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
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, or 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… Continue reading Indian protesters look to poetic tradition to resist Modi’s Hindu nationalism
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
It is often said that we live in a “post-truth” era. It is unclear at times what role, if any, truth plays in politics. During the pandemic, world leaders dismissed the advice of experts and acted against empirical data. Democracies have felt precarious – in the US, during the Trump presidency, and in countries like… Continue reading Five lessons on bringing truth back to politics from Britain’s first female philosophy professor – Susan Stebbing
The UK government confirmed Wednesday it had detained an unspecified number of migrants in recent days for deportation to Rwanda in July under its controversial new policy. It comes a week after lawmakers ended months of parliamentary wrangling and passed a law allowing some asylum seekers to be deported by declaring Rwanda to be a… Continue reading UK confirms first migrants held for Rwanda deportation flights
Energy and environment ministers of the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations have committed to phase out coal power by 2035 Energy and environment ministers of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations committed Tuesday to phase out coal power by 2035, marking the first time the G7 has explicitly referenced a phase-out, but left flexibility… Continue reading G7 nations commit to phasing out coal by 2035 but leave room to extend that deadline
Dozens of people in northern Italy have raised their arms in the fascist salute to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution Dozens of people raised their arms in the fascist salute and shouted a fascist chant during ceremonies Sunday to honour Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary… Continue reading Dozens in Italy give a fascist salute on the anniversary of Mussolini’s execution
On July 26th, 2023, the presidential guard commander of President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger, General Abdourahamane Tiani, detained the president and declared himself in charge of the country via a new military junta. As a result, the military forces closed all borders, suspended the government and implemented a curfew. Although the coup was widely condemned… Continue reading Niger: the politics racking the country
