By Pieter Cranenbroek – International Politics Blogger On New Year’s Eve, French President François Hollande announced a series of liberal reforms that meant a move away from socialist thinking. Although the socialist president’s alleged liaison with an actress may have overshadowed his astonishing flirt with liberalism, he would do well to ...
By Joe Mellor, In house Reporter “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.” - Nelson Mandela. When the world revisited the great man’s quotes after his death, this one seemed to resonate with a lot of people. Mandela’s words ...
By Jim Colella, freelance journalist and blogger, resident in Turkey since 2005 The epic corruption scandal currently gripping Turkey, not to mention international headlines, is nothing less than the collapse of the entire set on a theatre stage. With that elaborately painted background suddenly gone, so too goes the context ...
By Nathan Lee, Financial Analyst In 2007 Brazil was awarded the football World Cup with the backdrop of a strengthening economy and the prospect of social change. As it prepares to host the finals, the South American powerhouse lays dormant. There’s a subdued atmosphere surrounding Brazil in the run up ...
By Pieter Cranenbroek – International Politics Blogger Music has always been a stage used to criticise the political order, but in the past week Morrissey and Billy Bragg both decided to air their grievances on politics and society off stage. Both singers stressed the problem with the lack of accountability in ...
By Pieter Cranenbroek, International Politics Blogger In recent years it has become increasingly difficult to out yourself as a pro-European. The hosanna accompanying the European project in the 1990s that culminated in the move towards a political union seems to have vaporised. Rather than being forced to promote its policies, the ...