The World Today European Right-Wing: A Turn to the Right The murder of flamboyant anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn just days before his party was tipped to take over a quarter of the vote at the Dutch general election, coupled with the success of veteran French right-winger Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first ballot of the French presidential elections, put Europe’s far right at the centre of political debate for the first time in over half a century. Their success is just the latest phase in what might appear to be the inexorable rise of the right across Europe.
The World Today France: French Way Fails The defeat of Lionel Jospin by Jean-Marie Le Pen has given France a cold shower. Above all it is a massive wake-up call for the remote and complacent political class. For the former Jospin government and the entire political spectrum this is not easy. Real reform is the only answer and politicians don’t want to be responsible for the pain.
The World Today Dutch Elections: Landscape Changing A political murder, a cabinet resigning over the 1995 mass murder in Srebrenica a month before the general election, the unprecedented success of a new right-wing group: the Dutch elections were both sensational and dramatic. Negotiations for a right-wing government are underway.
The World Today CD Gorazde - The Peacekeeper's Tale: On the record This double compact disc set of recordings of British army soldiers and officers recounting their experiences in Gorazde makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the awful events that unfolded in Bosnia in the summer of 1995.
The World Today Islamism in Southeast Asia: Islamists Defeat Asian Way The rise of militant Islam in Southeast Asia, and its challenge to the once fashionable Asian way of development and shared values, has been largely ignored.
The World Today Indonesia: Going it Alone Indonesia found itself in a particularly vulnerable position after last year’s Al Qaeda attacks. The world’s largest Muslim country, some have accused it of harbouring terrorist sympathisers. With several separatist movements and a military suspected of human rights abuses, it has had to tread a narrow line. Typically for a non-aligned nation, it has chosen to go it alone.
The World Today African Development: Despots or Aid? This month’s G8 summit of industrialised nations in Canada will be dominated by discussion of the much heralded New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the latest attempt to meet the formidable challenges facing the continent. A new infusion of aid is tied to good government. Is it a realistic project or yet another grandiose initiative that will entirely fail to transform political and economic conditions on the ground? While recent events in Zimbabwe and the broader African reaction to them may not prove fatal for the scheme, they do not bode well for its long term success.
The World Today South American Trade: Turmoil and Opportunity Argentina’s continuing economic crisis is putting new pressure on Mercosur – South America’s leading attempt at an integrated market. After swift progress in its early years, the group now faces challenges that could break it apart or see it drift into irrelevance.
