Just as the mechanisms that made democracy function in city states were not adequate for governing nation states, representative democracies today are showing themselves incapable of managing, effectively and democratically, the system that is emerging in Europe. Updated.
There is no global deal nor any chance of one at Durban's COP17. Fortunately, "Plan B", predicted by the author after COP15, is looking feasible and even healthy. Welcome a profusion of national, regional and city initiatives to save us from devastating climate change
SCAF’s leaders do not have the mechanisms necessary to tighten their grip on power: a coherent ideology, a political organization, and a platform for modernization. That is why military rule in Egypt will not ultimately prevail.
Ethnic discrimination and vilification of Muslims in Europe show that European democracy is declining while racism and repressive policies are taking root and becoming the natural order of mainstream politics in many European countries.
The controversial Protection of State Information Bill is threatening South African freedom of speech. South Africa’s well wishers are hoping that the bill will be at least amended especially with a reintroduction of the public interest clause, meaning that transparency and accountability in publi
Amy Barry who is reporting back for us waits for the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, in Busan, South Korea to begin.
The European Union has an uncertain relationship with the ex-Soviet states to its east. A meeting in Poznan under the auspices of the union’s “eastern partnership” is a timely moment to examine what Europe needs to do to revivify its engagement, says Gevorg Ger-Gabrielyan.
Sri Lanka's Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission has no mention of gender in its mandate and no dedicated expertise related to women; it has just one female commissioner out of eight. For Tamil women, the LLRC simply reaffirms bad old habits.
The UK has a choice over whether to be a small player on the margins of Europe. But to become so without any serious national debate is surely a major error.
In the face of the world’s urgent economic and environmental problems, political leadership is failing. But from the ground up, new tools of understanding are emerging to fill the gap and point a way forward.
What are the main social dynamics of the waves of revolt in the Arab world in 2011? Jean-Pierre Filiu, scholar and author of "The Arab Revolution: Ten Lessons from the Democratic Uprising", discusses the question with Paul Hockenos.
Is democracy a luxury good which the global and European economy simply cannot afford – at least, given the exceptional character of the current euro crisis?
