The November-December election in five states produced some fascinating results. But they also caused tremendous hardships to central and Delhi government employees on what turned out to be a long and tough pol

Violence in Iraq is now at its highest since the 2006-08 militia wars. And Nouri al-Maliki’s sectarian, regionalist policy has received an ominous new lease of life from the crisis in neighbouring SyriaHo

Mathilde Bouyé & Jean-Michel SeverinoLe Monde diplomatiqueThe Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed by the United Nations in 2000 (1) have made an unprecedented contribution to the fight against p

Scandinavian crime novels are no alien to the world. If the simple language and local settings are their powerful tools, addressing social issues through their narratives is an art crime writers of the region h

Khrietuonyü Noudi According to a story written by Leo Tolstoy, there was once a king who was rich and well-respected by the people of his kingdom. The king was always on the lookout for more wisdom so that

With the referendum the military secures its privileges, but its main challenge is the economic crisisIf someone fell into a coma in 2011 before the Egyptian “revolution” and woke up today he or she

A new world requires new stories, but people will only listen to them when they themselves are included in the storyline. This requires a ‘gear-shift’ in conversations about radical actionSimon Hodg

Violence in Iraq is now at its highest since the 2006-08 militia wars. And Nouri al-Maliki’s sectarian, regionalist policy has received an ominous new lease of life from the crisis in neighbouring SyriaHo

Can a new political party transform Indian democracy?Jantar Mantar Road, a short passageway through the administrative center of New Delhi, takes its name from a complex of gigantic red astronomical instruments

It is often said that when China sneezes, the world catches a cold. The World Bank recently raised its global GDP growth estimate for 2014 to 3.2 percent from its earlier estimate of 3 percent back in June 2013

Narmada Bachao Andolan redefined activism and cradled a whole generation of gallant dissenters. But where does it stand today?I walked down the weather-beaten road of Jhanda Chowk in the direction that, I was t

Pope Francis's fresh, informal style has been met with popular acclaim during his first year in office. But his planned reforms will be hard for many in the Catholic Church to acceptIn a remarkably short space

When we travel to a new town or place we pick up customs and traditions which may actually be very alien to us. We like to try out new food, sample their drinks and take lots of pictures. Sometimes we may even

The Zapatistas are still running their own schools and hospitals, raising new generations, and carrying on a dialogue with the outside world that has enriched both sidesThere are two tests of social change move

The third edition of the Shriver Report, a media initiative spearheaded by Maria Shriver to call public attention to women’s evolving role in the home, workplace, and society, was released this month.With

It took years of political evolution for King to understand nonviolence not merely as a moral force, but as an effective strategy for leveraging political changeFew are aware that Martin Luther King, Jr. once a

Given the ongoing and important discussions this past month on how best to commemorate the legacy of Nelson Mandela, it seems necessary to separate fact from fiction in the recently-released Mandela: Long Walk

It took years of political evolution for King to understand nonviolence not merely as a moral force, but as an effective strategy for leveraging political changeFew are aware that Martin Luther King, Jr. once a

The social challenges facing the planet have been seriously underestimated: 1.2 billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day and around 5.1 billion — three-quarters of the world’s population &

There are conflicts old and new crying for solution and reconciliation, not violence, with reasonable, realistic ways out.Take the South Sudan conflict between the Nuer and the Dinka. We know the story of the b