Every year on 11 September, Catalonia celebrates its Diada, its National Day. But the Diada of 2012 was like none other, as an enormous crowd calling for Catalan independence took over the heart of Ba
Samia Rahman argues there is more to the Muslim world than extremism, Anne Alexander wonders at the rise and rise of ISIS, John Sweeney suggests we are living in an age of extremes, Raza Ali struggles
The British were in Darfur for only forty years (1916-56) and, administratively, their impact was minimal. In retrospect, their most important role was in recording and codifying the customary law and
Since 1998 Guinea-Bissau has suffered a series of coups which outside analysts have linked to its emergence as West Africa's first 'narco-state'. Yet what does this mean for the country and the nature
Hassan Mahamdallie walks the streets of Detroit - the city America allowed to die, Ziauddin Sardar visits the 'first city' at the crossroads of Asia, Boyd Tonkin is shocked at the new gleaming cultura
Northern and central Nigeria are engulfed in a violent insurgency campaign waged by Jama'atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda'awati w'al Jihad, a.k.a. 'Boko Haram', and more recently, its splinter group 'Ansaru'. F
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Caucasus was wracked by ethnic and separatist violence as the peoples of the region struggled for self-determination. Vicken Cheterian, who spent many years
'This book is about a story (Ousmane Sembene's Xala), about a time (the aftermath of Senegalese Independence), and about a place (Dakar, the capital of Senegal). It's also about the collaboration betw
From Independence to Revolution tells the story of the complicated relationship between the Egyptian population and the nation's most prominent political opposition -- the Islamist movement. Most comm
Englishness is an idea, a consciousness and a proto-nationalism. There is no English state within the United Kingdom, no English passport, Parliament or currency, nor any immediate prospect of any. Th
Asad Durrani served as a three star general in the Pakistan army, and later headed the Inter-Services Intelligence agency from 1990 to 1992. His time in service encompassed the Soviet Union's withdraw
Iran has emerged from decades of isolation and struggle to become a leading, if not the pre-eminent, regional power. Iran projects its influence throughout the Middle East and parts of Central Asia. M
The Hazaras of Afghanistan have borne the brunt of many of the destructive forces unleashed by the establishment of the Afghan monarchy in 1747. The history of their relationship with the Afghan state
According to the United Nations, Myanmar's Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. Only now has the media turned its attention to their plight at the hands of a country led b
In a world dominated by the British Empire, and at a time when many Europeans considered black people inferior, Sierra Leonean writer A. B. C. Merriman-Labor claimed his right to describe the world as
Yorkshireman Lionel Abson was the longest surviving European stationed in West Africa in the eighteenth century. He reached William's Fort at Ouidah on the Slave Coast as a trader in 1767, took over t
Orphans have often been beneficiaries of charity and compassion--but society has also punished, abused and ill-treated them. Attitudes behind this maltreatment are rooted in ideas that those without p
Lisbon's charm is legendary, but its vibrant 2,000-year history is not widely known, from its Roman legacy to its centuries under Moorish rule. Its journey from port town to Portugal's capital was not
