International Politics and Economy

Review of Filiz Çoban Oran, Religion, Nationalism and Foreign Policy: Discursive Construction of New Turkey’s Identity. London: I.B. Tauris, 2022. Tuebingen (Special to Informed Comment) – In 2009, US President Barack Obama advised Europe to welcome what was then called Turkey into its fold and benefit from the country’s “diversity of ethnicity, tradition and faith.” […]

Democracy

The fall of the House of Arslan: How a Lebanese political Newcomer ousted a Dynasty

Global Voices

By Omar Boutine | – ( Globalvoices.org ) – On May 15, 2022, Lebanese voters cast their ballots in the first parliamentary elections to be held in the country since the Beirut blast leveled the eastern half of the capital in August of 2020. Since then, a nation mired in an economic crisis the World […]

Climate Crisis

What we can Learn from Bolivia’s Struggle for Free Water: Review of Maude Barlow, “Still Hopeful After All These Years”

Peter G. Prontzos

Review of Maude Barlow, Still Hopeful: Lessons from a Lifetime of Activism. ECW Press, 2022. When I was teaching Political Science, some of the most memorable events were the teleconferences that Noam Chomsky did with my students. During a discussion of international trade treaties, Noam singled out the work of Maude Barlow, then Chairperson of […]

censorship

In Demolishing Muslim protestors’ homes, India is taking a Leaf from of Israel’s Book

Omar Ahmed

( Middle East Monitor ) – Over the weekend Indian authorities bulldozed several homes belonging to Muslims in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The homeowners were alleged to have taken part in organised protests on Friday in response to inflammatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) made by the now […]

Donald Trump

Why the Oath Keepers looks an Awful lot like al-Qaeda and Trump is its Usama Bin Laden

Juan Cole

Revised. Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Although the Congressional inquiry into the Jan. 6 insurrection is releasing new information about the ties between the White House and the insurrectionists, that the attack on the Capitol that day was a well-planned paramilitary operation was clear from Department of Justice indictments already released. Below, I revisit one […]

Islamophobia

Why Muslim countries are quick at condemning Defamation – but often ignore Rights Violations against Muslim Minorities

The Conversation

By Ahmet T. Kuru, San Diego State University | – The Indian government finds itself in a diplomatic crisis following offensive remarks by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson, Nupur Sharma, on national television about the Prophet Muhammad and his wife, Aisha. The BJP has suspended Sharma from the position, but that has not […]

Nonviolence

Breaking cycles of violence in South Sudan

Waging Nonviolence

By The Metta Center Team | – ( Waging Nonviolence ) – Peace is made by people; but their work can be greatly improved by organizations. Take, for example, the progressive, non-governmental organization Nonviolent Peaceforce, which is so well represented by former protection officer Hunter Dalli and his dramatic “No” to the endemic violence in […]

Asian-Americans

Ms. Marvel: Can a 16-year-old Marvel Superhero Change the Image of Islam in America?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Marvel Cinematic Universe streaming superhero television show, Ms. Marvel dropped on Disney+ this week, and it is a revolution in the representation of Muslim Americans on television. The story revolves around a Pakistani-American 16-year-old girl from Jersey City who resents her strict and protective parents and wants to attend […]

Far Right

Let’s avoid the Other F-Word: If it is Democracies versus Fascism, We’re Stuck in Forever Wars

Andrew J. Bacevich

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Timothy Snyder, Levin Professor of History at Yale University, is a scholar of surpassing brilliance. His 2010 book Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin chronicles in harrowing detail the de facto collaboration of the Third Reich and the Soviet Union that resulted in the murder of millions of innocents. On any […]