Ayatollah Khamenei's recent declarations concerning the future of the Iranian nuclear dispute may sound belligerent, but they indeed reveal levers to be used for diplomacy. Acknowledging Iran’s role as a regional leader is a first step.
Commentators on North Korea have predicted the immanent downfall of its dictatorial regieme since its inception, but even after the second transition of power to another member of the Kim family it is yet to show any signs of wavering. Perhaps it is time for the international community to consider
Current tensions between Iran and the US /Israel alliance may lead to military intervention from either side. The outcome of such initiative is very uncertain as both sides are caught up in security dilemmas.
Populist movements can bear a strong, but misleading, resemblance to more respectable cousins: movements for democratic accountability. It has now become fashionable even to argue that ‘some populism is good’ - because populism is seen as ‘speaking truth to power’. It’s important therefore for dem
The Taliban assault on key sites in central Kabul highlights the strategic predicament of the United States and its Nato allies in Afghanistan. The forewarnings were present a decade ago, in ways that still cast a shadow on the present and future.
Anders Behring Breivik’s attacks are part of a worrying trend in Europe of the far right’s rise within mainstream politics. From the Netherlands and Germany to Britain and France, immigrant communities are on the defensive.
A short-lived military coup in Mali highlights the complex crisis unfolding in the country's north, where armed groups and religious networks are active among a disaffected Tuareg population. Both immediate measures and an intelligent medium-term strategy are needed to preserve the nation's unity
Chevron are investing in communities and promoting human rights in Bangladesh, claiming that partnership with communities is not just good business practice, but crucial for social progress. But are these real partnerships - publishing what they pay, supporting anti-corruption measures and being a
The two large parties in Bangladesh have already turned to the worst sort of dynastic politics. At the same time, Islamist influences and left wing groups are becoming ever more involved with the dominant political forces. Alongside this, parliament has become totally ineffective
What a terrible coincidence. On the third of February 2012 on the first ever commemoration of the 1982 Hama massacre, another atrocity took place in Homs's Al Khaldyia neighbourhood, but this time, with photographs and video footage.
Is every uprising against dictatorship a civil war? If that is the case then it is the case in Egypt, in Yemen, in Bahrain. Are we going to dismiss all these revolutions, because some of the people support the regimes? Or is it just Syria that is doomed?
The Israel factor has politicised the business of assessing antisemitism such that the vitriolic disagreement surrounding it has become about far more than just facts, intelligent judgment and expertise. What does Israel, what does anyone gain from this?
