John Ikenberry: Power, Order and Change – in World Politics
USA: We talk to John Ikenberry about «after victory moments». Is there any real incentive for the powerful state to spend money to rebuild and foster a better order? The liberal international vision is not globalism, it is intergovernmentalism.
MIDDLE EAST: What significance does it have that the authorities have cut cultural support for a number of Norwegian actors working internationally? For example, Kirkelig Kulturverksted i Midtøsten?
Translated from English by Signe Prøis: Behrouz Boochani: Only the mountains are my friend
REFUGEES: Cohesion is pulverized, everyone just thinks about managing on their own, surviving, tearing up an extra snack, a place in the food queue or the phone queue.
Kim Ghatta's: Black Wave. Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry that Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East
ISLAMISM: The traditional explanation for the conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims is too superficial. A new, well-written analysis interprets the Middle East's major changes as a showdown between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
DEATH PENALTY: The Berlin winner There is no devil is a strong statement against Iran's state executions and a morally complex depiction of living in a totalitarian society.
Laurence Louër Translated by Ethan Rundell: Sunnis and Shi'a: A Political History
SUNNI AND SJIA: The religious contradictions between the two main directions in Islam are not so great. But in conflicts between countries and groups, they are used for all they are worth.
READING AND WRITING DIFFICULTIES: Pakistan needs to prioritize citizens' inadequate literacy skills and should implement a nationwide program that takes into account the country's multicultural and foreign language communities.
Yung Chang: This Is Not A Movie – Robert Fisk And The Politics Of Truth
PORTRAIT MOVIE: War reporter Robert Fisk has the courage to monitor and challenge. He is known for reporting from the front lines contrary to the official line of politicians and people in power.
NO TO USA: The Anti-War Initiative asks the Government to say no to the request from the United States to contribute militarily to the crisis in the Persian Gulf.
Eli Berman, David A. Lake: Proxy Wars. Suppressing Violence through Local Agents
: PROXY WARS: The United States and Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia have an indirect involvement in conflicts that are something quite different from conventional warfare.