Timothy Garton Ash 2



Profile:
Full name: Timothy Garton Ash

Area of interest: Politics, History (esp. Europe since 1945)

Journals/Organisation: The Guardian, plus other commentaries

Email: [mailto:timothy.garton.ash@guardian.co.uk timothy.garton.ash@guardian.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: TimothyGartonAsh.com | Guardian.co/Timothy Garton Ash

Blog: Comment Is Free...

Representation:

Networks:



Biography:
About:

Education: St. Antony's College, Oxford; the Free University of Berlin; Humboldt University in East Berlin; Exeter College, Oxford: MA Modern History

Career: see: Biography TimothyGartonAsh.com

Current position/role: historian, political writer and Guardian columnist


 * also writes/has written for: New York Times; Washington Post; Wall Street Journal; Prospect

Other roles/Main role:

Other activities: Professor of European Studies, Oxford University; Isaiah Berlin Professorial Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford; Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution Stanford University

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight: Interviews TimothyGartonAsh.com

Broadcast media:

Video:

Controversy/Criticism:

Awards/Honours: David Watt Memorial Prize; Commentator of the Year in the ‘What the Papers Say’ annual awards, 1989; the Premio Napoli; the Imre Nagy Memorial Plaque; the Hoffmann von Fallersleben Prize for political writing; Order of Merit from Germany, Poland and Czech Republic; British CMG; listed as one of 100 top global public intellectuals chosen by the journals Prospect and Foreign Policy, 2005; Time magazine list of the world's 100 most influential people; George Orwell Prize for political writing, 2006

Scoops:

Other:



Books & Debate:

 * Free World: America, Europe, and the Surprising Future of the West (2004) OCLC 55588358
 * History of the Present: Essays, Sketches, and Dispatches from Europe in the 1990s (1999) OCLC 40839740
 * The File: A Personal History (1997) OCLC 37571299
 * In Europe's Name: Germany and the Divided Continent (1993) OCLC 28375767
 * The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of 1989 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague (1990) OCLC 21409653
 * The Uses of Adversity: Essays on the Fate of Central Europe (1989) OCLC 19509951
 * The Polish Revolution: Solidarity, 1980–82 (1984) OCLC 10207243
 * Und Willst Du Nicht Mein Bruder Sein...Die DDR Heute (1981) OCLC 14914791

Latest work: Facts are subversive: political writing from a decade without a name OCLC319210833 August 2009, review here

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate:What Story Should Europe Tell? Debate - Free World Web forum 

The Guardian:
Column name:

Remit/Info: Politics, European Affairs

Section: Comment and debate pages

Role: Commentator

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:timothy.garton.ash@guardian.co.uk timothy.garton.ash@guardian.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: Guardian.co / Timothy Garton Ash

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Thursday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length: 1200 words



Articles: 2011

 * Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair shines a troubling light on French society – and US justice'' - The DSK drama unfolding in New York was unforgettable. Powerful men everywhere have been put on notice - 7th July
 * new Rome is not the new Greece yet, but the US must look to its laurels'' - It's encouraging to see Americans acknowledge the hole they are in. Pity they can't agree how to get out of it - 30th June
 * crisis is China's opportunity. No wonder nice Mr Wen is on his way'' - Economically, it is already a dynamic giant. Militarily, it is becoming one. Politically? Ah, that's another story … - 23rd June
 * the European project is stalling. It needs a new German engine'' - The eurozone crisis is just the most urgent example of Europe's lost momentum. Only Angela Merkel can push-start a recovery - 16th June
 * off Ken Clarke! He can reconcile British pride with European justice'' - Reforming the European Court of Human Rights while proposing a compatible British bill of rights is the perfect job for our justice minister - 9th June
 * Mladic's extradition is a great day for international justice'' - Mladic's detention in the Hague is a triumph of the global movement for accountability. Now let's get the US fully on board - 2nd June
 * Obama really wants to lead us to a free world, he should abolish the G8'' - In his Westminster speech, the US president sang a familiar old song, beautifully. Now let's hear the new one - 26th May
 * can now define the third great project of Euro-Atlantic partnership'' - The president's speeches today and in London can together explain how the US responds with Europe to the Arab spring - 19th May
 * fight the xenophobic populists, we need more free speech, not less'' - Geert Wilders should not be on trial for his words on Islam. But mainstream politicians must confront and not appease him - 12th May
 * must change its electoral system – or slump back to Ukania'' - The AV system isn't ideal, but it's the best choice we have. Voters should seize this opportunity: it will not come again - 5th May
 * a democracy have a King Wills and Queen Kate? You can do worse'' - A monarchy is hard to justify in democratic theory, but would you rather have President Blair in Buck House? - 28th April
 * in liberty, equality, fraternity? This time, don't follow the French'' - There are deep failures of civic liberal integration across Europe, but a burqa ban is the wrong way to address them - 7th April
 * has altered the leaking game for good. Now they must be fewer, but better kept'' - For whistleblowers, government and press, the age of digileaks cries out for new rules on what to hide – and reveal - 31st March
 * plays hawk, Germany demurs. Libya has exposed Europe's fault lines'' - With the west at sixes and sevens, Gaddafi may yet get away with murder. And this in the year of EU unity - 24th March
 * can show reborn Arab nations the art of overcoming a difficult past'' - The purges and trials of Nazis and the opening of Stasi files have lessons for Arab countries struggling out of dictatorship - 17th March
 * 150, Italy gives the lie to the stories we tell the world about Europe'' - There are eight uncomfortable truths that Berlusconi's kingdom reveals about an ancient and modern European project - 10th March
 * escalating drama reopens the case for liberal intervention'' - Iraq gave it a bad name. Blair nearly killed it. But there are responsible versions of a much abused doctrine - 3rd March
 * tortured Polish-Russian story is something we can all learn from'' - The fog of controversy around the death of a Polish president threatens to engulf a promising new beginning - 24th February
 * to this message of hope from Europe's Arabs – and the warning'' - Spain is closer to the Arab world than any other European country, but it has no better response than the rest of the EU - 17th February (Middle East: summary)
 * 1989. Not 1789. But Egyptians can learn from other revolutions'' - Ecstatic crowds in Cairo prove there is no clash of civilisations – everyone wants freedom. The question is, how to get it? - 10th February (Egypt: summary)
 * this is young Arabs' 1989, Europe must be ready with a bold response'' - What happens across the Mediterranean matters more to the EU than the US. Yet so far its voice has been inaudible - 3rd February
 * optimists of Davos past now face a world whose script has gone awry'' - Liberal capitalism's crisis has led neither to total collapse nor great reform. But others are beating the west at its own game - 27th January
 * revolution isn't a product of Twitter or WikiLeaks. But they do help'' - The internet alone won't set anyone free. Between north Africa and Belarus, we are learning just what it can and can't do - 20th January
 * seen America's vitriol. Now let's salute Wikipedia, a US pioneer of global civility'' - For all its shortcomings Wikipedia, now aged 10, is the internet's biggest and best example of not-for-profit idealism - 13th January



Articles: 2010

 * may seem a far away country, but we have to confront Europe's Mugabe'' - A brutal KGB crackdown in the continent's last dictatorship confronts us with the limits and illusions of EU power - 23rd December
 * lets us peer inside the Burmese cage, but not unlock its door'' - To talk via video link to Aung San Suu Kyi was inspiring. Yet liberation is unlikely for Burma if its neighbours will not act - 16th December
 * foreign correspondent is dead. Long live the foreign correspondent'' - The de luxe life satirised in Evelyn Waugh's Scoop has gone for good, but we can still preserve the best of a necessary craft - 8th December
 * reform: Britain needs a better upper house – and not just a second Commons'' - Packing the Lords with donors and cronies is a disgrace. Reform must keep the good, but strip away the bad and ugly - 2nd December
 * embassy cables: A banquet of secrets'' - A diplomat's nightmare is a historian's dream – a feast of data that deepens our understanding - 29th November
 * Germany, calling Germany: you alone can keep this eurozone show on the road'' - The eurozone crisis is far from over. If Spain follows Portugal and Ireland, historic acts of statecraft will be required - 25th November
 * future will depend on a democratic great power. Guess which one'' - Aung San Suu Kyi's release does not yet mean a negotiated transition. And the west cannot help her on its own - 18th November
 * view from Beijing tells you why we need a European foreign policy'' - The EU's national rivalries comprise a standing invitation for any major world power to divide and rule - 11th November
 * has come a long way from Hitler. Today we miss its shoulder at the European wheel'' - An interesting if timid Hitler exhibition shows the distance the Germans have travelled. We need a European Germany for quite different reasons now - 4th November
 * judge Britain's experiment, hold your breath and ignore the slogans'' - An economic gamble, yes. But our cut-back state will still end up as something between Sweden and America - 28th October
 * its rows about Islam, the US must avoid catching a European disease'' - The planned Islamic centre is not at Ground Zero, nor is the nearby strip club. It's un-American to take such offence - 21st October
 * Nobel prize was bold and right – but hits China's most sensitive nerve'' - We can honour Liu and the great achievements of the Chinese state. Let real dialogue about universal values continue - 14th October
 * the film. Then try Facebook's real challenge: restoring your privacy'' - New technologies allow firms and governments to crawl all over our private lives. They also empower us to fight back - 7th October
 * politics is angry, polarised, and gridlocked. Can it be reformed?'' - Washington moves at the pace of Brezhnev's Soviet Union. It needs to be more like Silicon Valley if it is to compete with China - 30th September
 * must wish he were Cameron. You reach out and get things done'' - A growing centre ground is not reflected in the strident partisanship of Congress and the media. The US is the loser - 22nd July
 * has spent 50 years hunting in vain for its role. Change the question'' - As global power shifts and public spending is slashed, we do need to debate our foreign policy – but on the right terms - 15th July
 * universities face a funding crisis. To survive, they must learn from the US'' - To cope with the cuts we need a new model of funding, but one which ensures that poorer students are not excluded - 8th July
 * we need the Liberals in British politics – and by their proper name'' - The Lib Dems are being smothered in Cameron's skillful embrace. They must explain exactly who and what they are - 1st July
 * Gaulle and Churchill have a message for Sarkozy and Cameron'' - Two great leaders, and mythmakers, set France and Britain on divergent trajectories. This 18 June, it's time to reconnect - 17th June
 * tortured Green movement is down but not out. We can still help'' - One harrowing year since the stolen election, the people of Iran need the world's attention to go beyond the nuclear issue - 10th June
 * a Viking paradise, Eurosceptic and egalitarian dreams alike seem true'' - Who wouldn't want to be in a successful, well-run country like Norway? But beware false analogies and fantasy projections - 3rd June
 * is sleepwalking to decline. We need a Churchill to wake it up'' - Our leaders are peddling delusions. The eurozone has not been saved, the EU has no foreign policy, and others are making history - 20th May
 * and Europe are living separate crises. Underneath, it's the same one'' - Like Greece, Spain, even Germany, Britain has to take on the challenge of remaking its social model in a politics of austerity - 13th May
 * awkward coalition to a new politics'' - If all goes well with this strange partnership, Britain's step into the unknown may lead to vital political and constitutional change - 12th May (Cif at the polls)
 * can be the election to change all elections. Vote Lib Dem to make it so'' - Ignore siren calls for tactical voting. Keep head and heart together, and we will compel the change we need - 5th May
 * 2010: Economic reality hits home at last'' - The Institute for Fiscal Studies showed that politicians were being coy about cuts. But voters want the truth - 4th May
 * vital questions for our would-be leaders on Britain's role in the world'' - Style may be more important than substance in the second round of Britain's political X Factor, but we still need some answers - 21st April
 * choice this election is three brands of implausible'' - All parties herald a new politics. None will deliver it alone. The makeup of the next parliament matters more than ever- 15th April
 * glimmer in Poland's darkness'' - This second Katyn offers a message of hope for a country that has won its place as a free fatherland - 13th April
 * Tories can't muzzle election talk of Europe'' - Speaking to the three would-be foreign secretaries you find plenty of common ground, except on the thing that matters most - 8th April
 * has cut the motor, but now Europe is stalled'' - German chancellors once pushed for European unity. Now a retreat into British-style self-interest puts the project at risk - 1st April
 * Google's clash with China, we must find rules for a global village'' - Netizens of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your governments, service providers and illusions - 25th March
 * messiah can't do it. To reshape the world, the US must first reform itself'' - Obama's foreign policy so far has had disappointing results. But if he made a shaky start, more blame lies with others - 18th March
 * witness is a sacred trust'' - Every writer of reportage ought to learn from the Kapuscinski controversy. Creative non-fiction is a slippery slope - 11th March
 * be afraid of a hung parliament'' - Ignore the doomsayers. The lack of an overall Commons majority can lead to strong and reforming government - 4th March
 * agonies of the eurozone reflect a far more significant hidden deficit'' - The spirit that once led Europeans into union has vanished, just as we now face the euro's widely predicted flaws - 25th February
 * need judges to investigate our spies, not spies to berate our judges'' - To keep us safe and free, a new government must set up a judicial inquiry into the entanglements of our secret services -18th February
 * sight of Ukraine's lumpen victor should stir the EU's own into action'' - Yanukovych's election is a startling historical turn, but the country can still have a more prosperous, free and European future - 11th February (Ukrainian presidential election, 2010)
 * arms will soon proliferate. So here's a plan to scrap them all'' - The tipping point is close when every country will want to be another nuclear France. Changing our global course is vital - 4th February
 * Googlistas want a global debate on information freedom. Why are others so coy?'' - Davos: A new digital cold war is afoot. At stake is something much larger than just a rivalry between the western and eastern superpowers - 28th January
 * Britain wants change that counts, there's an election it can vote in today'' - Ideological differences between the parties are hugely exaggerated. What matters most is to transform the system - 21st January
 * designer Islamists must not distract us from the real danger'' - From Denmark to Detroit the threat of violence is ever present. Banning these showmen is not a clever way to tackle it - 14th January
 * protests should shame the west into a change of policy on Iran'' - Political change in Tehran is not just a moral matter. It's our best hope of achieving Obama's nuclear objectives - 7th January



Articles: 2009

 * threats multiply and power fragments, the coming decade cries out for realistic idealism'' - A foiled terrorist attack must not lure us back to simplistic illusions. Strategic co-operation between old and new powers is the order of the next decade if we are to tackle the big issues - 31st December
 * at Auschwitz, the gates of hell are built and torn down by human hearts'' - A wrenching debate about antisemitism in Poland's past leads us, in the end, to ask questions about ourselves - 24th December
 * peer Lord Ashcroft is an inconvenient truth for Cameron'' - Cameron should require his billionaire party apparatchik to stop coy games about his tax status - 17th December
 * parody of the nanny state helps neither children nor adults'' - A new agency is to vet one citizen in four to see if we are abusers. There is a better way to balance freedom and safety - 17th December
 * is half right: all Europeans must understand the Swiss mistake'' - What really matters is not minarets, but that we all, Muslims included, commit to the essentials of a free society - 10th December
 * has charted an Afghan course. Britain must lead the way on Pakistan'' - European states should not simply make foreign policy in reaction to Washington, but look to our own vital interests - 3rd December
 * this timid choice of leaders, the EU may have the faces it deserves'' - The holders of the new top jobs can perfectly represent a Europe that does not dare to project its values as a continent - 26th November
 * Beijing balancing act points to the new challenge for the west'' - There needs to be a real conversation about competing values. But the firewalls mean it cannot properly begin - 19th November
 * next chapter starts now. It rests on looking beyond our borders'' - Monday's celebration in Berlin was a brilliant closure. The opening of a European foreign policy looks more shaky - 12th November
 * changed the world. But where now for Europe?'' - Year of revolutions: Mired in the narcissism of minor difference, Europe is failing to face up to the world its revolution helped to create - 5th November
 * people are needed to get Europe's voice heard in the world. And it is the other one who is more likely to be British'' - Two people are needed to get Europe's voice heard in the world. And it is the other one who is more likely to be British - 29th October
 * fluffed the German question. Now Britain is Europe's great puzzle'' - The devastating truth on Thatcher's opposition to German unification is out, but today's Conservatives have learned nothing - 22nd October
 * high will only last so long. Then we're into rehab'' - The employment figures are a boost for Brown, but that can't mask deep structural weaknesses. A jobless recovery looms - 15th October
 * to the same old Ukania, with a muddle in place of a constitution'' - The idea that the whole political system needs fixing has been lost, and no party is proposing the reforms Britain deserves - 15th October
 * US has lost its focus on Europe. It's up to us to get our act together'' - If, after the Irish vote, we want an effective foreign policy, we must make it. Obama's Washington will take us as it finds us - 8th October
 * must decide if it wants to be more than Greater Switzerland'' - The centrist triumph in Germany is important for all Europeans. But more crucial still is another vote in Ireland - 1st October
 * can't decide Iran's struggle. But we can avoid backing the wrong side'' - Iranians will choose their own fate, but the west must not abandon the reformers for the sake of an elusive nuclear deal - 24th September
 * golden dream has turned sour. Only a great reform can revive it'' - The weird problems of Arnold Schwarzenegger's extraordinary state are an extreme version of those facing the US as a whole - 17th September
 * fine speech will not be enough'' - Instead of more charm, Obama should use these pivotal days to win the necessary votes by fair means or foul - 10th September
 * may have helped the Polish right, but he has not served Britain'' - A dubious rightwinger now heads conservatives in Europe. What on earth does the Tory leader think that he's doing? - 30th July
 * the passing of the last wartime Europeans, history's time has come'' - Three major continental thinkers died in the last year, little noticed in insular Britain. Their life stories are extraordinary - 23rd July
 * here, the war on terror is over. And few feel it has left them safer'' - Terrorism is now one threat among many – including the legacy of conflicts and tactics that were supposed to end it - 16th July
 * a new duet of parliament and people can bring the change we need'' - A new politics: Britain can reach its own constitutional moment by creating bodies to give direction and authority to its fizzing civic energy - 9th July
 * facts of the election are disputed. Iranians can make the next one better'' - For all those who wish to commemorate Neda, democracy can be delivered – with the help of legitimate monitors - 2nd July
 * takes an Irish poet to remind us of the grandeur of the European project'' - Seumas Heaney has raised the debate on the Lisbon treaty. A yes vote would be good for Ireland - 25th June
 * counts more than armouries in this new politics of people power'' - Iran's green drama combines the energy of a dissatisfied youth with the rivalries of a fragmented regime - 18th June
 * farce of Cameron's Latvian legion is bad for Britain and bad for Europe'' - The Conservative party is mad to choose irrelevance in the European parliament, and we will all pay for it - 11th June
 * years after a victory and a defeat, time for a progress report'' - Europe, China and the US offer three contrasting models, which show us that liberal democracy is in need of renewal - 4th June
 * this great reform is to be durable, we need to pin our politicians down'' - A new politics: A very British revolution will be the task of a new generation in parliament. We voters must give them their marching orders - 28th May
 * your revolution at a round table, but add a truth commission'' - The forgotten Polish experience of 20 years ago holds a lesson for everyone emerging - 21st May
 * a constitution'' - A new politics: We need an explicit, clear and transparent written constitution, by constitutional means - 20th May
 * need a European foreign policy. Improbable? Yes. Impossible? No'' - Critics consider us weak and divided. But with political will and public support, we could finally get our act together - 14th May
 * epochal crisis requires us to resolve the paradox of capitalism'' - At work, we're told to be diligent and disciplined; elsewhere, hedonistic and self-indulgent. We need a sustainable model - 7th May
 * future depends on voters. But not on the European elections'' - The EU is not a single democracy. The parties are shaping up for a big scrap in June, but the issues will be domestic - 30th April
 * police have gone astray. Let them get back to their proper job'' - A strong force must fight crime and terrorism on our behalf – not assault the innocent, harass MPs and look after its own - 23rd April
 * are getting less foreign news at the very moment we need more'' - A world in crisis demands nations understand each other. At least the BBC is hoisting the banner of Deng Xiaoping thought - 16th April
 * can speak to us still - and not just about China'' - There is a simplistic way to read this renaissance of an ancient tradition. The truth is very much more interesting - 9th April
 * arrives as a world power today - and we should welcome it'' - Young Chinese will decide their country's future role on the world stage, and it is time to enage with them - 2nd April
 * G20 summit in London will be missing one great power. Guess who?'' - Europe has spent the last 10 years failing to get its act together. The US and China may end up carrying on as a G2 - 26th March
 * torture scandal reveals us as an ineffective Jeeves to our US master'' - Britain would be a far better friend to the States if we stopped playing the demeaning role of the faithful retainer - 19th March
 * Britain became complicit in torture, we must discover who is to blame'' - The only way to answer charges of a political cover-up is to hand this case over to the director of public prosecutions - 12th March
 * is torn between essential solidarity and national egoism'' - This situation is now unsustainable for everyone, whether within the Eurozone or still out in the cold - 26th February
 * in Britain is facing death by a thousand cuts. We can fight back..'' - It is shocking how many curtailments of freedom have been imposed. Each one may be small but the cumulative loss is vast - 19th February
 * needs to forge a strategy to cope with a shaken, evolving Russia'' - Our vital interests from energy to security cry out for a new, fully European Ostpolitik - and one nation holds the key - 5th February
 * knives are out for Davos Man. But the alternative is much more alarming'' - The biggest danger is not a surfeit of the globalism embodied by this forum, but the strengthening of economic nationalism - 29th January
 * grand narrative may unite his country but divide the world'' - His chances of remaking America are good. Restoring US leadership in a multipolar global system will be harder - 22nd January
 * Obama and Khamenei want to get along, they should start watching TV'' - The US is promising to engage with Iran at last. A snappy new television channel can help show both sides the way - 15th January
 * is failing two life and death tests. We must act together, now'' - The EU has taken great strides in the last decade. But when dealing with the world beyond, it is as weak and divided as ever - 8th January
 * brings hard choices over the future of capitalism'' - Either a large part of humankind has to be excluded from the happy benefits of growth or our way of life has to change - 1st January



Articles: 2008

 * an auspicious anniversary, here are four keys to China's peaceful rise'' - This is mainly up to the Chinese themselves. But after 30 years of opening to the world, some things depend on the rest of us - 18th December 2008
 * Britain still has in spades is cultural power. Let's cultivate it'' - Across the world, people who have never heard of our leaders dote on our footballers, and the SAS is outshone by Quidditch - 11th December 2008
 * economic success may soon bring trouble. It would be ours too'' - The country's reformers seek incremental political changes to complement its gobsmacking growth. If they fail, it could be war - 4th December 2008
 * a strategic partnership with China will keep this new dawn bright'' - This hard-nosed power does not share the west's enthusiasms. Deep engagement is the best way to fend off conflict - 27th November 2008
 * you can feel the power shift. But we all wrestle with the same problems'' - The people of this vertical meeting place sceptically trade between western and eastern models. We could learn from them - 20th November 2008
 * must show the way to a goal set by Russell, Einstein - and Reagan'' - Achieving a world free of atomic weapons will require full international control of the nuclear fuel cycle. Yes, we must - 13th November 2008
 * saw Americans dance with history, chanting 'Yes we can!' But can they?'' - Obama is not just their first black president. He is their first post-ethnic leader, showing the way for a mixed-up world - 6th November 2008
 * in the rural heartland, Obama has sparked an explosive conversation'' - In this weathervane state they love God and guns. But they also see the long shadows of slavery and discrimination30th October 2008
 * more Obama is tested, the more he shows his presidential mettle'' - Deep fears have been stirred in this election, but the Democratic candidate holds firm to the calm politics of hope - 23rd October 2008
 * freedom of historical debate is under attack by the memory police'' - Well-intentioned laws that prescribe how we remember terrible events are foolish, unworkable and counter-productive - 16th October 2008
 * world needs the US to get over its cultural civil war - and fast'' - Sarah Palin is the Katyusha rocket of the American right. But so far her attacks on Barack Obama aren't working - 9th October 2008
 * US democratic-capitalist model is on trial. No schadenfreude, please'' - This week the demands of American democracy clashed with those of American capitalism. And China's premier smiled - 2nd October 2008
 * time has come for a final report on the 43rd president of the US'' - The man who set out to reinforce unbridled American power has weakened it in all three essential dimensions - 25th September 2008
 * is gripped by the politics of fear. Bad news for the prophet of hope'' - Rationally, the economic and financial hurricane should help Obama. But people do not always vote with their heads - 18th September 2008
 * friends of liberal international order face a new global disorder'' - On the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, China, Russia and climate change all vie with al-Qaida for our attention - The world reordered - 11th September 2008
 * a combination of deterrence and detente can meet this challenge'' - Others are far from blameless, but Putin's Russia is now squaring up to test Europe's whole way of doing things - 4th September 2008
 * story's great, the rhetoric soars, but soon Obama must heed Canute'' - Look beyond tonight's Denver schmaltzfest and you see how the relative power of a US president is diminishing on all sides - 28th August 2008
 * Historian and history maker - The death of my friend Bronislaw Geremek is a grave loss not just for Poland, but all of Europe - 15th July 2008
 * Crusading is not the answer, but nor is pulling up the drawbridge - In a threatening world, the west needs to pursue liberal patriotism at home and liberal internationalism abroad - 3rd July 2008
 * We don't need guns to help the people pitch Mugabe from his perch - Mandela may be a better bet than the Almighty to remove a ruler who has turned his country into a hell on earth - 26th June 2008
 * Instead of bullying the Irish, Europe should be working on plan D - and E - As Britain moves to ratify the Lisbon treaty, EU politicians are wrong to threaten Ireland. We're all in the same boat - 19th June 2008
 * This risks strangling freedom without any security gain - The narrow majority on 42 days makes it a bad day for British democracy, even if the bill has been amended into futility - 12th June 2008
 * Obama is Europe's dream candidate, but we may have to settle for McSame - We'd like the Democratic victor in charge but must still prepare for a hawkish McCain presidency, and advance our own agenda - 5th June 2009
 * Can we have world-class universities as well as social justice in education? - Europe resists US-style college fees but, as Oxford fundraisers know, we need to find that kind of money to compete - 29th May 2008
 * We have a responsibility to protect the people of Burma. But how? - If a military-backed aid bridge had a fair chance of success, I'd support it. It doesn't, so we have to use all other means - 22nd May 2008
 * Poland is overtaking Britain on the road to Europe - and to the euro - In a world transformed, Poles in Oxford prove the potential of the EU - while Brits travel here for little but the boozing - 15th May 2008
 * This tale of two revolutions and two anniversaries may yet have a twist - The very different events of 1968 and 1989 left a reformed, stronger, more socially liberal capitalism - but now it's in trouble - 8th May 2008
 * Whether Clinton, Obama or McCain wins it, prepare for a big letdown - Hillary offers the safest pair of hands. But none of the presidential candidates can deliver what the world wants - 24th April 2008
 * We need a benign European hydra to advance the cause of democracy - Our continent's diversity should let us promote freedom without the taint of Bush's neocon project imposed by force - 17th April 2008
 * Intimidation and censorship are no answer to this inflammatory film - A Dutch politician's alarmist anti-Islam polemic needs to be taken apart and calmly answered - 10th April 2008
 * Europe owes a huge thank you to skilful, patient President George Bush - His diplomacy helped to reunite Europe. But as Nato meets in Bucharest, his son is completing two terms of global failure - 3rd April 2008
 * A historic compromise with France is exactly what Britain needs - Sarkozy has the right idea, but his fellow conservatives on this side of the Channel won't dare make it a reality - 27th March 2008
 * Free countries must defy Chinese blackmail and greet the Dalai Lama - There is not much that we can do for suffering Tibet, but this we can and must. It's far more than mere tokenism - 20th March 2008
 * No cant, please, we're British. But we do need a better sense of citizenship - For all the bunkum, the Goldsmith review is part of a crucial debate that has now gone on too long with too little action - 13th March 2008
 * Russia has run rings round the west. A united Europe must stand up to it - The Kremlin runs a so-called democracy that is in fact authoritarian. At the same time it intimidates its neighbours - 28th February 2008
 * This dependent independence is the least worst solution for Kosovo - It is unique in its wider European framework, but all would-be states will still take this Balkan solution for a precedent - 21st February 2008
 * To strengthen Miliband's case for democracy, drop Iraq, add Europe - We would be wrong to abandon a very good idea just because George Bush has come so close to giving it a bad name - 14th February 2008
 * A triple whammy of soft power sees the world in thrall to Super Tuesday - he appeal of democracy, the media and America has us all hooked. What if we could replicate that for global institutions? - 7th February 2008
 * Our state collects more data than the Stasi ever did. We need to fight back - To trust in the good intentions of our rulers is to put liberty at risk. I'd go to jail rather than accept this kind of ID card - 31st January 2008
 * There are great national anthems - now we need an international one - Spain struggles to find new words while Kosovo seeks a song of its own. La Marseillaise shows us how it's really done - 17th January 2008
 * While America votes, Europe cannot sleep. The to-do list looks like this - Progress in three vital areas - jobs, Muslims and neighbours - will enable our leaders to look the new president in the face - 10th January 2008
 * Britain's national security strategy must emphasise prevention abroad - 20th December 2007
 * What does a free society require of believers and non-believers alike? - 29th November 2007
 * In identifying those trying to kill us, we should choose our words carefully - 22nd November 2007
 * The threat from terrorism does not justify slicing away our freedoms - 15th November 2007
 * The path of the fallen wall is hard to find, but a powerful example lives on - 8th November 2007
 * Facing disaster in Iran, Europe must finally make the hard choices - 1st November 2007
 * If our political parties did not exist, would we ever need to invent them? - 25th October 2007
 * Five good reasons not to have a referendum - and one very bad one - 11th October 2007
 * The Tories' vision for a brave new world is built on a confidence trick - 4th October 2007
 * Only Burma's neighbours can stop its dictators beating up the Buddha - 27th September 2007
 * Wake up, the invisible front line runs right through your back yard - 13th September 2007
 * America is just starting to wake up to the awesome scale of its Iraq disaster - 19th July 2007



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