Her vision of Britain as a Singapore off the coast of Europe no longer has to be hidden. Some, indeed, hope it will soon become official government policy. Yet anyone who wants to see the coming Johnson...

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Shock Cities: The Fate of Social Democracy

Susan Pedersen, 2 January 2020

These​ two books will be read, inevitably, as studies of neoliberalism, a world order – and a word – that has snuck up on us in the last few decades. I say ‘snuck up’...

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Soon to Be Stateless: Modi’s Plans

Francis Wade, 2 January 2020

In​ early September, footage was shown on Indian media of a mass detention camp being built to house three thousand ‘illegals’ in the north-eastern state of Assam. The camp will be...

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What next for Bolivia?

Tony Wood, 19 December 2019

By any sensible definition, what took place in Bolivia on 10 November was a coup: Morales was forced out of the country at the prompting of the army, two months before the end of his third presidential...

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The Enlightened Vote: Ernest Renan

Stefan Collini, 19 December 2019

‘Whatever may be the judgment of time on the intrinsic value of Renan’s contribution to the sum of knowledge, he can never lose his place among the few great names in the history...

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In Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country … The Four Great Powers are committed to Zionism. And Zionism,...

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BJ + Brexit or JC + 2 refs?

David Runciman, 5 December 2019

The trouble with ‘Who governs Britain?’ elections is that elections are no way to decide that question.

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What counts as work? Gig Economics

Katrina Forrester, 5 December 2019

The dystopian promise of the gig economy is that it will create an army of precarious workers for whose welfare employers take no responsibility.

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Diary: ‘A test case for Corbynism’

Ben Walker, 5 December 2019

Derby City Council​’s offices sit on the River Derwent, a stone’s throw from the site of Lombe’s Mill, built in 1721, which claims to be the first fully mechanised factory in...

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Autumn in Paris: Autumn in Paris

Musab Younis, 5 December 2019

On​ 11 October, Julien Odoul, an official from the Rassemblement National, formerly the Front National, interrupted a French regional council session to ask a woman in the audience either to...

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Short Cuts: Deepfakery

James Meek, 5 December 2019

Election​ season in the Trapped-Together Kingdom, and people are talking about politicians and parties, sort of. The talk isn’t always talk, as such. To put it another way, when was the...

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Once democracy and public argument are premised on the logic of the platform, it simply doesn’t matter what anyone says or does, so long as they remain engaged and engaging. President Trump is the symptom...

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Policy Failure: The Party Paradox

Jonathan Parry, 21 November 2019

It​ all seems very familiar. In the aftermath of a global financial shock, politicians found that the way they liked to communicate – expansive, optimistic rhetoric about democratic...

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Thriving on Chaos: After al-Baghdadi

Patrick Cockburn, 21 November 2019

For a brief, astonishing period, this reborn caliphate governed, in brutal but well-organised fashion, a population of ten million, claiming divine inspiration in its pursuit of true Islamic principles....

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On​ 2 May 2008 Cyclone Nargis slammed into the Irrawaddy delta in Burma, killing 140,000 people overnight. Three million more were made homeless. Worse may be around the corner. Rising sea...

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Short Cuts: Would you whistleblow?

Joanna Biggs, 7 November 2019

How can a girl believe in an institution that asks her to gather blackmail material to make it easier for her country to begin an illegal war? How can a girl believe in a government that asks its people...

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The Sahara​ is one of the few places on earth no one has been foolish enough to try to conquer. There have, however, been attempts, over the centuries, to govern it. In Ghat, one of the last...

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The NHS Dismantled

John Furse, 7 November 2019

The Americanisation​ of the NHS is not something waiting for us in a post-Brexit future. It is already in full swing. Since 2017 Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) have been taking over the...

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