Global instability and burgeoning Asian demand have sent the oil price soaring, says Bill Richardson. America needs to calm the Middle East in the short term, find alternatives to oil in the medium term, and rejoin the international dialogue on climate change and energy use – The media tell different stories when they discuss Iraq…

Democracy today is in crisis. We need a radical new approach that is truly representative if the developing world is ever to have a proper say in global government, argues Saif Al Islam Al Qadhafi Government by the people and for the people remains a widely accepted definition of democracy. But it is an ideal…

The trial of Slobodan Milosevic is a step in the right direction. But without a show of political will, efforts to build an international criminal court will be jeopardized, says Carla Del Ponte – On February 12, 2002, for the first time in modern history, a head of state was brought before an international tribunal…

America and Europe have clashed over Iraq, climate change and the Middle East. But it is in both parties’ interests to work together, says John Peet Relations between America and Europe are always complex and difficult, with frequent trade disputes and differences on foreign policy matters. Yet for most of the past half-century the two…

The threat of terrorism is an excuse for political repression across central Asia. Yet without radical reform, argues Martha Brill Olcott, the region will fall prey to the extremism it has spawned A wave of violence rippled across the former Soviet Union in 1999. Bombs exploded in both downtown Tashkent and suburban Moscow, while guerrillas…

An allegory of history: Novelist Ben Okri was awarded the Booker Prize in 1991 for The Famished Road. In 2001 he was awarded an OBE. Here, we post the famous: “The Mysterious Anxiety of Them and Us“. Or read the full poem below, or read the summary here or read the analysis here and the…

The benefit of eating organic food is not so much what it does for you, says Marion Nestle, but what it does for the environment Despite being a long-time analyst of the politics of nutrition, I must confess to a rather late interest in organic foods. Ironically, my epiphany came as a result of an…

For citizens to enjoy longer lives, says Henry McKinnell, governments should invest in the latest and most effective medicines – In the summer of 1890, a girl was born in Smilde, the Netherlands. Six months later, 5,000km away, a boy was born in Syracuse, New York. The boy was healthy, but the girl struggled for…

Africa’s political elites have undermined their countries’ economies, says Moeletsi Mbeki. The region must give power to the private sector producers if it is ever to develop – When African and Asian colonies gained independence last century, their new leaders faced two main challenges: to consolidate quickly their political power while ensuring stability and, in…

The interests of the United States and Canada – in economics and the environment as much as in security – are inseparable, says Paul Martin – There has long been a tension at the centre of Canadian foreign policy. We have many ways of describing it, but, in essence, it comes down to this: should…