Politics

By Rohan Chatterjee A year on from the death of Venezuela’s controversial socialist leader Hugo Chavez the country still find itself in the grip of political uncertainty (well, more so than usual). In recent months opposition groups have regularly taken to the streets in some cities to protest high inflation, insecurity and scarcity of basic goods, leaving 40 dead and many more injured. One unifying belief for many in this mobilisation is that of struggle against an authoritarian regime. But, is...

By Dani Schaefer Williams Cast your minds back to 2012, to the British event of the current decade. When all of the UK was bathed in glory and 15 year-old girls were frantically replacing posters of boy-bands with their favourite Olympic heroes. These champions were revered the world over for their skill, commitment and bravery, and none less than the Bladerunner himself, Oscar Pistorius. The combination of good looks and humility seemed too good to be true. Fast forward to...

By Dr Katy Shaw The UK miners’ strike of 1984-5 was a defining moment in the history of the United Kingdom, one that not only illuminates the country’s near-history, but functions as a prism through which to understand the social, political and economic challenges of the twenty-first century. Despite promises of reduction rather than extinction, the 1984-5 miners’ strike was the beginning of the end for British coal. As remaining mines continued to close, national demand for fuel was increasingly met...

By Ivana Kaz A Response: Propaganda and the Very Conventional Political War A recent article entitled “Propaganda and Russia’s Unconventional Political War” showed what I feel to be a very one-sided take on the issue of war and new media. I’ve taken it upon myself to try to counter this and at the very least show that the West uses similar, if not the same, tactics. It’s important to note that although it may seem like I lean anti-West or pro-Russia, that is...

By Luca Foschi This time the news barely reached the front page. Last week a gas attack in Kfar Zeita, a small town near the Syrian city of Hama, killed two people and injured scores. Footage on YouTube shows a medical team trying to revive several young children. Damascus and the splintered rebel front blame each other for the poison assault, but there are bigger questions at hand. Wasn’t the Assad government supposed to hand out all its chemical warfare...

By Deiniol Jones In a recent article in the New Statesman, Brendan Simms argued that we have entered a new era in relations between the Russia and the West. The annexation of Crimea and the instability in the south-east of Ukraine are overturning the post-Cold War international order. Propaganda and the innovative use of social media is an integral feature of Russia’s ‘unconventional, political warfare’, which seeks the creation of a ‘New-Russia’, a gathering together of the Russian ethnic population...

By Tomás McGoldrick, Ireland Correspondent  Last week saw the first state visit by an Irish President to Britain. For the first time since Ireland gained its independence in 1922 the relationship between the two countries is seen as strong enough for Michael D. Higgins to be able to visit his nearest neighbour in what Taoiseach Enda Kenny called ‘a golden age’ for Anglo Irish relations. There are close cultural and family links between the two countries. Britain has been the destination...

Adam Walker talks to Jenni Herd  Today, younger generations are being bombarded by negative press that offers little hope for their future. In the past decade the global media has broadcasted multiple conflicts, the threat of financial crisis against modern economies and the continuous message that our world is dying. Add to this the fact that young people are often misrepresented as hooded thugs, binge-drinking slackers or computer-obsessed antisocial regressives’ all of whom shun society and personal responsibility, and you...

By J T Coombes When the expenses scandal kicked off in 2009, by the very nature of the extent of the abuse it shocked society to its core. Eventually it led to sackings, resignations, apologies, some repayments and a few imprisonments. Today we are yet again assailed by the knowledge that financial abuse continues in the shape of Maria Miller, and that the sums involved are again vast. Not only that but again there is desperate resistance to admit blame and...