COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | On January 17, 2021, when Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny boarded a plane to Moscow from Berlin, where he had been treated after being poisoned in Russia with the nerve agent Novichok, he said he was pleased to be going home. But he knew the risks …
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COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | Claudine Gay, Harvard University’s first Black female president, was forced to resign after weeks of pressure to step down. But everyone involved in the controversy that pushed her out looks bad. The ostensible reason for her ouster was sloppy academic writing – mostly the …
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Why candidates who have previously been indicted or jailed secure government positions in democratic countries COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | While Donald Trump holds the dubious distinction of being the first former U.S. president to run for office while facing criminal charges, he is not the first political candidate in American …
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What is interesting, however, is how much left-wing and right-wing intolerance have in common COMMENT | Ian Buruma | The United States is in the midst of a book-banning frenzy. According to PEN America, 1,648 books were prohibited in public schools across the country between July 2021 and June 2022. That number …
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The French Revolution toppled the authority of the Catholic Church; many yearn to restore it COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | In his quest for the secret of U.S. democracy in the 1830s, the French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville reflected on the important role played by religion in American life. Having …
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The prospect of Chinese global leadership is not inviting but the U.S. is rapidly fading as an alternative COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | Instead of using all the powers of the U.S. federal government to limit the ravages of COVID-19, President Donald Trump’s administration is wasting precious time and energy …
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The virtuousness of progressive politics, often accompanied by privilege, can be hard to tolerate Project Syndicate | IAN BURUNA | A common explanation for the rise of right-wing demagogues around the world is that many people feel “left behind” by globalism, technology, deindustrialisation, pan-national institutions, and so on. They feel …
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After winning the House, democrats shouldn’t focus on shared loathing of Trump to win the nation COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | At least it wasn’t a disaster. If the Democrats had failed to secure a majority in the US House of Representatives, President Donald Trump would have felt almighty, with all …
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To judge the moral component of artistic expression,look not at the person who made it but at the work itself COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | Chuck Close is an American artist, famous for painting large portraits. Severely paralyzed, Close is confined to a wheelchair. Former models have accused him of asking …
Read More »Why the belief that smashing an image will somehow solve the problems associated with is wrong COMMENT | IAN BURUMA | The ghastly spectacle last month of neo-Nazis marching through Charlottesville, Virginia, carrying torches and barking slogans about the supremacy of the white race, was sparked by the city’s …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price