Opinion: Salman Rushdie Was Once on the Left. What Happened?
by Alfie Steer
The author, currently in hospital following a knife attack in the US, has done a 180 over the course of his career. Alfie Steer examines why.
Tag: war on terror
Analysis: Western Elites Aren’t Mourning the Loss of Afghan Life, but of Their Own Power
by David Wearing
The west has suffered another humiliating defeat in the bogus “war on terror”, writes David Wearing, and the warmongers aren’t taking it well.
Opinion: How Christopher Hitchens Helped the Right Justify Its Colonial Wars
by Kojo Koram
Perhaps the 21st century’s most famous atheist, Christopher Hitchens has become an almost-saintly figure in today’s culture wars. But his legacy can help us make sense of how the right frames western intervention as a spiritual and god-given mission.
Opinion: After Afghanistan, We Need a New Kind of Foreign Policy
by Aaron Bastani
Afghanistan has shown that America isn't always right. Amid the wreckage of the failed war on terror, Britain must do away with the comforting fantasy of a benevolent USA and develop a different kind of foreign policy.
Opinion: The 7/7 Bombings Changed UK Terror Policy Forever
by Azfar Shafi
From expanding the definition of terrorism to the inception of Prevent, the 7/7 bombings provoked changes that have progressively suffocated social and political life in Britain, writes Azfar Shafi.
Opinion: Biden’s New Cold War With China Will Be Justified With Racism
by David Wearing
Confrontation with China is shaping up to be a central theme of Joe Biden’s presidency. Of course, racism has structured international relations since at least the colonial era, writes David Wearing.
Analysis: Pseudoscience, Think Tanks and ‘Intellectual Landscaping’: Exposing the Wilful Ignorance of the Right
by Rob Faure Walker
Since the 1950s, dozens of think tanks, quangos and commissions have sprung up to lend intellectual weight to government policies, from counter-extremism to coronavirus. These institutions, often government-funded and pseudo-intellectual, seek to undermine the role of academia as an impartial and rigorous advisor to ministers. Never has such advice been more needed - it’s time for universities to reassert themselves.
Opinion: Nobody Will Admit It, but Britain and America Were Defeated in Afghanistan
by Aaron Bastani
Britain and America lost the war in Afghanistan, argues Aaron Bastani, but our media, and many of the politicians who cheered on an utterly senseless conflict, refuse to say it. As long as that remains the case we are likely doomed to repeat the same mistakes again and again.
Under the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy, Shamima Begum Was Never Presumed Innocent
by A. Haziz-Ginsberg
On Tuesday Sajid Javid announced Shamima Begum - a schoolgirl who left the UK to join the Islamic State in 2015 - would have her British citizenship revoked. Begum's case shows how the UK's counter-terrorism strategy is grounded in the preemptive denial of innocence and belonging, argues A. Haziz-Ginsberg.
The Lockdown: The Lockdown: the End of Policing
Sam Swann and guest host Connor Woodman discuss the book, The End Of Policing with its author Alex S. Vitale. They discuss the ways that the police exacerbate social problems and what the alternatives might be.
The War on Terror Isn’t Making Us Safer
Dr David Wearing explains why British foreign policy regarding Libya, Iraq, Egypt and Yemen isn’t making us any safer.