Catalonia suppressed
The Catalan crisis is the Spanish crisis. It is the European crisis. It is the return of the face of authoritarianism within the heart of... Read More
Sequestering Catalonia
It now seems depressingly likely that Spain heads into a long-term low-level conflict with one of its most prosperous regions, doing damage to the economy... Read More
The demise of Turkey’s democracy – an open letter to President Erdogan
I know that you want to preside over the hundredth anniversary of the new republic of Turkey in 2023. But how do you want to... Read More
Separatism in Europe – Catalonia and the others
Might we see some revival of some secessionist movements in Europe due to the situation in Catalonia or maybe not so much, and why?
Secession blues
Make no mistake; the ongoing Catalan crisis is a disaster for Kosova.
Reflection on the Catalan conundrum
Whether or not the Spanish state missteps further in an attempted occupation of Catalonia, the political geography of Spain now seems destined to be permanently... Read More
Growing up on the border – on Brexit’s Irish problem
People voted to take back control of the UK’s borders… with little thought for what that would mean for the only actual land border.
The Kurds’ treatment in Turkey is indefensible
The below article is a response to a public letter written by Ibrahim Kurtulus, criticizing my previous article about the plight of the Kurds in... Read More
Gandhi Kemal’s march for justice
Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s March for Justice is not a first in Turkish political history, but the broad support it received from all sectors of society –... Read More
The Kurds under Erdogan’s tyrannical governance
Erdogan will not succeed in killing every PKK fighter—not only because of the nature of guerilla warfare, but primarily because of the Kurds’ determination to... Read More
Turkey’s united front against Kurds and democracy
The political success of the Kurds – the colonized – has intimidated not just the authoritarian AKP and ultranationalist MHP but also the nationalist, secularist,... Read More
Contending with authoritarian Turkey – a measured realist perspective
This obsession with personalities can fuel the very passions and tensions that such individuals feed on, and obscure the underlying factors that explain their rise... Read More
Why are Basque nationalists coming to the rescue of the Spanish conservative government?
One of Spain’s most unlikely political alliances has ancient roots.
Setting the EU scene – a management crisis, not a refugee crisis
The EU can and must show leadership in managing refugee movements effectively in accordance with international law.
A shared-space solution to Ireland’s Brexit Border problem
A hard Brexit spells trouble for life on both sides of the Irish Border and our only hope, as all seem to agree, is to... Read More
Towards dialogue in Northern Ireland
Can education, notions of deliberative democracy and intercultural integration come together to rescue our dysfunctional democracies?
DUP risks turning Northern Ireland into an EU condominium
The implications for the collapse of the Northern Irish Assembly this week could be far reaching. In the absence of the Stormont executive, there have been... Read More
Erdogan’s war on women
Kurdish women in one of the strongest and most radical women’s movements in the world are taking a battering from the Turkish state with impunity... Read More
A European phoenix – a new role for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The goals of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe remain every bit as imperative to the future stability of Europe as they ever have... Read More
Europe in crisis – an agenda for peace
We no longer have the certainties of the Cold War, but we do maintain its dangers after an illusory period of apparent monopolistic security. Understanding... Read More
Is it over for Turkish democracy? Implications for regional peace
As the Erdogan government presses for a more authoritarian regime and curtails civil freedoms at home, Turkish foreign policy takes an increasingly hawkish direction. Turkey’s democracy... Read More
Turkey and the PKK – mutual violence is not the answer
It is time for Erdogan to accept the reality that the solution to the Kurdish problem rests solely on peace negotiations. Anything short of that... Read More
On the eve of a peace agreement – reflecting on Colombia and Northern Ireland
Although ideologically and politically different, Northern Ireland has been influential in the Colombian peace process in a number of ways. As a final peace deal... Read More
David Cameron and the three ‘whiches’
To what extent were the outcomes of the recent plebiscites held in the UK determined by the formulation of the question and the method of... Read More
The enduring legacy of paramilitary punishment in Northern Ireland
A recent murder in Belfast highlights the continuing reach of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland.
