Mary Dejevsky



Profile:
Full name: Mary Dejevsky

Area of interest: International affairs (esp. Russia), the EU, the US; UK politics & society

Journals/Organisation: The Independent

Email: [mailto:m.dejevsky@independent.co.uk m.dejevsky@independent.co.uk]

Personal website:

Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mary-dejevsky

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Biography:
About: http://www.independent.co.uk/biography/mary-dejevsky

Education: Oxford University: Russian, German

Career: Spent a year in the Soviet Union (as was) conducting research on Russian-Chinese relations; BBC World Service (six years); The Times: leader writer on foreign affairs, Moscow bureau chief and correspondent, 1988/1992 (during perestroika); The Independent: Comment editor, 1992, Paris correspondent, 1995/1997, Washington bureau chief, 1997/2001, Diplomatic editor, 2001/2004, Chief leader writer, 2004- Current position/role: Chief editorial writer, columnist


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Video: Broadcasts regularly on British and US radio and TV
 * see current debate

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Debate: 
 * Frontline Club.com: Media Talk "Russia - Cold War II?" (VIDEO) - 18th October, 2007 (With Mary Dejevsky (The Independent), Andrew Jack (The Financial Times), Darya Pushkova (Russia Today Channel) and Prof Robert Service (Oxford University). Moderated by Nick Paton Walsh (Channel 4 News)
 * http://www.intelligencesquared.com/people/d/mary-dejevsky

The Independent:
Column name:

Remit/Info: International affairs (esp. Russia), the EU, the US; also UK politics and society

Section:

Role: Columnist (also chief editorial writer)

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:m.dejevsky@independent.co.uk m.dejevsky@independent.co.uk]

Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mary-dejevsky

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Varies

Regularity: Frequent

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Average length:



Articles: 2012

 * Give war a chance - the lesson from the Olympics - Intervening in other people's wars may delay the inevitable and cost more lives - 3rd August
 * Pussy Riot's enemies don't stop at Putin - The Church is one of few institutions to have flourished since the fall of the USSR - 1st August
 * Don't close campuses just because school's out for summer - Any new structure should have to earn its keep right around the year - 27th July
 * I've got the answer to our housing crisis: the prefab - They don’t come with mountains of rubble or fleets of heavy-duty lorries - 24th July
 * Watch, hope and plan – there is no more that outsiders can do - The tipping point is reached when people start to believe that the Syrian regime is doomed - 20th July
 * What is the role of our armed forces if it's not to defend us? - G4S appears to have convinced doubters that all was fine, until suddenly it was not - 13th July
 * I'm a Europhile – but I'm not afraid of an EU referendum - Why not let Europe reconstitute itself without the British cuckoo in its nest? - 6th July
 * Even cold warriors like me miss communists - There should be a place in British politics for a party of the far left, that exalts work and refuses to compromise with capitalism - 4th July
 * Wrong size, wrong place, wrong memorial - This recognition of Bomber Command can only perpetuate a controversy that was retreating, rightly, to its historical context - 29th June
 * Happy drivers are well-directed drivers - From the map, it was clear: there was no avoiding the vast conurbation that is Rotterdam - 27th June
 * Sow strife in Syria and reap the whirlwind across the region - Even those interventions filed in the 'success' box have yet to produce orderly self-reliant states - 8th June
 * It's no longer the Murdoch press in the dock, it's the politicians - Leveson is doing the sort of inquisitorial job that rightly belongs to Parliament - 1st June
 * Native English, alas, is degenerating into a global dialect - It is easy to believe that, as native English speakers, we have a stupendous advantage over those who have to learn the lingua franca of our age - 30th May
 * Why the political left should adopt the 'flat tax' - Ed Miliband could become the advocate of low tax, the 'squeezed middle' and an effective state - 25th May
 * Legalise brothels – but let's get prostitutes off the streets - The sooner we legalise prostitution, permit registered brothels and regulate the sex industry, the better - 23rd May
 * Russia under Putin will be different this time - What happens next will be determined by changes that will increasingly be out of the President's control - 18th May
 * Asian grooming - The truth is that these girls were worth more to them than to us - As what became known as the Asian grooming trial finally reached its sentencing stage this week, I found myself thinking back to the few days I had spent in the company of a half-dozen British-born Pakistanis - 11th May
 * Why should money buy anyone an airport fast-track? - Forgive me for feeling a bit miffed, but could it be time to patent ideas? - 9th May
 * Don't fall for easy assumptions about how the French will vote - Sarkozy and Hollande were not play-acting in the TV debate: they really, truly loathe each other - 4th May
 * Don't knock Boris and Ken – they're making democracy work - To cite London as proof that mayors are a bad idea is to disregard the real changes they have brought - 27th April
 * You can mislead a minister, but don't make her a laughing stock - It is not hard to discern a good deal of political opportunism behind all the noise about Abu Qatada - 20th April
 * The cost of our wars laid bare - The costs of mental illness, addiction and homelessness among those returning are only going to mount - 18th April
 * Even the super-rich should pay their taxes first - A state where 'little people' pay tax, while 'big people' endow scholarships, hardly constitutes a Big Society - 13th April
 * What a strange way to say 'Welcome to Britain' - Notebook: With all the visitors expected in Britain for the Queen's Jubilee and then for the Olympics, you might ask, as I did when I passed its boarded-up shell recently, why one of London's major tourist information offices has been closed - 4th April
 * Just because you live in a flat, doesn't mean you don't deserve a bit of peace - Notebook: Noise from neighbours, as I've learnt from flat-dwelling in several countries and over many years, can drive you to distraction - 21st March
 * Mr Cameron is a prime minister too English for his own good - He is at home in Westminster, in the City and the Shires. He does not always travel well - 16th March
 * Nice words and a soft toy won't be enough to save this dog's reputation - Notebook: It's a pity the furore about over-breeding led the BBC to give up its coverage of Crufts. I find it hard to keep track - 14th March
 * Tax families fairly, and child benefit solves itself - Why is the child benefit anomaly being treated as a one-off, rather than as a symptom of a wider ill? - 9th March
 * We're not above tolerating a bit of electoral malpractice ourselves - Notebook: In a week that opened with reports of widespread fraud in Russia's presidential election, I feel obliged to point out that, for all their preaching about the conduct of democracy, Western countries are not all squeaky clean when it comes to voting - 7th March (see news & updates below)
 * Putin will win the presidency – but to survive he must change - The children of those whose discontent brought down the USSR ask why so little progress has been made - 2nd March
 * The 'homme fatal' is as deadly as his female counterpart - Gillard and Merkel have found it as hard as Thatcher did to prevent inroads on their power - 24th February
 * An epitaph for the selfish charm of yesterday's bourgeoisie - Carnage is just one, albeit the most extreme, example of a spate of works that puts today's middle class under the microscope - 18th February
 * The cult of football is a blight on our national life - The pre-eminence of football in England is both distorting and debasing - 10th February
 * Stop this fraternal feud and give us a real opposition - Labour, more than any other party, should understand the price of unresolved rivalry - 3rd February
 * Could France show Europe how to move left? - Across Europe, a widespread assumption has been that the combination of the cold economic climate, harsh austerity measures, and general disillusionment with politicians boosts the electoral chances of the populist right - 27th January
 * Now I know to my cost – rogue ATMs really exist - I was always rather sceptical of those who complained about putting their card into an ATM and getting nothing out. Until it happened to me - 25th January
 * It will be our fault if Egypt's revolution is lost - As the caravan celebrating one year of the Arab Spring moves on from Tunisia to Egypt, the mood in the West, at least, is one of remembered joy and present relief - 20th January
 * In the new order of chivalry, fathers go first - The other day, an elderly man with a walking-stick stood back to let me get on the bus. I signalled for him to get on first, but he insisted. In his canon, gender trumped age and infirmity. This sort of chivalry, though, is disappearing fast - 18th January
 * Success for Ed Miliband could be a turn to the right - The premise that anyone else would do better against Cameron must be treated with caution - 6th January
 * Removing faulty breast implants is imperative – but not at our expense - It's going to happen; just a question of when. I give it a week. Breast implants (or rather the removal thereof) will stop being an issue, and become a feminist issue - 4th January



Articles: 2011

 * Weeping and wailing – alien to us but not necessarily fake - The scenes of mourning beamed in from Pyongyang spoke of a response to death that is quite alien to the modern Western world. So alien that the question was repeatedly asked: how much of it was real? - 29th December
 * The hollowed-out city invites lawlessness - The Oxford Street killing highlights the lack of families on London's main shopping thoroughfare - 28th December
 * Breaking up should not be so hard to do - Separation is eminently feasible, where a strong sense of nationhood and accepted borders exist - 23rd December
 * History's verdict on George Bush may be kinder - He had many, many faults, but on some of the very big ideas he may have been right - 16th December
 * Who says we're too stupid to rate care homes? - When I, or someone I know, has a bad experience with a public service – or a stellar one for that matter – as a writer and reporter, I have a privileged outlet for blame or praise. Most people do not - 14th December
 * Britain must join the euro – and Cameron is the man to do it - Tory Eurosceptics have one prejudice that unites them - xenophobic Little Englandism - 9th December
 * Russia Notebook, Part 3 - Obninsk 'science city', Novosti building. and Skolkovo - Medvedev's pet project - 3rd December
 * Our irrational preoccupation with growth - Higher GDP, shared out unequally among more people, will not produce greater wellbeing - 2nd December
 * The booing of Putin – and other hints of change - There is palpable concern in Russia's power structures that a decade of stability could be drawing to a close - 25th November
 * Russia Notebook, Part 2 - The car plant, contradictions of a provincial city, corruption and poor infrastructure - 22nd November
 * Theresa May - another lady who's not for turning - It was striking that the MPs who were most effective in rumbling the witnesses were women - 18th November
 * The restaurant was called Le Cheval Blanc – but I didn't expect real horses - Russia Notebook: However many times I visit Russia, there's always something to surprise - 15th November
 * Have the Greeks got it in them to save themselves – and Europe? - When scared enough and yanked from familiar moorings, elected leaders may not do a bad job - 4th November
 * Now, Mary Portas, what about betting shops? - Gambling occupies the ground floor, toddlers are upstairs - 2nd November
 * No euro rescue will heal the rupture at the Continent's heart - Even the efforts of Merkel and Sarkozy have failed to conceal very real cracks - 28th October
 * These cuts are a fraction of what BBC needs - In time, the Corporation will face an even harsher commercial reality, with only fading memories of the glory days - 7th October
 * Will Israel still exist in 2048? - The choice might be between a fortress state and one so weak that federation with Palestine becomes plausible - 30th September
 * Why a life for a life is justice in the US - Two thirds of the way through your first term is no time to wobble on the death penalty if you intend to seek re-election - 23rd September
 * Undeclared gifts corrode public life - The Metropolitan Police and other forces have finally ventured in where other institutions still fear to tread - 16th September
 * The other special relationship - Cameron's visit to Russia will be hailed in Moscow as a sign Britain is ready to lay the Litvinenko affair to rest - 9th September
 * When the middle classes flee - In the face of such hostility, is it any wonder that women will pay for a birth that is, as far as possible, on their terms? - 2nd September
 * Say what you like about Coulson, he's missed at No 10 - There may be questions that Cameron failed to ask four years ago. But this appointment was not, of itself, perverse, headstrong or ill-advised - 31st August
 * The false romance of revolution - The arguments, as between order and disorder, may be more finely balanced than the all-or-nothing view of the Arab Spring - 26th August
 * Guilty – of being an urban nimby - The Planning minister, Greg Clark, used some colourful language to attack the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England for, as he claimed, always objecting to development - 24th August
 * Tourists can be delicate flowers - At the height of the rioting in London, I arrived home to find our American guest transfixed by the television coverage - 17th August
 * The blurred fringe of the Big Society - It was heart-warming to see the good folk of Clapham, Hackney and the rest mobilise themselves for a mass clear-up, using the same social media that had summoned the urban pillagers less than 24 hours before - 11th August
 * Slow down – and get things done - France's measured purpose married to local ambition that plans on a modest scale is something we could learn from - 10th August
 * So you thought Britain wasn't corrupt? - Two of the most deep-rooted maladies of British society are freebies among friends and jobs for the boys - 22nd July
 * The property ladder that threatens to become a snake - A home is no longer the cash-cow it has recently been - 15th July
 * Condemning Murdoch is too easy - It's convenient for some people that an impression is being created that these practices were unique - 8th July
 * The teachers' real grievance is status - Instead of being bracketed with doctors and lawyers, they are now more likely to be classed with local council staff - 1st July
 * Obama is right... - ... Britain, too, must seize the chance to leave Afghanistan - 24th June
 * Why are high-street banks increasingly alien territory? - You can't open a savings account without an 'adviser' - 17th June
 * It is a warped mind that demands custody or death - Is there more that could be done to prevent such crimes? - 10th June
 * A system that leaves care to the lowest paid is itself sick - The bullying was off the map of what is permissible in a civilised country - 3rd June
 * All I wanted were my Cheerios - The new boss of M &amp; S, Marc Bolland, responded to customer complaints about the difficulty of navigating the stores by sending scouts incognito to buy 10 specified items within an hour
 * Don't bank on the eclipse of the West - Obama's thesis can't just be dismissed as simplistic American cheerleading - 27th May
 * A feminist presumption of victimhood impairs justice - Rape is rape is rape – and a very serious crime. Let's get that over with - 20th May
 * Only a 'big bang' will excise corruption - All council tenancies should be declared void and all rents raised to a competitive market level - 13th May
 * Real achievements that show Clegg's plight is undeserved - While he is guilty of misjudgements, he has also suffered some very bad luck - 6th May
 * We love a national get-together... - ... Can't we have more of them? - 29th April
 * Westminster as you won't see it on TV - For days now, there has been the sense of the world closing in – speaking locally, I mean - 27th April
 * Misrata is where wishful thinking must yield to realism - The parallels have always been with Iraq - 22nd April
 * The food police have got at my pizza - I am as partial to a pizza as anyone, and the chain restaurant around the corner does a passable job - 20th April
 * There is an immigration problem... - ... but Cameron won't dare tackle it - 15th April
 * And they still want to get us into debt - When I peruse what is left on shop clothes' rails at sale time I can't help feeling a bit proud of myself and my fellow-countrywomen - 13th April
 * Genetic testing has little value... - ... if there's no chance of a cure - 8th April
 * The feminisation of foreign policy - The Clinton-Rice-Power trio underwrote the use of armed force against armed force for purpose of protecting civilians - 2nd April
 * Is public anger finally going to erupt? - Until recently the Government was enjoying a conspicuously easy ride. But people's mood is changing - 25th March
 * The West still labours under shadow of Iraq - Political constraints are now placed on Western action anywhere - especially in an Arab country - 18th March
 * These are the perils when we outsource war reporting - Reporters who are clearly 'foreign' can be forgiven for making 'mistakes' - 11th March
 * Let nature take its course at 23 weeks - It's not just financial austerity that makes the wisdom of resuscitating very premature babies a discussion that needs to be had - 9th March
 * We need names behind 'debacle in the desert' - This was a debacle that would have been the stuff of high comedy, were the context not the rapidly accelerating civil war in Libya and the risk not to real and highly trained British lives - 7th March
 * Our view of libraries is sepia-tinted - I am all in favour of libraries – or I was, in pre-internet days - 4th March
 * He who pays the university piper... - The LSE is hardly unique in accepting Croesus-chests of foreign money - 2nd March
 * This is Cameron's Ecclestone moment - In spending his half-term as Britain's carpetbagger-in-chief, he has shown breathtaking misjudgement - 25th February
 * Vladimir Putin and the people - Russia's Prime Minister is feared in the West – but adored at home. Is the reason we don't trust him that we don't really understand him? - 23rd February
 * These welfare reforms won't end our costly sick-note culture - It is doubtful benefits will fall to point where low-paid jobs become attractive - 18th February
 * We can't stop getting Russia wrong - Russians enjoy more freedom than is often condescendingly understood - 15th February
 * The cult of charismatic leadership has gone too far - To lionise individuals is asking for trouble - 11th February
 * Want benefits of marriage? Take the plunge - If two people decide not to register their relationship, what duty should the law have to them? - 4th February
 * Signs of a quiet accord designed to limit fallout - Egypt's allies face a diabolical set of choices. How to respond when confronted with mass calls for democracy from the streets, a long-time friend under threat, and the risk of anarchy that, once unleashed, could spread across the whole region? - 3rd February
 * Is Obama Egypt's great enabler? - The US President's words have gone with the grain of Middle East societies - 2nd February
 * It's time we stopped seeing national borders as sacrosanct - Countries and territories change, for one reason or another - 28th January
 * Everyone is working 24/7... - ... except those who should be - 21st January
 * Buy presents online? You must be joking - 19th January
 * Fact: our politicians are not necessarily safer than theirs - No one can accuse Sarah Palin of bending with the prevailing wind - 14th January
 * It helps if doctors speak words we understand - Blair's degradation of the language should be up there with the Iraq war - 4th January



Articles: 2010

 * panic. Britain is very far from being a Zimmer nation'' - We British have an unerring capacity to look on the gloomy side - 31st December
 * my M4 success and other triumphs'' - Driving on the M4 back to London on Christmas Eve was a joy and a delight - 29th December
 * about café culture and embrace your inner Viking'' - For the third year in a row, the UK has been caught on the hop by the snow - 24th December
 * strong government refuses to countenance failure'' - All the Coalition needs is a Plan B - 17th December
 * power balance is shifting'' - There is suddenly more to the Wiki-Leaks saga than once it seemed - 10th December
 * snow close so many schools?'' - Fresh snowfalls brought more school closures: around 900 shut in Scotland - 8th December
 * born the day 999 let us down'' - Time and again passengers have noted how official help was, for an excruciatingly long time, simply not there - 30th November
 * else is being cut, so why not student numbers?'' - Much of the recent expansion reflects a dubious 'academicisation of skills' - 26th November
 * the season not just to go shopping'' - 24th November
 * nation's success is defined by much more than its GDP'' - If I were a French politician, I would demand an apology from the US and UK - 19th November
 * seen the light about dark streets'' - City councils could issue every man, woman and child with a Hi Viz vest - 16th November
 * Britain?'' - The choice is starker than it has ever been - 12th November
 * and traumatised'' - Switching your ISP is right up there with moving house and the rest - 9th November
 * need to limit immigration...'' - ... but this isn't the way to do it - 5th November
 * the old care for the elderly'' - The carers will see their future mirrored in those they are helping - 2nd November
 * chattering class that is out of touch'' - There is a rather different approach to the looming age of austerity - 22nd October
 * who loiter without intent'' - If the guardians of law and order cannot hold the line here, what hope elsewhere? - 19th October
 * new global brand for success'' - The publicity the country has enjoyed this week is a one-off rocket boost to its international standing - 15th October
 * the jargon that obscures sense'' - The usual buzzwords – delivery, conflict management etc – are two a penny - 12th October
 * fault at the heart of the system'' - Together, these measures signal the end of the child-centred tax and benefits system so dear to Gordon Brown and a return to government for grown-ups - 8th October
 * life goes from Sauchiehall Street'' - Glasgow was collectively a disaster, but individually open and welcoming - 5th October
 * is the BBC World Service for?'' - The most elegant solution would be for it to be incorporated into the mainstream BBC - 1st October
 * the hypermarket had its day?'' - Downsizing could reflect a shift away from consumption for its own sake - 28th September
 * the US Constitution had its day?'' - The ignorance and bickering the present system fosters in a new administration is not worthy of a world power - 24th September
 * opiate for seething masses'' - The government might ensure that soap operas stay extra-compulsive viewing - 21st September
 * defence of Benedict and his faith'' - Given the orgy of hostility that preceded his arrival, he might have been forgiven if he had chosen to stay - 17th September
 * patients who must come first'' - For those with life and death decisions to make, 48 hours a week is quite enough - 14th September
 * dares wins – in politics, too'' - It's not enough to be confident and ambitious. You have to go on seizing the opportunities - 10th September
 * is right about the Roma'' - Should French tax-payers have to pay for schools and services and training? - 3rd September
 * stop trying to end child poverty'' - Notebook: Much cooing across the nation, I've no doubt, at the photos of a devoted David Cameron and baby Florence – though you might want to ask why we didn't get to see Samantha, too. Maybe No 10 did not want to present too conventionally perfect a picture of family bliss, lest it be deemed to imply criticism of others, single parents, for instance, at a time when families of all kinds fear the effect of "the cuts" - 31st August
 * Ulster, and earn a peace bonus'' - How much longer must the British Government go on trying to expiate the sins of our forefathers in N Ireland? - 27th August
 * bitter truths overheard on a bus'' - People talk on buses as on no other form of public transport - 24th August
 * grades that money can buy'' - Even in the US, it is harder for monied parents to fast-track their children from primary school to the elite universities - 20th August
 * privacy is non-negotiable'' - Mixed-sex wards remain an NHS scandal that is very much alive - 17th August
 * it really be an angry autumn?'' - Trade unions are forecasting discontent and rioting in the streets - 13th August
 * light a bonfire of official vanities'' - I want to highlight NHS shortcomings and suggest feasible improvements - 10th August
 * seasonal affective disorder'' - There is shade across the Channel as well as light - 5th August
 * not fight this gender war'' - Women see the public sector as more reliable, responsible and humane - 3rd August
 * this murderer matters'' - The tributes to Raoul Moat reflect a world very different from that of the PM - 16th July
 * scandal quite like a French one'' - One feature of les affaires is that they are rarely about people taking, or even paying, money on their account - 9th July
 * what's Clegg done wrong?'' - The reason this coalition has the right-of-centre complexion it does is that this is how the country voted - 2nd July
 * spy mission left behind by history, or a new tactic by post-Soviet Russia?'' - Having worked as a reporter in Moscow, Washington and indeed London, I have learnt only two lessons from the periodic eruption of espionage dramas - 30th June
 * who baths New Labour's babies?'' - Britain may be a tardy convert to the leadership debate, but we're giving everyone a run for their money now - 18th June
 * skill is to cut costs, not jobs'' - The private sector has demonstrated that redeployment, shorter hours, voluntary departures and trimmed pay can help spread work around - 17th June
 * truths beneath an idyllic surface'' - It still seems strange to find the name Iain Duncan Smith in the same sentence as "Secretary for Work and Pensions" and "compassionate conservatism" - 11th June
 * time to grab back our gardens'' - They are an integral part of the suburban landscape; they are what makes it desirable and family-friendly - 10th June
 * it Trident or nothing, after all?'' - If Britain is intent on retaining its status as a nuclear power, then vulnerability argument has to be - 2nd June
 * moment I turned into Gillian Duffy'' - It's shaming, I know. But within minutes of arriving at the dealership to deliver the car for a routine service, I had a Gillian Duffy moment - 14th May
 * were always going to sort it out. So what was all the fuss about?'' - Even in so-called 'mature' democracies elections are treacherous territory for rulers - 12th May
 * little voter fraud goes a long way'' - There's something delightfully quaint about voting in Britain - 7th May
 * cuts are a duty of government'' - A thorough audit of where taxpayers' money currently goes should precede every new government's first budget - 5th May
 * superior sort of Tesco town'' - Is the term "Tesco town" about to take on a whole new meaning? - 30th April
 * voters are back in the game'' - Instead of courting us with promises the parties have taken to threatening us - 28th April
 * ghost that should be more spectral'' - If you can bring yourself to separate the director from the fallible man, go to see the latest offering from Roman - 23rd April
 * we the next 'new' Europeans?'' - New Europe was the neat formula coined by Donald Rumsfeld in aid of the Bush administration's war effort. The "old Europeans" disliked and derided it, as it suggested that Europe was more divided over the Iraq invasion than it actually was. But they could never deny its grain of truth. There was indeed a split between those who signed up to the Bush crusade for democracy in foreign parts – not least because of their recent history – and those who saw the same campaign as a misuse of military might - 21st April
 * this model hospital still there for all?'' - To cast even the most gentle aspersion on a national treasure is to risk big trouble. Just ask Joanna Lumley, or rather the minister forced to apologise for condemning her silence on destitute Gurkhas. So it is with some trepidation that I raise the subject of Great Ormond Street hospital... - 16th April
 * already do too much. Don't expect us to govern, too'' - There are surely services that the state has a duty to provide - 14th April
 * is rediscovering nationhood'' - A long time ago, 20 years at least, we decided to visit parts of Britain we did not know - 9th April
 * 21st-century world order'' - Instinct in making foreign policy reflects ability to see the other's point of view - 6th April
 * believe the killjoys of London 2012'' - Now here's a riddle for the holiday weekend: what's on time, on budget and in Britain? - 2nd April
 * goes awol, savagery fills the gap'' - The cameras were watching – and much good that did Sofyen - 30th March
 * to win at being a UK resident'' - British Budget speeches do not customarily raise laughs, but on Wednesday Alistair Darling prompted loud guffaws, and not only from government benches, when he announced a new information exchange agreement with Belize - 26th March
 * diplomacy must live within its means'' - The devaluation of sterling will affect foreign policy, too - 23rd March
 * of perestroika anniversary'' - The Gorbachev-Yeltsin duel was as much about Russia as communism - 16th March
 * system is not fit for purpose'' - Deportation after many appeals is at least as cruel as summary refusal - 9th March
 * needs a sharper TV face abroad'' - As the furore about cuts to the BBC goes on, I'm on the side of those demanding something more radical - 5th March
 * vacuum where Germany should be'' - Coalition is a glaring example of the need to be careful what you wish for - 3rd March
 * scare us, when reality is bad enough?'' - Using public transport these days increasingly resembles a descent into Dante's nine circles of Hell - 26th February
 * fight future wars by other means'' - Who will dare suggest that the old rules of warfare should be abandoned - 23rd February
 * your bank gets too helpful by half'' - I was just beginning to feel a little more charitable towards the banks (notwithstanding the matter of bonuses at Barclays, which is in every respect far beyond my pay-grade) - 19th February
 * aged will demand better'' - Neither the NHS nor councils want to pay for elderly care if they can avoid it - 16th February
 * are you to judge artistic merit?'' - "So what does Libby Purves know about the theatre..." - 12th February
 * is throwing off Cold War shackles'' - This election was fought by and for Ukrainians, with no outside meddling - 9th February
 * I have less reason to believe'' - What was it that so tugged the heartstrings about the news that doctors had successfully communicated with a man thought to be in a vegetative state? - 5th February
 * misreading of Iran that risks a fatal replay of Iraq'' - There is no evidence at all that Iran colluded with al-Qa'ida - 2nd February
 * by the Polish question'' - A strange little debate opened up and then closed, as strange little debates have a habit of doing. It was about whether Polish migrants were going home, and if so, what proportion - 29th January
 * soon for Obama to give in to defeatism'' - More than a year after their rout, Republicans still have no leader - 26th January
 * going, gone: the art of price and value'' - Around 6.30 last Sunday evening I took a call on my mobile. Within minutes I had passed responsibility for dinner preparations to my visiting sister, forsaken my (as yet unsipped) glass of wine, and set off through the end-of-weekend traffic to an address at the unfashionable end of Chelsea - 22nd January
 * tests US diplomacy more than aid'' - The task the US confronts in Haiti is almost the opposite of Katrina - 19th January
 * to GPs: some jobs have to be 24/7'' - All right, deep down many of us are simply jealous - 15th January
 * in the wastes of St Pancras'' - As the festive season proceeded, I was positively oozing the milk of human kindness - 1st January



Articles: 2009

 * system is a security breach in itself'' - MI5 and the rest should pause to reflect, there but for the grace of God.. - 29th December
 * of the year 2009'' - Out of chaos, a new global spirit of co-operation - 23rd December
 * really wasn't such a disaster'' - The lesson to learn is that governments are elected; NGOs are not - 22nd December
 * must have a sense of proportion'' - A few weeks ago I described difficulties we, and the council, faced when trying to get a planning decision enforced - 18th December
 * is not only the young who suffer'' - The plight of innocent children is used as a way to infiltrate hearts – and wallets - 15th December
 * we stay away from the Post Office'' - It's that time of year again, and I don't mean the time when the Christmas lights are prematurely lit - 11th December
 * leadership is an outdated hope'' - The EU did not want a traffic-stopping standard-bearer - 8th December
 * the state should invest in wedlock'' - David Cameron's super-disciplined Conservatives are threatening each other with divorce – over marriage - 4th December
 * exploded the special relationship'' - Tony Blair will not be the only, or even the greatest, victim of the Chilcot inquiry - 1st December
 * not call Blair now and wrap it up?'' - The enquiry already seems like a sideline as the queues dwindle - 28th November
 * they wonder why we don't believe them'' - Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I seem to remember a time when you felt you could trust those in positions of authority – academic experts, company directors, even bank managers and politicians – to take questions seriously and to tell the truth - 27th November
 * that work the wrong way'' - London Metropolitan University is a very far cry indeed from Oxbridge - 24th November
 * man in need of withdrawal'' - O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! I have arrived at the local cash-machine to find no one there - 20th November
 * we can! (Slash the budget deficit)'' - Once you begin to look, the cuts just start rolling in - 17th November
 * law, as seen from my window'' - 13th November
 * realism is a political virtue, too'' - No ideological vision could have replaced sound judgement in 1989 - 10th November
 * don't need an MP's pay to live in SW1'' - Of all the arguments advanced by disgruntled MPs against Sir Christopher Kelly's proposed curbs on their expenses, there is one that I find particularly, outrageously, dishonest. It is the one that says they will produce a Parliament of the super-rich - 6th November
 * the Berlin Wall – and not only how it fell'' - For decades there will be those who live in fear of a knock at the door - 3rd November
 * fiasco that shows British diplomacy is clapped out'' - If, as it appears, yesterday's EU summit spelled the end of Tony Blair's undeclared ambition to be the first President of Europe, you have to ask whether he really wanted the job at all - 31st October
 * is useful information still so elusive?'' - In the tech world they are called "early adopters", and I am definitely not one of them – save in three respects - 30th October
 * Europe and a history of lamentable mis-timing'' - David Cameron is swimming against the tide of history - 27th October
 * your hands off my health records'' - To judge by the personal information individuals cheerfully make public about themselves on Facebook and the rest, perhaps all information will eventually be deemed public unless expressly designated private - 23rd October
 * Europe's new order be the same old one?'' - Turkey is looking increasingly outward, but not in our direction - 20th October
 * the frozen heart of Asia's cold war'' - Seoul Notebook: South Korea's capital offers peculiar mismatches - 19th October
 * postman doesn't ring even once'' - There was a time when it was simple, or it seemed so. There was the Post Office (with real, working Post Offices across the land) and there was the Royal Mail which had its coat of arms on the pillar boxes. And they seemed for all practical purposes to be part of the same thing - 16th October
 * is the wrong President for Europe'' - Iraq is his most blatant disqualification, but not his only one - 13th October
 * chaos puts the brakes on Berliners'' - Berlin Notebook: I know this is Germany, where these things are not supposed to happen, but Berlin's S-Bahn has been out of action for a month - 5th October
 * problem with teenage mothers'' - When a Labour prime minister talks about placing teenage mothers in supervised hostels, you can be sure an election is in sight - 2nd October
 * we really need to remind the police what crime is?'' - What’s shocking about the Pilkington tragedy is officialdom’s casualness - 30th September
 * to business as usual in Germany?'' - Merkel is likely to place more emphasis on self-reliance - 29th September
 * remains divided'' - Half of voters wanted the Grand Coalition to continue - 28th September
 * support transforms fortunes of former communist'' - Germany's rust-belt, the Ruhrgebiet, is undergoing a faltering revival, but it remains perfect campaigning territory for the far-left party, the Left - 24th September
 * of the professor, Mr Obama'' - He has an excellent case to make for each controversial decision - 22nd September
 * Nicholas and Soviet-era brutalism'' - Potsdam Notebook: Shops and houses have been restored to their former pastel elegance, but vacant plots are everywhere - 21st September
 * choose our GPs – and much more too'' - For a long time government ministers bombarded us with talk of "choice", without offering much that anyone could really exercise. There's no point in having "school choice", for instance, if there are only two substandard comprehensives with places - 18th September
 * dissolution is long overdue'' - If the alliance cannot prevail in Afghanistan, what price its continuation? - 7th September
 * better way to fight child sex crime'' - Sarah's Law allows carers to ask about people with access to their children - 4th September
 * is Britain so often blind to Germany's success?'' - The script, as so often, was written by the victors, but also by the victims - 2nd September
 * just do your job and leave us alone'' - How many laments have we heard recently for the traditional British pub? - 28th August
 * mean streak in the US mainstream'' - The US tolerates more inequality and suffering than is acceptable here - 25th August
 * Boris and upside of city transport'' - London is one of few places to emerge well from a nationwide survey of bus fares published yesterday - 21st August
 * real enemy of newspapers'' - In focusing on the competition from other papers, the press ignores the BBC - 18th August
 * cherished tradition in black and white'' - The zebra crossing is becoming a more endangered species than the beast itself - 14th August
 * Georgian enclaves are not assets, but liabilities'' - Georgia is independent and pro-Western - 11th August
 * that impoverishes the high street'' - It has been a long time coming, but at last someone is questioning the benefit from charity shops - 7th August
 * towns where the hustling stops'' - Languedoc Notebook: As a holiday region between the Cévennes and the sea, this area is indifferent to President Sarkozy's efforts to open the supermarket seven days a week - 5th August
 * more firsts – but don't pretend standards are higher'' - Those who need to know what your degree is worth still know - 4th August
 * a war for our hearts and minds'' - Was George Bush right to see an act of war rather than a criminal act? - 28th July
 * are the spies of old allowed to retain their romantic sheen?'' - Sir Anthony Blunt was a traitor. Whatever arrangement he reached with the government of the day when he eventually admitted spying for the Soviet Union – it would be too crude, would it not, to call it a deal – included protection for his memoirs for a quarter century after they were deposited with the British Library - 25th July
 * future is warmer – and smaller'' - Survival, it seems, is no longer about being bigger. Hooray! - 9th July
 * Obama effect can be negative too'' - In Israel, what was seen as a key omission raised huge suspicions - 7th July
 * every revolution is victorious'' - Efforts to challenge an established order fail at least as often as they succeed - 4th July
 * way we run our embassies'' - Iran shows that 'local hires' can have unwelcome consequences - 30th June
 * of Maggie's market lives on'' - Budapest Notebook: Her visit is immortalised in proudly displayed photographs. Or so it is said - 29th June
 * time to purge the legacy of Katyn'' - National image is complex and not easily improved - 23rd June
 * of Barack Obama's foreign policy need to get real'' - At this more rarefied end of the policy spectrum he is at his impressive best - 17th June
 * I try to make a complaint, bureaucracy gets in the way'' - This excessive formalisation of the feedback process is spreading - 10th June
 * is the place for Euro passion'' - Bucharest Notebook: There were real, live Euro issues being fought over, as they related to Romania - 8th June
 * revolutions of 1989 will shape the leaders of tomorrow'' - Where China's students found inspiration - 2nd June
 * generation has failed to promote its vision of Europe'' - We didn't realise we had to 'sell' the EU - 19th May
 * are less corrupt than out of date'' - Those not on the take may be tarred, quite unjustly, with that brush - 16th May
 * policy should not be dictated by exiles living here'' - Efforts to influence policy are not unique to Tamil exiles - 13th May
 * cool is a precious national asset'' - Far be it from me to be name-ist, but Ian Dalton is a name that inspires confidence the moment you say it - 7th May
 * taxpayers should cough up'' - The arguments the rich avoid are those of fairness and morality - 5th May
 * US relies on experts – we ignore them'' - US academics are needed outside the ivory tower - 28th April
 * failed meritocracy that leaves too many out of the loop'' - What is networking, if not work experience for adults? - 21st April
 * French know local pride is good'' - The French number plate bespoke a healthy type of local patriotism - 18th April
 * we put too much faith in computers?'' - Gut instinct is something we could do with a lot more of - 16th April
 * impressions matter...'' - ... that goes for visa offices too - 7th April
 * leaders can make a difference'' - We have an example within living memory of leaders who acted at a crucial juncture - 31st March
 * will be the outsider at the G20 summit'' - Britain's former divide-and-rule approach will not work this time - 24th March
 * are storing up a lot of trouble for the next generation'' - Governments of the future face as yet unsuspected liabilities - 17th March
 * is more than a set of statistics'' - The US tops the rankings because it mostly loses the indicators - 10th March
 * much power is unelected'' - What happens to accountability when peers are created to bring in expertise? - 4th March
 * residency, and a question of fairness'' - How much do we owe those who have not sworn allegiance? - 24th February
 * change happens fast – so how stable is Medvedev?'' - What seems obvious with hindsight was invisible in 1917 - 18th February
 * change happens fast'' - What seems obvious with hindsight was invisible in 1917 - 17th February
 * signals from Iran'' - Most countries find it harder than the US to switch policy track - 10th February
 * to change policy in Afghanistan'' - The Obama administration is comprehensively rethinking America’s approach to Afghanistan. At the top of the new list of objectives is “striving to secure and serve” the population - 9th February
 * do we make it so easy for people to ignore their children?'' - In Britain, the invisibility of the conventional family is notable - 3rd February
 * sensitivities of fallen empires'' - These neighbours have an almost infinite capacity to irritate each other - 27th January
 * a rebuke, and a call to unity, the great cleansing begins'' - In a speech suffused with remembered cadences, there was a streak of ruthlessness - 21st January
 * That's a very risky name change'' - Norwich Union is in the throes of a truly gruesome advertising campaign to persuade us all that it is really no different now that it is adopting the name Aviva - 16th January
 * is there to help people – not to dabble in politics'' - How is it that a charity whose purpose and image in the British public mind is so clearly defined as disaster relief, has gone down a route which is so political? - 9th January
 * does not hold all the cards in a game both sides could lose'' - Compared with the alarm spreading across Europe as gas supplies falter, the approach of the Russian and Ukrainian companies concerned has seemed positively relaxed - 8th January
 * ageing society isn't all bad news'' - The choice of when to call it a day must be the next frontier - 6th January



Articles: 2008

 * fun alongside the orange-jackets'' - The new year firework display in London was the best I can remember - 2nd January 2009
 * overlook Israel's vulnerability'' - It is a paradox that this state has gained the reputation of a bully - 30th December 2008
 * will be the death of us'' - We are back to the mentality that price is everything - 23rd December 2008
 * were we doing performing this 'rescue'?'' - This case is less about forced marriage than personal fulfilment - 16th December 2008
 * treat the police like criminals'' - Jean Charles de Menezes should not have died. Full stop; no equivocation - 13th December 2008
 * a pensions apartheid victim'' - It is absurd that the private-sector middle class should face penury - 9th December 2008
 * lost sight of our rights'' - MPs elsewhere commonly enjoy immunity from arrest - 5th December 2008
 * must not penalise stable relationships'' - Parents should not be made poorer by choosing to be one household not two - 18th November 2008
 * truth about the war in Georgia'' - The US and UK left the impression that Russia was the guilty party - 12th November 2008
 * Europe get the America it wants?'' - Over here, there is a certain amount of wishful thinking - 4th November 2008
 * you're good enough, you are old enough'' - Republicans hope Barack Obama's lack of experience will convince voters to choose John McCain next Tuesday - 30th October 2008
 * wealth is less about power than influence'' - To the Deripaska I met, possessions were not what really mattered - 23rd October 2008
 * independence is the dream that just melted away'' - The stars have moved out of alignment - 21st October 2008
 * blame Thatcher for crunch and crash'' - Her view of money was what she'd learned as a grocer's daughter - 14th October 2008
 * still TV, not the internet, that really matters in elections'' - A contest watched by the whole family in the living room - 8th October 2008
 * the chaos, we should hail the triumph of Europe'' - The vast majority of European financial institutions are not in difficulty - 3rd October 2008
 * is too harsh a word'' - The gender specificity seems rather to magnify the vilification - 25th September 2008
 * biggest loser from Georgia may be Russia'' - If, as some claim, Russia set a trap for Georgia, why was its initial response such a scramble? - 17th September 2008
 * dilemma for those of us who supported Hillary'' - 5th September 2008
 * destructive prejudices of Europe's new members'' - 2nd September 2008
 * official face of Britain can be scruffy, rude or just too mechanical'' - 30th August 2008
 * I'd love to think the US is ready for a black President'' - 27th August 2008
 * and a family secret'' - With my father, the war was something that wasn't really raised around the kitchen table - 20th August 2008
 * We may yet miss Musharraf'' - 19th August 2008
 * the bad guys? Who are the West trying to kid?'' - 15th August 2008
 * Intervention may breed instability'' - There may be times when big and small countries should be left to sort things out between themselves - Tuesday 12th August 2008
 * has its work cut out to avoid a new defeat'' - Georgia and war in South Ossetia - Saturday, 9th August 2008
 * Farewell to the keeper of Russia's conscience - All that Solzhenitsyn wrote rang true. It was suffused with personal experience of bitter conflicts - Tuesday, 5th August 2008
 * Consumer choice won't help with high gas bills - Saturday, 2nd August 2008
 * We could keep drugs out of prison if we wanted to - Thursday, 31st July 2008
 * Don't silence those who challenge consensus - Dissenters from current orthodoxies are frozen out of funding and publication - Tuesday, 22nd July 2008
 * The UN fiasco over Zimbabwe is a re-run of Iraq - There was the touching faith in the miracles that can be wrought by drafting - Tuesday, 15th July 2008
 * Don't blame Russia – it's our fault as well - Tuesday, 8th July 2008
 * So we can't afford to drive. But here's the upside - Thursday, 3rd July 2008
 * There's no reason why the world should go hungry - Wednesday, 25th June 2008
 * Do you really think our economic way is best? - In a neat reversal, the euro is helping to shore up our sinking high street - Tuesday, 17th June 2008
 * Women MPs should be able to claim for childcare - Ms Spelman's case shows how far the rules are written from a male perspective - Monday, 9th June 2008
 * So, when will a woman be elected president? - Thursday, 5th June 2008
 * The unexpected legacy of natural disasters - People's growing discontent is the danger to the regimes in Burma and China - Tuesday, 3rd June 2008
 * Surely people have a right to know if crimes are committed in their area - Saturday, 31st May 2008
 * Time to lighten up, even if not to light up - Wednesday, 28th May 2008
 * A Eurovision win that is not 'mere' politics - Former Soviet satellites like to keep their big neighbour sweet. This was a cheap way of doing it - Monday, 26th May 2008
 * In a wood-panelled hall, a heartening sight... people becoming UK citizens - Saturday, 10th may 2008
 * Take heart from the city that shaped Medvedev - Wednesday, 7th May 2008
 * So how fair are elections in this country? - The Electoral Commission has shown itself to be a toothless watchdog - Tuesday, 29th April 2008
 * Women's rights cannot be forced on Arab societies - It's over-optimistic to believe prosperity will bring a complete change in outlook - Tuesday, 22nd April 2008
 * You can call it saving the planet. I call it being a responsible citizen - Saturday 19th April 2008
 * The people are waiting. So where are the politicians? - Saturday, 12th April 2008
 * A gender divide is increasing in the professions - As the better performers at school, they have the pick of the professions - Tuesday, 8th April 2008
 * The real lesson of the Heathrow humiliation - Companies invest in buildings and infrastructure, but sadly not in their employees - Tuesday, 1st April 2008
 * Scientists must try harder to win this debate - Wednesday, 26th March 2008
 * We're suckers for a 'deal'. And it's costing us dear - If services are 'bundled', we dont know how much we are paying for what - Monday, 24th March 2008
 * Work hard? Play by the rules? You're a loser... - I simply cannot understand the abject public apathy towards the credit crunch - Tuesday, 18th March 2008
 * Family businesses don't deserve persecution by tax - The Joneses prevailed against the Revenue – to the delight of small firms everywhere - Tuesday, 11th March 2008
 * The old Soviet traditions still endure in Russia - It is possible to live in a colourless world of shared flats and a state of near-idleness - Tuesday, 4th March 2008
 * Election fever grips Russia's heartlands, but it's nothing to do with the presidency - Thursday, 28th February 2008
 * Putin's handover of power is no charade - The potential for change under a new president should not be dismissed - Tuesday, 26th February 2008
 * Why does Mohamed Al Fayed get such stick? - Thursday, 21st February 2008
 * Britain's role is shrinking on the diplomatic stage - At international gatherings, the absence of senior UK figures is conspicuous - Tuesday, 12th February 2008
 * We are seeing a return to the politics of America before Bush – and about time too - Thursday, 7th February 2008
 * Soul-searching, self-doubt and a shock to the system - Perhaps the Second Lebanon War was not the defeat it appeared in Israel - Tuesday, 29th January 2008
 * If it's back to the Cold War, it may be our fault - Tuesday, 22nd January 2008
 * The women used their votes to fight back - These primaries are male-female contests, but the coverage is mostly male - Tuesday, 15th January 2008
 * Is it worse to be a woman than a black man? - There has never been a female candidate as well qualified to be President as Hillary - Tuesday, 8th January 2008
 * Maybe we set too much store by democracy - Could a benevolent authoritarianism, with a meritocracy at the head, provide the answer for some countries? - Wednesday, 2nd January 2008



News & updates:

 * Putin 2.0 What will the next six years be like? Will the opposition and the authorities find common language? What are the main challenges for Putin’s third term? CrossTalk with Mary Dejevsky, Ben Aris and John Laughland. 5th March 2012



References:


Links:

 * New Statesman book reviews