Long Read

International: How a Revolution Really Feels: Rojava 8 Years On

How does it feel to seek new ways to live? On the eighth anniversary of the Rojava revolution, journalist and activist Matt Broomfield - who has been living and working in North and East Syria for the last two years - explains.
Long Read: Turbulence in Macron’s France: A Recent History
Between his hated pension reforms, handling of the pandemic, open disdain for the democratic process and frequent recourse to police repression, Emmanuel Macron's teflon sheen has well and truly worn off. Nicolas Jara-Joly and Theirry Labica survey 'La Macronie' so far and look ahead to 2022's presidential election.
Long Read: Why Do the Police Exist?

Long read: When and why were police forces first invented? Connor Woodman takes a look - and argues that far from protecting communities from ‘crime’, the police’s role has always been to control and discipline the working class.

Long Read: Get Angry Then Get Free: The Political Necessity of Rioting in Dismantling the System

As protestors rise up across the world following the murder of George Floyd, it's vital we see rioting as a legitimate form of protest in the struggle for freedom within racial capitalism, writes Black Lives Matter activist Joshua Virasami in an in-depth long read.
Long Read: Detained Migrants Are Workers. They Belong in the Trade Union Movement
With detained migrants encouraged to work for slave wages, rather than treating them as victims devoid of agency, trade unions must instead bring them into the movement, write Isaac Ricca-Richardson and Franck Magennis. 
Long Read: How Grime’s Origins Show a Path to Cultural Resistance
Forged in the shadow of London's financial district, criminalised by the state and locked out of the mainstream music establishment, Charlotte Watson reflects on the lessons we can learn from grime's early years.
Long Read: Literally Just Vibing: How Music Streaming Platforms Manipulate History, Legacy and Emotion
In this long read, music-maker Fred M-G takes a closer look at how the "sonic wallpaper" curated by the music streaming services upon which we now rely flattens and sanitises music's history and potency.
Long Read: Bernie 2020 and the Challenges of Big Organising
The tactics used in Bernie Sanders' 2020 election campaign have yielded some big wins and a string of losses. In this week's long read, Calum Jacobs looks at Sanders' use of so-called big organising and how it has helped - and hurt - his chances at the Democratic win.
Long Read: What’s the Deal With the Green New Deal?
In this long read, sociologist Alex Wood explores the limitations of current discussions around the green new deal, and asks what it would take to make the programme reflect workers' everyday experiences of capitalism.
Long Read: Labour’s Economic Plans: What Went Wrong?

In this post-election long read, James Meadway explains how Labour’s 2019 plans got caught up in policy at the expense of politics.
Long Read: The Centrist Delusion: ‘Middle Ground’ Politics Aren’t Moderate, They’re Dangerous
In every civilisation, the centre ground of political opinion has been home to dangerous, inaccurate and oppressive ideas. The toxic centrism currently pervading Britain and rest of the world requires a rapid, bold, ambitious change of direction, writes Raoul Martinez. 
Long Read: In the North’s Leave-Voting Seats, Disillusionment Is Labour’s Biggest Enemy
With Labour engaged in a last minute battle to shore up northern support, Craig Gent reports on the party's struggle with disillusionment - and what can be done about it.
Long Read: How Hostile Environment Confusion Is Continuing to Damage Asylum Seekers’ Health

Despite the formal suspension of data-sharing practices between NHS Digital and the Home Office in the wake of the Windrush scandal, the policy has left behind a legacy which continues to create confusion among medical practitioners while putting up barriers for people fleeing danger.
Long Read: Under a Blue Moon: Reflections on the Last UK General Election
"You began to sense that something had been let out of the bag." For a brief moment, the 2017 election result seemed to puncture a hole in a nationwide malaise. In a touching memoir, Alex Niven recalls the emotional journey of the last election and how it signalled new possibilities.
Long Read: Catalonia, Alone? Lessons From the Contradictions of the Independence Movement
Between a Draconian Spanish state, an ambivalent left and an institutional impasse, it’s not clear where the Catalan independence movement goes next. Bue Rübner Hansen argues the challenges facing independentists reflect a far wider cycle of struggle.
Long Read: The Red Locomotive in Brussels? Interview with the Workers’ Party of Belgium
Bucking the apparent trends of the European elections, last month the Workers' Party of Belgium enjoyed breakthroughs at regional, federal and European levels. Denis Rogatyuk spoke to new MEP Marc Botenga about the party's recent successes, euroscepticism, and wrestling narratives back from the far right.
Long Read: Child Sexual Exploitation, ‘Asian Grooming Gangs’ and the Left
While the far right is shameless in making political hay out of young people's suffering, it is sometimes contended that the left does not have an adequate response to child sexual exploitation. What does CSE mean, how does is it perpetrated, and how the left can show solidarity with its victims?
Long Read: 5 Things You Should Know About the Australian Election
This weekend Australia will elect its newest administration. In recent years, Australian leadership spills have happened at a breakneck speed, with most prime ministers barely cracking two years, and none seeing out a full term.

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