May 2007

Nicolas Sarkozy’s victory on 6 May with 53% of the votes in the second round of the presidential election marks a turning-point in the history of the fifth republic. It is not simply a matter of the French right remaining in power, as it has been since 1995 and before that from 1958-1981. The programme presented by Sarkozy, as UMP (Union pour un mouvement populaire) candidate, and the forces he sought to gather round him, represent a major change of direction, making him the first French (...)

The candidacy of Abdullah Gul, Turkey’s foreign minister, for the presidential elections provoked massive demonstrations in Istanbul and Ankara and aborted the voting process. The confrontation is between secularists and a ruling party with a neo-Islamic tinge, the popular Justice and Development party (AKP), which has overseen a sophisticated, fast-improving economy and the nation’s candidacy for the European Union. The crisis arose from a contest for the soul of the nation, with nationalism at its core

Faced with more US troops, many armed Iraqi groups have gone to ground ­ for the moment. Others manipulate US troops to do their dirty work for them. The US has failed to create a political settlement and appears to be blind to its own lack of progress

Faced with more US troops, many armed Iraqi groups have gone to ground – for the moment. Others manipulate US troops to do their dirty work for them. The US has failed to create a political settlement and appears to be blind to its own lack of progress

The lives of many Iraqi women have become appreciably harsher following international sanctions and the US-led invasion. Although pleased to see Saddam toppled, some look back on the prosperity and social liberation of the Ba’athist years with nostalgia

France’s voters had the opportunity to elect their first woman president. But 30 years after Frenchwomen secured equal labour rights and control of their own bodies, they face significant reverses

China, with its unique mix of authoritarian government and rampant capitalism, is often portrayed as a fast-growing and malignant cancer that threatens the rest of the world’s economies. But the reality is far more complex. China is struggling with mass migration, skills shortages and millions of unemployed graduates

Although the phrase entered France’s political vocabulary 20 years ago, ‘positive discrimination’ has gained wide currency only in the past few years. But for all the debate since the violent riots in 2005, no one really knows what it means

US civil rights law codified some of the changes demanded by civil rights activists; then affirmative action aimed to redress inequalities that African-Americans had inherited from their slave origins. That action now needs to be extended to the poor of the United States

In India disadvantage has been tackled via reservations of government jobs and educational places for the lower castes, mainly the untouchables and ‘other backward classes’. With the rapid growth in urban life, this policy is now showing its limitations

The major environmental consequences of global warming, especially high water and salt invasion, are likely to displace millions of people this century. Bangladesh has already entered that frightening future

Philip Roth, in his novel ‘The Plot Against America’, imagined what would have happened if Charles Lindbergh had been elected president of the United States in 1940, since the aviator was an antisemite and Nazi sympathiser. But there was nothing fictitious about the influence of Nazism in the US; in fact Hitler was inspired by US proponents of eugenics and racism

The premiership of Tony Blair, not yet quite over, is a narrative of achievement marred by the fiasco of Iraq. The apparent achievements were his triumph over the Conservatives after four demoralising electoral defeats; his modernisation of the Labour party; his rejection of the zero-sum, class-based politics of Old Labour; and his establishment of a more ethical foreign policy, notably in Kosovo and Sierra Leone.