Politics

Impact of border controls in the EU

The European downward spiral

It is arguably already too late for European governments to understand that with the introduction of border controls, they cannot change the reality of flight and the search for asylum. But these measures are creating political divisions across the continent that will be difficult to heal. A commentary by Stefan Buchen
By Stefan Buchen
Popular unrest in the Middle East

Who says popular demand for change is off the agenda?

Recent protests in Beirut against government corruption and incompetence highlight a growing revival of non-violent dissent across the Middle East and North Africa. As well as an end to corruption, protesters in Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon have been taking to the streets demanding improvement in basic public services such as waste management, accountability and transparency. By James M. Dorsey
By James M. Dorsey
Planned ″business amnesty legislation″ in Tunisia

Tunisia: sweeping history under the carpet rather than confronting the past?

A proposed law designed to provide amnesty for corrupt businessmen is causing uproar in Tunisia. Opponents accuse the government of subverting the reappraisal of the country's dictatorial past. Details supplied by Sarah Mersch in Tunis
By Sarah Mersch
The responsibility of the wealthy in the refugee crisis

Plea for a refugee solidarity tax

In view of the refugee crisis in Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel should enlist the services of high earners and the wealthy when addressing this acute issue of national importance. This would send both a necessary and shrewd political signal that could have immense significance for the preservation of social stability, says Stefan Buchen
By Stefan Buchen
European refugee policy: a commentary

Europe needs common standards

The refugee crisis is a chance to revive Europe's humanitarian heritage. Germany and the German people are taking the lead, says Loay Mudhoon
By Loay Mudhoon
Civil war in Syria

First Assad, then "Islamic State"

If the self-styled "Islamic State" is to be successfully combatted, the Syrian conflict has to be resolved. And for this, one thing is necessary above all: an alternative to the Assad regime. This alternative can only be created in safe zones, writes Kristin Helberg
By Kristin Helberg
Lebanon's "You Stink" protest movement

Rubbish knows no religion

Triggered by a waste disposal crisis, a new movement has formed in Lebanon. Yet the "You Stink" campaign is more than an initiative against unsolved rubbish problems; it is also a rebellion against Lebanon's family clans and confessionalism, a system that divides up political power among the country's religious communities in proportion to their percentage of the population. By Karim El-Gawhary
By Karim El-Gawhary
Politics and religion

The instrumentalisation of religion

Since time immemorial, religion has not only been used as an inspiration and a guide for life, but also as a way of furthering interests and achieving specific political ends. This instrumentalisation can be either intentional or unintentional. In this essay, Hakim Khatib looks at a number of countries where Islam has been instrumentalised in the recent past and examines the various different forms this instrumentalisation can take
By Hakim Khatib
Islamism in eastern Africa

Not immune to terror

Somalia, Kenya and their neighbouring countries are increasingly being haunted by extremist violence. This essay assesses why this region has become a hotbed of Islamism and why one-dimensional military interventions by external forces have not delivered the desired results. By Emmanuel Kisiangani
By Emmanuel Kisiangani
Interview with a survivor of the Suruc attack

"All we want is freedom"

The faces of the 31 members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) killed in the attack on 20 July still gaze down from banners strung around the courtyard of the Amara Culture Centre where the bomb was detonated. Inside, surrounded by broken windows, sits Adnan, a 25-year-old Kurd, who describes the IS terrorism that drove him out of Kobani, only to catch up with him across the border in Suruc. Fabian Kohler spoke to him about the attack
By Fabian Köhler
State and religion in Iran

"Shias tend to support the underdogs"

The Shia faith has always been a defining aspect of Iranian nationhood. In the twentieth century, the pro-Western regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi silenced critics and was eventually toppled by a popular revolution with strong religious dimensions in 1979. Tehran's stance has since been basically anti-Western, but that may now be changing. Maysam Behravesh, a political analyst with Tehran Bureau, assessed the nature of the Shia regime in an interview with Hans Dembowski
By Hans Dembowski
Interview with Wilfried Buchta on the rise of IS and the fall of Iraq

"Iraq is irreversibly split"

In his new book, "Terror vor Europas Toren" (Terror at the Gates of Europe), Wilfried Buchta analyses the reasons for the rise of the jihadist militia of the self-styled "Islamic State" and the disintegration of the Iraqi state. Ulrich von Schwerin spoke to Buchta, a scholar of Islam, who worked as a UN analyst in Baghdad for many years about the future of the nation
By Ulrich von Schwerin