There is a good deal of anxiety nowadays about police corruption in the UK as a consequence of numerous scandals, miscarriages of justice, inquiries and revelations. At the heart of all this lies the way the police service is organised in England. Almost every county has its own force, to which are added the big […]
While the diplomatic offensive to resolve the crisis hots up but makes no progress, the position on the ground remains bloodless but grows more unstable. This blog has exhaustively discussed this issue over the last few weeks at each stage of its development and it is now time to take a look at each side’s […]
So far the Russian occupation of Crimea has been achieved without loss of life, or indeed without a drop of blood being spilled. This could only happen though the enthusiastic welcome of the majority of the population who see themselves as actually or ethically Russian. It is therefore not realistic to make out that this […]
It is becoming clear that the Crimea is lost as an integral part of the Ukrainian state and it is unlikely that Kiev will ever be able to satisfy the anxieties both of its ethnic Russian population and Russia itself to cause it to return. What is now in the balance is whether the eastern […]
The pattern is familiar. An insurrection breaks out in an unstable State, subject to indifferent government. It starts with street protests. The West back the protesters without taking account of the underlying fault lines of ethnicity, religious group, cultural variation and racial origin. It sees the mob as heroes because they make western sounding noises, […]
This is a moment when the West has to upgrade its diplomacy to a much more sophisticated and flexible model than the gung ho shambles post 9/11. The world is no longer a place of goodies and baddies, nor is it one of independent interests. It is a spider’s web of interlocking and related interests, […]
This Blog, like very many people across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, is fed up with confected political crises got up by Unionist politicians and the latest row about immunity letters is typical. Without going into the details of the latest hullabaloo, it is worth getting at the core issue. In the […]
Let nobody in the West fool themselves that what is happening in the Ukraine is a good idea. A legitimate democratic government favoured by half the population has been overthrown by street protestors from the half who did not like it. The fact the regime of the ousted president was corrupt, had tinkered with the […]
Russia’s premier Dmitry Medvedev spoke some truth when he said that the new authorities in the Ukraine lacked legitimacy and had achieved power through an armed mutiny. These are not words western diplomats would use to describe what has happened, but nevertheless a legitimate government, albeit heavy handed and unpopular, having been properly elected in […]
Although the performance of the Tories in bye elections is awful and they look set for a drubbing in both the upcoming local and European elections, George Osborne is at last beginning to stand out as a Chancellor who knows what he is doing and is sure of his grip. Readers will know that this […]