Why do Chechen women volunteer to blow themselves and their fellow citizens up on the crowded Moscow metro? The history of Russia’s attempts to quell the Chechens since 1721 explains a lot, suggests Oliver Bullough. Perhaps all they ever wanted from Russia was to be left alone
Obama calls Hu Jintao to urge a tougher stance on Iran. Israel threatens another military operation against Gaza. Harmid Karzai launches an unprecedented attack on the international community. The South Korean President urges restraint over the sinking of a warship in the waters off North Korea. A
A decade of pitiless wars and brutal inequalities has made the arguments of the book “Losing Control: Global Security in the 21st Century” - first published before 9/11, and now in its third edition - more relevant than ever. In his 450th column for openDemocracy, Paul Rogers looks back and forwar
NLD boycott of Burmese elections draws strong criticism. Suspected coup attempt in Guinea Bissau. Sudan opposition pullout throws elections into doubt. ICC to probe Kenya post-election violence. Bangladesh to commence trial of 1971 war crimes. All this and more in today's update.
The terrorist bombs pose a problem for the Kremlin, Sam Greene reports from Moscow. Since tightening the screws has not worked, their new tactic appears to be to avoid the subject altogether
A vital constitutional decision and a party-primary vote have blown wide open the electoral campaign to succeed Álvaro Uribe as Colombia's president, says Adam Isacson
The rise and rise of privatised military companies has transformed the state's war making capacities and foreign policy horizons.
In Maxim Kantor’s opinion, the 39 deaths in the Moscow metro bombings on 29 March are victims of that fight between bulldogs under the carpet, as Churchill described Russian politics. The victims are always the poor, never the bulldogs. And guess who gains by the tragedy?
Bombers strike at Russian police. Serbia apologises for 1995 Srebrenica massacre. FARC rebels release hostage. All this and more in today’s security briefing.
LRA rebel group denies any involvement in mass killings in Congo. Burmese opposition decides to boycott election. North Korea feared responsible for sunk South Korean ship. Afghan offensive in Kandahar to be launched in June. All this and much more, in today’s security briefing.
Nuclear weapons were at the heart of the Cold War. Yet the broader impact of the arms race on politics and society has been forgotten. This is unfortunate, argues Holger Nehring, as the impact of the shared fear of total war that the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union
