From Canada, the glass house is getting crowded: Why are so many MPs so fond of Neville Chamberlain?; an interview with Preston Manning, the former Reform leader, on what he thinks of Canada's new government; behind the razzle-dazzle, Expo '67 was a prototype for the kind of society Canada wanted to become, and by some measures it got there; a reviews Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire; and civility and other such nonsense: In praise of well-meaning politicians saying increasingly crazy things. From Australia, a review of Detainee 002: The case of David Hicks, and a review of Rob Riley: An Aboriginal Leader’s Quest for Justice. An article on Fiji, 1987-2007: The story of four coups for 20 years.
From Seven Oaks, a review of books on various Africas. African leaders recently chose Zimbabwe to chair the UN Commission on Sustainable Development: Why Africa won't rein in Mugabe. Economic freedom in Africa: Where has all the progress gone? A review of The Invisible Cure: AIDS in Africa by Helen Epstein (and more). Why Ethiopia parties like it's 1999: Well, because it is still 1999 according to the Julian calendar. The standoff between Anjouan's local authorities and the Comoros Union government remains unresolved. Upcoming elections and Comoran unity hang in the balance.
An article on ideology in China: Confucius makes a comeback. Declassified Documents on the Malaysian riots of 1969 presents the view that 1969 race riots were instigated by ambitious Malay politicians. Now it seems the book will be banned by the government. From Radical Notes, an article on the growing revolt against disposability: New dimensions of resistance to corporate globalization in India. A review of In Quest of Jinnah, Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan, M. A. Jinnah and In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War.
From Boston Review, a special section on Nukes, Democracy and Iran, including The View from Tehran: Akbar Ganji on changing Iran from within; Nuclear Freeze Hans Blix on the Middle East and global arms control; Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns on carrots and sticks; and Michael McFaul and Abbas Milani on how normalizing relations will help both sides. From Asia Times, an appeal for empire: A review of Theology of Discontent: The Ideological Foundation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran by Hamid Dabashi; and who will be the 21st century equivalent of Saladin, the greatest warrior of Islam? An interview with Augustus Richard Norton, author of Hezbollah: A Short History. An interview with Olivier Roy, author of Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Umma.
From Open Democracy, a developed view of multiculturalism can complement democratic citizenship and nation-building. And darn it, and face up to the global village: Ever-more global communities are making increasingly strong claims on our lives over our immediate surroundings
