Politics

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
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
Middle East

Factbox: Who's competing in Iraq's elections?

Iraq holds a general election on 10 October, its fifth parliamentary vote since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 and ushered in a complex multi-party system contested by groups defined largely by sect or ethnicity.
Taliban takeover

Afghanistan crisis looms as West cuts aid lifelines

The world must take action now to prevent a deep and lasting humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. But what, if anything, can be done? The one billion dollars pledged by international donors is merely a short term fix, argues Rashmee Roshan Lall
By Rashmee Roshan Lall