Arendt, Jefferson and Maitland are three great thinkers who all shared a passion for the power of local democracy, its ability to bridge the distance of representation. As our political system breaks down, it's an idea we must consider once again.
Celebrations to mark the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war perform the function of collective forgetting. If the country looked back at recommendations made in the past, Sri Lankans might understand better how to go forward.
Though interreligious violence in Sri Lanka is not new, the emergence of the well-organized, well-connected Buddhist radical group reflects a broader problem today - the alarming shortage of critical and constructive public debate.
What unites people's movements from the Arab 'spring' to Occupy, is a new consciousness that a good life, with dignity, freedom, fairness and human security, is their right - and by the law of love and logic, the right of every man and woman, says laureate Mairead Maguire.
Our columnist explores the language and the headlines of dying and killing, from Tibet to the United States to Iraq.
How best to preserve the archaeological record of the past, which so often obtrudes on political objectives of the present? And what happens when nation states are effectively bankrupt? Are its monuments to be allowed to collapse into decay?
Some issues flagged up in the candidates’ manifestos are revealing. These are protecting the rule of law, youth employment, balanced economic development, pro-poor laws and strong institutions.
A disastrous fire in the 18th century Lyadiny ensemble has resulted in the destruction of one of the two churches and the belltower. Wooden churches are very vulnerable, but all too often the situation is compounded by neglect and indifference, says Matilda Moreton
Each university has a right to set their own guidelines for the wearing of the niqab and religious activity in general on campus. But the issue has become too divisive.
While a protracted civil conflict in Lebanon is unlikely, a clash between Hezbollah and Israel is only too feasible.
Perhaps Turkey has never used tear gas in its 90-year history as much as it has done in the last ten years.
The influx of journalists, writers, thinkers and generally socially engaged expatriates, alongside a growing class of civically minded Qataris ensures that these dark sides no longer remain hidden from view.
