Articles

James Zogby* Like many Americans, I was overjoyed by news that a Georgia jury had found three white men guilty of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man. The jury rejected the defence’s argument that the three men were “protecting and defending” their neighbourhood and therefore were justified …

Paul Mason finds the democratic world in the very disarray the authoritarian in the Kremlin has sought. Paul Mason* Do you want to go to war with Russia over Ukraine? You wouldn’t have to go yourself, but you would have to approve sending tens of thousands of young Europeans and …

Young working-class people may have an aversion to being categorised on the social ladder. But that doesn’t make the ladder go away. Kate Pickett* Ladders are a potent symbol of the structure of our societies. Our social discourse about status, rank and success is full of ladder images and metaphors. …

The world’s health workforce could be vaccinated in 36 hours if the pandemic of tax abuse were ended. Rosa Pavanelli* The recent Pandora Papers leaks came as a kick in the teeth for the world’s frontline workers. While they have been risking their lives to save lives, economic elites and corporations have …

James Zogby* Once again, gallons of ink are being spilt on articles arguing for and against US efforts to secure a new nuclear weapons pact with Iran. Will Iran return to the talks? Will the US agree to Iranian terms (and vice versa)? And, at this point, do the Iranians …

Using stigmatising language to describe the crisis at the Poland-Belarus border is wrong and plays into Lukashenka’s hands. Felix Bender* Masses of immigrants are flowing across our borders, inundating our societies. They are a threat. Hence, they are used as a weapon by those who wish us ill. But are …

As MEPs host the Facebook whistle-blower, Frances Haugen, they need to step up their challenge to the surveillance capitalists. Margarida Silva* Documents which have emerged in a legal action by several US states against Google have revealed that the company boasted about delaying a European Union regulation on ‘ePrivacy’ in …

James Zogby* Hyper-partisanship has resulted in a paralyzed Congress that can’t pass legislation to save lives from disease or guns, protect the environment, or even ensure the right to vote. I’m not going to contest the oft-repeated notion that democracy is the best form of government, but I am going …

Alongside ambitious emissions-reductions targets, well-functioning carbon markets are key to success at COP26 and on today’s agenda. Khaled Diab* Article 6 of the 2015 Paris Agreement lays the foundation for voluntary carbon markets, which “deliver an overall mitigation in global emissions”. Hitherto, the focus was on zero-sum offsetting, which does …

Today, democracy faces a more insidious threat than coups d’état—slow strangulation by elected autocrats. Sheri Berman* In recent years democracy has been under siege. Since 2015 the number of countries experiencing democratic backsliding has outstripped the number democratising. ‘Varieties of Democracy’, an organisation which tracks the global development of democracy, describes this as ‘an …