The Farce of Democracy in Hong Kong In Hong Kong, Occupy Central plans to stage a mass sit-in on the streets of Central to protest Beijing's decision to restrict free and fair elections in 2017. A week-long strike by students begins...
Read MorePolitics is a language game: in any given context, who gets what, when and how invariably depends on how things with no ‘essential’ or ‘naturally given’ meaning come to be defined, categorised and named. Briefly in Botswana for talks, and...
Read MoreWith the outbreak of uncivil wars on a regional scale, in central Africa, the Arab-speaking world and eastern Europe, readers shocked and sickened by their terrible violence may find of interest my short foreword to the just-published Chinese edition of...
Read MoreDuring several decades of contact with writers trapped in stressed and strained political circumstances, I can’t ever recall meeting a literary figure who was brave and principled enough to offer herself up for arrest and imprisonment by the authorities. That’s...
Read MoreLa statue du président irakien Saddam Hussein a été déboulonnée par l'armée américaine le 9 avril 2003, jour de la prise de Bagdad. «Le modèle américain de démocratisation par les armes a conduit à un désastre en Irak et en...
Read MorePhoto: Thousands of citizens attended the candlelight vigil at Victoria Park commemorating the 24th anniversary of June 4th Tiananmen Crackdown last year. Photo: Felix Wong...
Read More3 June, 2014 Most people know from daily experience that memories are vital for their sense of well-being. Memory is the bearer of lavish gifts. It strengthens our capacity for living in the present. Memory brings direction. It prompts us to...
Read MorePublic rally in support of Edward Snowden, Garden Road, Hong Kong, June 2013 flickr/See-ming Lee Along with contributions by Ulrich Beck, Julia Kristeva and others, the following short statement was published in Politiken, the largest-circulation daily newspaper in Denmark: With a political noose...
Read MoreDemocracy in action? A supporter signs a mural backing WikiLeaks leaker Private Bradley Manning. Photo: Reuters POLITICS THE CONFIDENCE TRAP: A HISTORY OF DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS FROM WORLD WAR I TO THE PRESENT By David Runciman Princeton University Press, $52.95 With talk of democracy...
Read MoreWhen visiting Tokyo last week for the launch of the Japanese edition of The Life and Death of Democracy, it was pure coincidence, or sweet and sour serendipity, that the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe steamrolled through parliament a controversial...
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