Politics
Topics
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Parliamentary elections in Iraq
Low turnout, high drama
With turnout somewhere between 38 and 41 per cent, assassinations and intimidation of activists by armed groups in the run-up to the election, and a boycott of the election by several new parties linked to the protest movement, political calm and stability seem a distant prospect in Iraq. There has also been a shift in the balance of power towards Muqtada al-Sadr and Nouri al-Maliki. By Harith Hasan
By Harith Hasan -
Turkey: the Osman Kavala case
A crucial test for EU–Turkey relations
The long detention of philanthropist Osman Kavala and Turkey's refusal to acknowledge an ECHR ruling could cost the country its membership or voting rights in the Council of Europe at the end of November. By Pelin Ünker
By Pelin Ünker -
Sixty years after the Paris Massacre
When will France apologise to the Algerians?
Shot, beaten to death or drowned: a demonstration by tens of thousands of Algerians ended in the "Paris Massacre" on 17 October 1961. Sixty years on, historians and victims' associations are calling for a sign from President Macron. By Andreas Noll
By Andreas Noll -
India's role in the Kashmir killings
Provoking and punishing Muslims, manipulating minorities
Since India stripped Kashmir of its semi-autonomous status in 2019, much new legislation has been passed that critics and Kashmiris alike fear could alter the region's demographics. Now, an online portal aimed at handling property complaints submitted by migrant Hindus has triggered a spate of killings, further heightening the tension. Aljaz Hussain reports
By Aljaz Hussain -
Sarhan Dhouib's "Erinnerungen an Unrecht"
Memories of injustice – for the liberation of Arab identity
The memory of experienced injustice plays a central role in the transformation of societies towards democracy. In the Arab world, the critical study of memory is only just emerging. The Tunisian philosopher Sarhan Dhouib from the University of Hildesheim has made an important contribution with his anthology, writes Sonja Hegasy in her review
By Sonja Hegasy -
Cengiz Aktar's "The Turkish Malaise"
Why is Erdogan gambling away Turkey's future?
In his essay “The Turkish Malaise”, Turkish economist and writer in exile Cengiz Aktar provides a crisp, concise explanation for his nation’s rapid, recent backslide into dictatorship. By Christiane Schloetzer
By Christiane Schlötzer -
Parliamentary elections in Iraq
Change or political stagnation in Baghdad?
Will Iraq's parliamentary elections bring change? The new electoral law, which allowed independent candidates to stand for the first time, provided a golden opportunity. But not many people took advantage of it. And voter turnout was shamefully low. Birgit Svensson reports from Baghdad and Mosul
By Birgit Svensson -
Attack on West Bank village Mufkara
Militant settlers sow the seeds of violence
The Palestinian villages to the south of Hebron in the West Bank have often come under attack from militant settlers. But the raid last week on the village of Mufkara by eighty masked men left more than just windows broken. It also nearly cost a three-year-old child his life. Many Israelis were horrified. The foreign minister Yair Lapid spoke for the first time of "terror". By Inge Gunther
By Inge Günther -
Middle East
Arabs ease Assad's isolation as U.S. looks elsewhere
While Bashar al-Assad is still shunned by the West, which blames him for a decade of brutal war in Syria, a shift is under way in the Middle East, where Arab allies of the United States are bringing him in from the cold by reviving economic and diplomatic ties. By Maha El Dahan
By Maha El Dahan -
Afghanistan
Victim-blaming – a trope of the West's failure in Afghanistan
One prominent narrative relating to the defeat of the western-led military intervention in Afghanistan is that it was a mistake to try to build a modern democracy in a society steeped in "mediaeval traditions" and "tribal attitudes". Hans Dembowski condemns this self-serving and condescending standpoint, which persists in ignoring the serious flaws in the West's engagement, while blaming the victims for its failure
By Hans Dembowski -
Katajun Amirpur's "Khomeini" biography
Khomeini, the enigmatic Ayatollah
Recently published in German, Katajun Amirpur's new biography of Ayatollah Khomeini is a multi-faceted and knowledgeable portrait of the Iranian revolutionary leader that also offers some surprises. Marian Brehmer read the book for Qantara.de
By Marian Brehmer -
Electioneering in Libya
Could Muammar Gaddafi's family stage a comeback?
The children of Libya's brutal and erratic former dictator Muammar Gaddafi are becoming more popular as the country's elections, scheduled for 24 December, approach. Some fear they could benefit from an increasingly fragmented political scene. By Cathrin Schaer
By Cathrin Schaer
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Jan Dost on writing in Arabic and Kurdish
"Like being caught between two magnets"
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Sex tourism in Egypt
A bride for the summer
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Atheism in the Arab world
Moroccoʹs atheists find a home on the Internet
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Interview with Israeli philosopher Omri Boehm
The Haifa Republic – full equality for Middle East peace
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Aicha 'Lella Saida' Manoubiya
Tunisia's feminist icon
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Women's rights in Saudi Arabia
Aisha al-Mana – the first woman to drive a car in Riyadh