To mark the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we have a true story from its early days. It is about a young man's rites of passage, but also an era of deception, self-deception and co-option, when those who made the journey to the other side could be turned by the Cold War into weapons.
Face-covering prohibitions in Europe are typically passed on the basis of three arguments: security, women’s rights and secularism. Rational as they may seem, these arguments do not stand up to scrutiny.
Almost all the Roma in Brussels come from the Razgrad region in northern Bulgaria and most have no bank account. Travel by plane is generally not an option. Slavtho charges €80 a head from Brussels; €120 return. “Soon Bulgaria will become a full member of the EU. Bulgaria vacation; Brussels work,”
There are many different social codes governing what women can and can’t do in Gaza, where new fact finding missions are beginning to take an interest in their lives
Cas Mudde was quite right to point out recently how liberal arguments are being used in the interests of illiberal attacks on Muslims. However, in the Dutch case this reflects anything but a progressive national consensus
After escaping an assassination attempt in 1997 and being banned from Jordan in 1999, Khaled Mashal, Hamas leader, made his home in Damascus, where Manuela Paraipan interviewed him last week on Hamas’ approach to the current peace negotiations, his view of Hamas’ strengths, its ongoing commitment
The modern women's movement changed the terms of debate and eventually the national conversation. During this electoral cycle, Obama, Democrats and progressives alike have failed to define and then proudly grab the terms of debate.
We launch the first in an occasional series of openDemocracy meditations on the question: Is democracy a human right? This reply begins with Mandy Rice-Davies, lingers on the unfinished business of the Cold War, and returns via Confucius, Mohammed and Darwin to the digital revolution which has us
What we see in global civil society depends on what value lens we use to define it. The trend towards networked organisation may have emancipatory effects, but may also obscure inequalities and clashing values
Who is buying London houses and apartments?
" We’re not interested in making war safe for women… There are many substitutes for oil, but I can't think of a single substitute for a peace woman." Cora Weiss
Accessing justice has been a long process for the sterilized HIV positive women whose cases are being heard before a judge in Namibia - and longer still for the women who may never have their day in court
