In the weeks since Donald Trump took the oath of office he has set out on a dizzying path of Executive Orders, openly challenged fundamental principles underpinning the US constitution and sparked diplomatic clashes with many, including long-time US allies. Trump has already been referred to as a demagogue, authoritarian, and even a fascist. While […]
Gold Plated Populism: Trump And The End Of The Liberal Order
Donald Trump’s electoral victory has startled the world. It seems to usher in an era marked by the triumph of fear and anger, brazen disregard for reason and truth, the weakening hold of liberalism, the fracturing of the postwar consensus, and the rolling back of gains made from an integrated world economy. On the horizon, […]
Path To Authoritarianism: The Collapse Of The Politics Of Accommodation
Democracy is built on the values of citizenship and the equal freedom of each and every individual. The rights and duties of each citizen entail recognition of the equal standing of every member of the political community in the democratic process. Recognition of the other is built into the fabric of democratic societies even though […]
To Be, Or Not To Be: Europe Under Siege
It has been a tough year for Europe. Greece, mass migration and terrorism are among the many factors which have unsettled Europe in a profound way. When the EU is seen to stutter and stumble from one crisis to another, what the EU stands for, and what the EU is all about, are questions that […]
From Shore To Shore: Regional Collapse And Human Insecurity
On the 15th of April 1912 a cruise liner set sail from England to New York City. As is widely known, it collided en route with an iceberg and since has forever been immortalised; books have been written, movies made, and recovery expeditions launched. What is striking is that whilst 1,517 people died on the […]
9/11 Wars: A Reckoning
Snared by geopolitical interests, post-9/11 interventions have too easily been captured by leading states. A robust law enforcement process must serve enforcers of law, not agents of geopolitical interests. 9/11 was a crime against the US and a crime against humanity. The trauma of the planes crashing into the World Trade Towers will remain an […]
Reflections On Intervention: Legality, Legitimacy And Feasibility
This afterword by David Held and Kyle McNally is the final chapter of Global Policy’s e-book, ‘Lessons from Intervention in the 21st Century: Legality, Legitimacy and Feasibility’, edited by David Held and Kyle McNally. This piece was originally featured on the Global Policy website on 19 November 2014 and the complete e-book will be released […]
Europe, The European Union And European Identity
The European Union can only be understood against the backdrop of the catastrophic history of Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. The two World Wars, and the Great Depression between them, shattered any assumptions of certainty and stability that Europeans might have once had. The rise of Nazism, fascism and Stalinism, in […]
Democracy, Syria And The Western Way Of War
Obama’s request to postpone a Congressional vote on military action in Syria was a bow to the inevitable; all indicators predicted his defeat. His retreat from Congress, following on from the vote in the UK Parliament, raises powerful questions about the role of democracy in checking and limiting executive power. PM Cameron’s quick acceptance of […]
Red Lines And Dangerous Incoherence: Syria And The International Community
British hesitation and the military option The debate and votes in the British Parliament on Thursday the 29th of August were momentous by any standard, wherein the House of Commons rejected a government motion that would have left open the door for military action against Syria. This was the first time since 1782 that a […]
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