Showing 1 - 10 of 23
2019 ushers in era of state control
News, John Lloyd, Published on 07/01/2019
» A signature theme of the new year is the possibility of a malign confrontation between the world's greatly enhanced capacity for electronic surveillance and the weakening of democratic control. The antidote to that risk is the democratic spirit and civil freedoms -- both of which are suffering worldwide. These are not dead, but they are unwell, at times untended.
Struggling with the prolonged torture that is Brexit
News, John Lloyd, Published on 19/11/2018
» BBC political correspondent Chris Mason stood outside of the mother of parliaments last Monday morning and said he didn't have the "foggiest idea" about where Brexit is going. Then he made what have been described as "exasperated noises" -- and promptly became an online viral sensation.
Midterms resonate across Atlantic
News, John Lloyd, Published on 12/11/2018
» One of the major political messages of the US midterm elections has been that rural voters dominate the cities. While the Democrats made enough gains in urban areas to take control of the House of Representatives, Republicans were able to expand their majority in the Senate, where each state gets two senators regardless of population size. In an election where neither side can claim a sweeping victory, President Donald Trump's party did as well as it did because the small towns and the more sparsely populated rural areas of the United States are still, in the main, Trump country. Meanwhile, Democrat votes pile up in the cities, uselessly, from an electoral point of view.
Is populism a disease? Or a cure?
News, John Lloyd, Published on 29/10/2018
» Populist nationalism is here to stay. Many still believe it a phase which, like surliness in adolescence, will pass and be succeeded by orderly, thoughtful maturity. But they will find that the political world, already changed, will disappoint them. Liberalism, however defined, is not politics' default position: mainstream politicians are in a fight ring facing young contenders buoyed by a string of victories.
Politics of confrontation heats up
News, John Lloyd, Published on 15/10/2018
» The next president of Brazil, Latin America's giant, is all but certain to be former army captain Jair Bolsonaro -- who was relatively unknown, even in his own country, just a few months ago, but who now has a large public profile all round the world. At 63, he has spent years in public life, leaving a mark -- but not a large one -- as a man of the far right, ready with insults for women who oppose him, disgusted by homosexuality, approving of the military dictatorship that killed and tortured leftists between 1964 and 1985.
No 'third way' in a polarised Britain
News, John Lloyd, Published on 01/10/2018
» The British prime minister and the leader of Her Majesty's opposition gave speeches on the same day last week, outlining their vision for their country's economy -- and by implication, its society. They had little in common.
Why Macron's 'third way' is now the EU's best option
News, John Lloyd, Published on 17/09/2018
» The largest question in democratic politics in Europe is: who's in charge?
Anti-Trump op-ed boosts democracy
News, John Lloyd, Published on 10/09/2018
» The good news was well disguised in the anonymous cry of warning against the "amorality" of Donald Trump. A senior administration official, writing as an unnamed columnist in The New York Times, described how he and like-minded colleagues "are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of (the US president's) agenda and his worst inclinations." The message is that democratic habits -- and, crucially, civic decency and responsibility -- can, in step with free journalism, win out over degraded administrations.
The case for the UK's Brexit chaos
News, John Lloyd, Published on 16/07/2018
» Compromise is the loveliest word in democratic politics and beyond -- in lasting relationships, labour disputes, international relations. British Prime Minister Theresa May has never more needed the deployment of this lovely and necessary word than now.
Migrant misery spans worldwide
News, John Lloyd, Published on 25/06/2018
» It's an increasingly hard world for those seeking a better life in richer countries. Immigrants aren't welcome in most states, even where demographic trends reflect the need to expand the labor force to levels able to sustain and support aging populations.