June/July 2009 Archive 

Feelbad Britain and the future of the left If the left in all its diversity is to develop the coherence to meet the new challenges posed by the implosion of the capitalist financial markets, then it needs to overcome the weaknesses that allowed neoliberalism to triumph in the 1980s. Here Pat Devine and David Purdy suggest strategic thoughts for the future, drawing from their analysis of what they see as the left’s lack in the past of a positive project for social change

Tom Paine, restless democrat This June marks the bicentenary of the death of a man who was buried in obscurity but whose ideas are today claimed by everyone from anarchists to neoliberals. Mike Marqusee celebrates the life, work and ideas of the great revolutionary who declared that ‘my country is the world and my religion is to do good’

Stop and search under the Terrorism Act The Terrorism Act of 2000 dramatically increased police powers to stop and search. David Mery gives the lowdown

Avoiding a green bad deal Investing our hopes in green growth or new technological fixes will not avert the climate crisis. So what will? To inaugurate our new series on transitions to a world after fossil fuels, Oscar Reyes looks at the democratic deficit in the power sector

Guilty as not charged Hicham Yezza, a student at the University of Nottingham, was cleared of all charges after his arrest for ‘terrorism’ – but now faces deportation anyway. Prison officials are blocking Red Pepper’s attempts to contact him, but Andy Bowman spoke to two of his close friends about the case

Educate, agitate, occupy! Kate Ferguson visits the occupied Visteon factory in Enfield, north London

After the handshake Latin America has welcomed the election of Barack Obama. But how far do the US president’s policies point to a real change in US/Latin American relations? And even if Obama personally wants such a change, does he have the power to deliver? By Grace Livingstone

Playing the Great Game The Tricycle Theatre’s production of The Great Game – 12 plays on the history and contemporary realities of the struggle for control over Afghanistan – brings to the fore what will be one of the central political issues in the coming years. Co-director Indhu Rubasingham reflects on the project

Apathy of the discontented Almost 500 million people were entitled to vote in this year’s European elections. Yet between the lobbyists and the bureaucrats, it’s hard to claim the EU is a continental-scale democracy. Leigh Phillips asks who pulls the strings in Europe, and what we can do about it

Breaking Europe’s left-right ‘grand coalition’ Carl Schlyter, a Green MEP from Sweden, has battled in the European Parliament over nanotechnology, internet freedoms and unfair trade agreements with developing countries. Unlike many Greens, however, he is a firm opponent of the Lisbon Treaty and backer of EU democratic reform

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