United Kingdom

Refusing to call out Islamophobia has emboldened the Far Right – and Britain’s current Violence is the Result

By Chris Allen, University of Leicester | – (The Conversation) – As someone who has researched Islamophobia in Britain for a quarter of a century, it is clear to me that the current violence on the streets of Britain is an example of it. This was true from the first outbreak of violence, after a […]

Islam-hatred

As Far Right Islamophobic Mobs riot in the UK, Online Merchants of Hate work their Audiences

The Conversation

By Richard Fern, Swansea University | – The frightening scenes of far-right extremists clashing with police and even rioting in British towns and cities in recent days have many wondering how to stop the spread of the propaganda that encourages racism, violence and misogyny. The tough truth is that in seeking to fact check misinformation […]

Featured

The UK Labour Party drops opposition to Int’l Criminal Court Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant over Gaza War Crimes

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Labour Party in Britain announced that it would not submit a brief to the International Criminal Court arguing that the court has no jurisdiction over Israeli actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The previous Conservative government of Rishi Sunak had pledged to make such a submission, but the new […]

Climate Crisis

New Labour Government in UK Unleashes Onshore Wind, with 61% of British Electricity now Low-Carbon

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The new Labour government in Britain last week took steps to remove the ban on onshore wind farms instituted by the Conservative government, which made it possible for such projects to be forestalled even by a single objection. Gavin McGuire at Reuters reported that for the first time this winter, […]

Democracy

Britain’s Labour beat the Right, but Must hasten to Win Public Trust and heal Rift with own Left

Farhang Jahanpour

Oxford (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Britain’s latest General Election held on 4th July was nothing short of a major political earthquake that put an end to 14 years of often tumultuous and chaotic Conservative rule. The Labor Party, led by Sir Keir Starmer, overturned a big Conservative majority of 80 seats in the […]

Australasia

Blinded to all but the Anglo-Saxon “Five Eyes:” The Bias of US Policy toward Asia

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Wherever he travels globally, President Biden has sought to project the United States as the rejuvenated leader of a broad coalition of democratic nations seeking to defend the “rules-based international order” against encroachments by hostile autocratic powers, especially China, Russia, and North Korea. “We established NATO, the greatest military alliance in […]

Featured

Tempest in a Teapot: British Illusions and American Hegemony from Iraq to Yemen

Marc Martorell Junyent

Review of Tom Stevenson, Someone Else’s Empire: British Illusions and American Hegemony.. London: Verso, 2023. Munich (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Everything is going well in the “Special Relationship” between the US and the UK. After an American chemist dared to suggest that adding salt to the quintessential British cup of tea could represent an […]

Houthi

US-UK Airstrikes Risk strengthening the Houthi Rebels in Yemen and the Region

The Conversation

By Mahad Darar, Colorado State University | – The U.S.- and U.K.-led strikes on the rebel Houthi group in Yemen represent a dramatic new turn in the Middle East conflict – one that could have implications throughout the region. The attacks of Jan. 11, 2024, hit around 60 targets at 16 sites, according to the […]

Authoritarianism

In Blow to Democracy, British Parliament Votes to Outlaw University and Council Boycotts of Israel amid Gaza Genocide

Mohammed Samaana

Belfast (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – On January 10, the UK parliament passed the third and final reading of the anti-boycott bill proposed by pro-Israel Conservative hawk Michael Gove, who serves as Secretary of State for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Governmental Relations. The House of Lords still needs to approve […]