The Cairo Gang, the Force Research Unit and ... Rupert Murdoch

The story of the FRU must be one of the most sordid in British Intelligence. It reveals a deep gulf in Northern Ireland's peace process: Britain's willingness to be held accountable.

By Open democracy

/ 20 Dec 2012

When soldiering gets sexy: the militarization of gender equality and sexual difference

Up in Arms continues to track the figure of the soldier in contemporary culture as a consequence of NATO’s wars. How does militarism – the belief in the superiority of military values and methods – shape or perhaps even challenge gender stereotypes in countries that send troops off to war?

By Vron Ware

/ 10 Dec 2012

Infatuation and the US Army

To a large extent Petraeus, four star general and chief spy, was a political and media invention. Take a closer look at the Petraeus record and a spectre starts to appear: of just how blind love can be.

By Open democracy

/ 10 Dec 2012

G4S equips the apartheid wall, Israel confirms

The company whose logo appears on police staff uniforms in the UK and dropped the Olympics contract has far reaching impact on multiple security settings.

By Open democracy

/ 7 Dec 2012

Child soldiers, child wives: wounded for life

Working with ex-child soldiers of Charles Taylor's army, and the girls they have taken as wives, has convinced Nobel Peace laureate Leymah Gbowee that the abuse women suffer during conflict is a reflection of the interaction between men and women, boys and girls, during peace time.

By Open democracy

/ 26 Nov 2012

République Démocratique du Congo: dépasser le cycle de la crise

L'éruption de violence dans l'est de la République Démocratique du Congo reflète l'échec des organisations nationales et internationales sur le long terme, affectant les citoyens de la région ainsi que les communautés de la diaspora européenne. Pour sortir de ce cycle, il faudra s'en prendre aux r

By Andrew Wallis

/ 18 Oct 2012

On ne peut pas ignorer le lien entre le Rwanda et les rebelles du M23

Beaucoup des facteurs de conflit dans l'est de la République Démocratique du Congo se trouvent à l'intérieur de ses frontières mais une analyse qui ignorerait le rôle du Rwanda ces dernières années ne permettrait pas de démonter le mécanisme des cycles d'insurrection violente. Read this in English

By Open democracy

/ 18 Oct 2012

Rwanda's connection to the M23 rebels must not be ignored

Many of the drivers of conflict in eastern DR Congo lie within its borders, but an analysis that ignores the role of Rwanda in recent years is inadequate to the task of disassembling the cycles of violent insurrection. Français.

By Open democracy

/ 18 Oct 2012

Yemen’s National Dialogue: will it succeed?

Eleven months after the signature of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s [GCC] initiative and the formation of the new Government of National Unity and nine months after the election of the interim President, where are we with Yemen's National Dialogue? Things are different this time - but are they any

By Helen Lackner

/ 18 Oct 2012

The ongoing attack on democracy in the Maldives

If western countries are unwilling to place any pressure against a regime of questionable legitimacy, allied with a former dictator and hard-line Islamists, while failing to provide any support for a popularly-elected leader committed to democracy and to nonviolence, what kind of message does that

By Open democracy

/ 11 Oct 2012

CLEAN IT: the secret EU surveillance plan that wasn’t

There are elements in Europe who would dearly like to see the CLEAN IT wish list put into practice (including from the law enforcement community, the industries that serve it, and the European Commission), but we must distinguish between transnational talking shops, EU working groups and draft EU

By Ben Hayes

/ 9 Oct 2012

Chaos in the Sahel

The wider regional Islamist threat from the GSPC/AQIM appeared to be minimal in the past (except to Mali, Niger and Mauritania). This is no longer the case. Such movements are proliferating and reforming in ways that could seriously threaten security inside Algeria itself.

By Open democracy

/ 25 Sep 2012

Security sector reform - a global challenge