Was the real winner of the Serbian election the party that came third? Jasmina Kijevcanin reports from Belgrade
10 May 12 Comments (0)
Günter Grass, again
The Nobel laureate’s latest intervention in public debate says more about him than about the Middle East, writes Klaus Neumann. But it also draws attention to broader attitudes in Germany
19 Apr 12 Comments (5)French gender: It’s not (all) about sex
Margaret A’Beckett introduces a radical new explanation of how gender works in French
11 Apr 12 Comments (3)
Which Putin will stand up?
Born-again reformer, pragmatist or more of the same? The signs are mixed for Vladimir Putin’s third term as president, writes John Besemeres
28 Mar 12 Comments (0)Putin’s phoney war
Vladimir Putin is likely to win Sunday’s presidential elections, but it’s less clear how events will unfold in Russia once he moves back into his old job, writes John Besemeres
01 Mar 12 Comments (0)The matter of Scotland
A high-stakes constitutional tussle over the future of the United Kingdom is under way. The political transformation of Scotland since the 1950s will help to shape the outcome, says David Hayes
22 Feb 12 Comments (0)Mobile fortunes
Denis O’Brien’s story helps explain what went wrong for the Celtic Tiger, writes Jock Given
16 Feb 12 Comments (0)Greek myths
In Athens Daniel Nethery finds that the conventional diagnosis of Greece’s problems doesn’t quite fit the reality
08 Feb 12 Comments (0)Havel’s legacy
Václav Havel, who died in December, was Orwell’s true successor, writes Jane Goodall
09 Jan 12 Comments (0)Setbacks at home, successes abroad: the mixed fortunes of Vladimir Putin
A resentful Putin means further strains in East–West relations and a renewed effort to lock in Russia’s western neighbours, writes John Besemeres
22 Dec 11 Comments (0)Putin’s Ceausescu moment
The warning signs rose to a new pitch during the election campaign, writes John Besemeres, and now Vladimir Putin will be looking at ways to re-tighten his grip
09 Dec 11 Comments (0)Poland’s EU presidency: drawing the short straw
The mood has become a little anxious at the headquarters of the Occidental Club, reports John Besemeres
05 Dec 11 Comments (0)Falling through the floor
One of France’s best-known journalists went undercover to see the recession first-hand. Sophie Black reviews her account of the experience
24 Nov 11 Comments (0)Speaking truth to power and prejudice
Adam Michnik has taken a long journey from student rebel to newspaper editor. John Besemeres reviews his new collection of essays
24 Oct 11 Comments (1)“I feared I would never, in my life, be able to write a book again”
A bestselling author in the early thirties, Irmgard Keun left Nazi Germany in 1936 only to return during the war, writes Geoff Wilkes
20 Oct 11 Comments (0)Poland at the polls: a win for pragmatism
Fears that Poland could lurch to the right proved unfounded when Poles voted last weekend, writes John Besemeres. The results highlight the waning influence of the Church in national politics
14 Oct 11 Comments (0)Colonialism’s prequel
Julia Clancy-Smith’s Mediterraneans looks at a neglected period with contemporary resonance, writes Lorenzo Veracini
16 Sep 11 Comments (1)Russia’s elections: leaving little to chance
With elections looming, speculation is mounting about whether Vladimir Putin or Dmitry Medvedev (or even someone else) will be the ruling establishment’s presidential candidate, writes John Besemeres, and how much does it matter?
08 Sep 11 Comments (0)
