s vital search for a model of religious tolerance in public life, says Charles Reading
The writer visits a friend he hasn’t seen for a while. A piece about longing, dreaming about a white horse, freedom and steak for dinner
For many years Irina Teplinskaya has been campaigning for replacement therapy to be available to drug addicts in Russia, but it remains banned by the law. On 18 August Irina returned to Russia from a course of rehabilitation in Ukraine. At the border she was searched and a tablet ‘found’ in her ba
Europe’s crisis is a crisis of democracy. The ‘democracy of the experts’ cannot deliver: representative democracy is incapable of channelling demands in the political system. More participatory and deliberative democracy is needed, as argued in Europe’s public spaces by the movements of ‘ indignad
The authorities’ destruction of a building and precious archive of human-rights workers in Baku is an act of mindless cruelty that damages Azerbaijan itself, says Thomas de Waal.
Yes, European leaders could all agree when it came to imposing austerity on Athens, Dublin, Lisbon and Rome, ‘reassuring’ financial markets, saving creditor banks, increasing countries’ financial burdens and putting public enterprises on the market at sale prices. But such policies make exiting th
Manmohan Singh's government faces its biggest challenge as it prepares to quell the rising protest against the most corrupt government India has ever witnessed. The demand for a new anti-draft bill by activist Anna Hazare and his team is creating a revolution.
A divisive period in Georgian politics has pitted a range of forces - the opposition, the Orthodox church, the media, and civil society - against Mikheil Saakashvili’s government. The disputes carry important messages for the future of democracy in the country, says Ghia Nodia.
Political discourse around cohesion in the UK has come down to a simplistic juxtaposition between those “who obey our laws” and those who don’t. The government needs to re-think its laissez-faire policy on cohesion, says Phoebe Griffith
