Viewpoint by Ravi Arvind Palat The writer is a professor at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton NEW YORK (IDN) – Several commentators have underlined the sharp contrast between law enforcement responses to the storming of the U.S. Capitol by mobs unleashed by President Trump on January 6, 2021, and to the […]
Time to Dispense with the Rhetoric of Decolonisation
Viewpoint by Themrise Khan* KARACHI (IDN) – While preparing to speak at an online discussion on decolonising the aid sector, I searched Google Translate for a corresponding word for ‘decolonisation’ in my native language of Urdu. I couldn’t find one. In many other languages, from Arabic to Spanish, only a loanword exists. It’s just one […]
Behind January 6 Insurrection: America Is an Oligarchy, Not A Functioning Democracy
Viewpoint by Albena Azmanova and Marshall Auerback * This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute. NEW YORK | BRUSSELS (IDN) – While the majority of Americans deplored the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, it was troubling to see a YouGov poll indicating that 1 […]
‘Fine Words Butter No Parsnips’ — Behind Boris Johnson’s So-Called Liberalism
Viewpoint by Sam Fowles* LONDON (IDN) – The UK has left the EU and plunged into a third lockdown (the latter some two weeks after doing so was recommended by the government’s medical advisers), while, in the US, right-wing terrorists stormed the Capitol. Strangely, all three provoked responses along the lines of “Boris Johnson is […]
The Politicisation of “White Victimhood” Nothing New to Trump’s Presidency
Viewpoint by Lee Bebout* TEMPE, Arizona (IDN) – Despite failed lawsuits, recounts and formal confirmation that President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, President Donald Trump and his supporters continue to maintain that the election was rigged and that he and the American people are victims of massive voter fraud. This politicisation of victimhood is nothing new […]
How Will Africa Remember Donald Trump? Here Is How.
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) – US President Donald Trump may have lost re-election but he would be escorted out of the White House on January 19 night with a special prize: Africa’s worst friend in modern times. Not that […]
As A Tigrayan, My Bond with Ethiopia Feels Beyond Repair
Viewpoint by Temesgen Kahsay The author is an Assistant Professor at the Norwegian School of Leadership and Theology. The following appeared first in ‘African Arguments’ on January 12, 2021. OSLO (IDN) – We’re told the war is not with ordinary Tigrayans. Yet as thousands suffer and our compatriots remain silent, that’s how it feels. As […]
Whither the G20 in a World of Declining Multilateralism: Part 2
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio* ROME (IDN | OtherNews) – A decision on the debt issue is now expected from the next G20 Summit in Rome, in November. But before that, the Global Health Summit called by the G20 together with the EU in May will be the occasion to verify what will happen with vaccines. […]
Whither the G20 in a World of Declining Multilateralism: Part 1
Viewpoint by Roberto Savio* ROME (IDN | OtherNews) – For 2021, Italy has been given chairmanship of the Group of 20, which brings together the world’s 20 most important countries. On paper, they represent 60 percent of the world’s population and 80 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While the shaky Italian government will […]
The Rationale for Scotland Returning to the European Union
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Trump wants to get in. Scotland wants to get out. That sounds a bit odd. Let me explain. A few days ago, the first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, said she’d heard that one of the White House’s planes had asked for permission to land in Glasgow […]