openDemocracy is seriliasing The Skinback Fusiliers, a controversial new novel about life as a British squaddie. The book has already provoked fierce debate, on our own and other websites. Here, the author responds to some of these comments, clarifying his position and the nature of the novel.
For France, acting in a ‘humanitarian’ manner means intervening in Libya’s civil war but does not extend to freely accepting refugees from Libya or Tunisia within its borders.
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
As we publish episode four of the novel, the author defends his Skinback Fusiliers
We lead this week with news from Central America, where the arrival of big-time drug trafficking has had a lethal impact, taking lives and carrying a heavy economic cost. In other news, we explore Russia's archaic approach to methadone treatment; and reflect on the Portuguese experience of drug de
We present the fourth of ten weekly episodes from a brutal novel by an acclaimed British author
After the breakdown of the diplomatic process and the emergence of a youth movement, has the time for rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas come?
A single incident in Libya's evolving conflict may come to be pivotal in shaping the fate both of the anti-Gaddafi effort and of western military intervention.
The values of the Spanish Republic - freedom, progress and solidarity - are also the values of today’s Europe. Eighty years on, it is fitting to remember the legacy of the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath.
A theatre director is stuck in Cairo waiting to hear if he and his partner have permission to enter Gaza. These letters capture ‘strange days’, as they are caught in stasis while extraordinary events unfold around them
The British Prime Minister singles out immigration as he enters the campaigning season for local elections across much of the UK and summons up the shades of elections past.
