Knife is Salman Rushdie’s account of how he narrowly survived an attempt on his life in August 2022, in which he lost his right eye and partial use of his left hand. The attack ironically came when Rushdie was delivering a lecture on “the creation in America of safe spaces for writers from elsewhere”, at… Continue reading In Knife, Salman Rushdie confronts a world where liberal principles like free speech are old-fashioned
All prime ministerial memoirs are about shaping legacies. “History will be kind to me”, Churchill is alleged to have said before writing his own six-volume history. “For I intend to write it”. But among these memoir writers sits a sub-genre of leaders who need to do some pretty serious legacy shaping. Think Anthony Eden on… Continue reading Liz Truss’s lessons on how not to be a prime minister
Corruption has long been a scourge in parts of Latin America. Traditionally, it has funnelled down domestic routes, with local politicians, business interests and drug lords benefiting from graft and dodgy dealings. Indeed, a 2022 report from Transparency International found that 27 out of 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have shown… Continue reading How China uses ‘geostrategic corruption’ to exert its influence in Latin America
Albania may be struggling with high levels of corruption at all levels of society, but the country is taking a new approach to tackling this crime with the introduction of a special anti-corruption body, known as the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK). SPAK is made up of a special prosecution office, the National Bureau of Investigation… Continue reading Albania — how one of the most corrupt countries in Europe is tackling crime at the highest level
In the world championship of corruption, the competition is fierce. The non-governmental organisation (NGO) Transparency International has just published its list of countries according to the level of perceived corruption. The gold medal in the competition for the most corrupt country has just been awarded to South Sudan, followed by Somalia, Venezuela, Syria, Yemen, Libya,… Continue reading Corruption and war — two scourges that feed off each other
In the last two decades, the Spanish political scene has been characterised by convulsion. Among the many variables that shape this reality, one of them is the confrontation between the centre — Madrid — and the peripheral areas, some of which have their own distinct identity. In Spain there are different nationalisms, including Catalan or… Continue reading Does Spanish nationalism exist?
India’s government, led by prime minister Narendra Modi, implemented the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in March 2024. Opponents of the law — which fast-tracks citizenship for undocumented, non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan — decry the ways in which it discriminates against Muslims. As they did when the law was passed in 2019,… Continue reading Indian protesters look to poetic tradition to resist Modi’s Hindu nationalism
If you’re looking for ways to bring more positive changes into your life, TikTok recommends jumping on the “lucky girl syndrome” trend. The hashtag links countless videos, all claiming this new form of positive thinking can help you achieve your goals. If you haven’t already come across one of these videos, many of them involve… Continue reading Lucky girl syndrome — the potential dark side of TikTok’s extreme positive thinking trend
There is a striking photo, taken in 2015, of a deactivated nuclear missile at an air and space museum in Tucson, Arizona. Written in dust on this missile are the words: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”. These words, from the Sanskrit scriptural text the Bhagavad Gita, are famously attributed to J.… Continue reading “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds” — the Bhagavad Gita explained
Do you remember what it was like to discover the magic of a city for the first time? Do you remember the noises, smells, flashing lights and pulsating crowds? Or do you mostly remember cities through the screen of your phone? In 1967, French philosopher and filmmaker Guy Debord publicised the need to move away… Continue reading The art of “getting lost” — how re-discovering your city can be an antidote to capitalism
