Issue 143
February 2008
Contents
Critical condition
29th February 2008 — Issue 143Book reviewing may seem in reasonable health. But the authority of critics is being undermined by a raucous blogging culture and an increasingly commercial publishing industry. Literary journalism needs to get better if it is to survive
The perfect crime?
29th February 2008 — Issue 143The Rwandan genocide was triggered by the killing of the country's president in April 1994. The identity of the assassins remains one of the great mysteries of the 20th century. Now a new witness has emerged, alleging French involvement
Shopping in Tehran
29th February 2008 — Issue 143Normal domestic politics has resumed in Iran after the recent US declaration that Iran gave up its nuclear weapons programme in 2003. Ahmadinejad's many opponents will now try to make him pay for his economic failures
Disenchanted democracies
29th February 2008 — Issue 143Citizens in rich democracies are becoming both more sceptical towards government and more demanding of it, leading to a "crisis of disengagement." This won't be reversed by institutional reform—better to focus on the democracy of everyday life
Explaining the financial crisis
29th February 2008 — Issue 143The credit crunch was an accident waiting to happen, thanks to a long period of benign market conditions which encouraged riskier behaviour by financiers. But how did problems in the US mortgage market spread to become a crisis of bank capital?
America still works
The US economy is slowing down, but the long-term trends for the country are more favourable than many think. There has also been a sharp improvement in many of America's social pathologies, such as violent crime and drug abuse
Alberta's oil rush
29th February 2008 — Issue 143The "tar sands" of northern Canada are home to the world's largest oil reserve. Extracting and exporting the oil—so far almost exclusively to the US—is bringing massive wealth to the region. But what about the social and environmental costs?
Charles Taylor
Taylor may be the most important philosopher writing in English today. He is drawn to big issues like the evolution of the modern self, and his latest book defends religion from its critics
Comment (5)Zbigniew Brzezinski
29th February 2008 — Issue 143The national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter—and now one of Barack Obama's foreign policy mentors—discusses America's role in the world, the urgency of ensuring a swift exit from Iraq, and why the US has always got it wrong with Iran
A cultural recovery?
29th February 2008 — Issue 143The conservative American magazine "Commentary" is normally pessimistic about cultural trends in the US. Here, however, is an edited extract from a surprisingly upbeat piece from the December 2007 issue
Georgi Arbatov
Gorbachev's principal foreign affairs advisor, Georgi Arbatov, passed away earlier this month. Here he discusses Putin's Russia, US foreign policy and nuclear proliferation
Behind the interviews
Reflections on my visits to Moscow and Washington to visit two of the leading lights of the cold war
Charles Taylor interviewed
The Canadian philosopher talks to Prospect about religion, multiculturalism and the future of the left
After independence
Kosovo's declaration of independence merely formalises the status quo. Europe's newest country faces serious social and economic challenges
Gandhi and the Jews
Should the Jews, as Gandhi counselled, have submitted willingly to their Nazi oppressors?
Presidential realities
With their grand promises of "change," the US presidential candidates are raising expectations they cannot possibly meet
The flaws in Flint
Caroline Flint's proposals on social housing ignore two disincentive effects of the British welfare system
Listening in
We should welcome the removal of the ban on the use of intercept evidence in court—as long as it's done in the right way
A European language
As the Champions League rolls round once again, Uefa's man in Brussels argues that football can help nourish a European sense of identity
Hope in Pakistan
The results of the Pakistani election mean there is a real chance that its competing power blocs could find a lasting accommodation via the constitution
Watch those warheads
How real is the danger that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal could fall into the hands of militants?
Sense on sharia
English law is flexible enough to incorporate a role for sharia as an informal mechanism for dispute resolution
Welcome to Europe, Kosovo
There really was no alternative to independence for Kosovo. What happens now depends on Serbia and the EU
Pakistan's imperfect choice
For the party leaders, Pakistan's election is not so much about winning office as about earning forgiveness
After Suharto
Suharto's death means he will never be held to account for his crimes. But the Indonesian courts could still act to weaken his legacy of cronyism and corruption
Who do we think we are?
29th February 2008 — Issue 143The attempt to find a British national story by rummaging through history is bound to fail
A warning from Kenya
29th February 2008 — Issue 143Kenya's democratic failure is a bad omen. Expect similarly contested elections in the rest of Africa
Cash for culture
29th February 2008 — Issue 143Despite the controversy of the Arts Council's recent cuts, it's still boom time for the arts in England
Why Pakistan fails
29th February 2008 — Issue 143Why has Pakistan had a much more troubled experience with democracy than India?
Perchance to dream
29th February 2008 — Issue 143Far from it being the purpose of sleep to support and nourish life, the purpose of life is to sleep
A desperate fascination
For the last six years, Martin Amis has written obsessively about 9/11 and its global aftermath—often provoking great controversy. A new collection of his writings shows us a writer whose prose remains a delicious challenge, but whose political imagination looks increasingly barren
Re-readings
29th February 2008 — Issue 143Critics of Bernhard Schlink's bestselling "The Reader" accused it of being an apology for Nazi evil. His new novel covers many of the same themes, but takes pains to distinguish right from wrong
Dropping the pilot
29th February 2008 — Issue 143The broadcast media no longer see it as their duty to provide society with moral guidance. But as this book shows, many people miss the presence of a "pilot." Perhaps Mary Whitehouse had a point after all
BHL is back
29th February 2008 — Issue 143Bernard-Henri Lévy's new book is typically immodest—and his claim that the European left trades on fascist ideas is a facile caricature. Still, this is an audacious, often brilliantly argued work
Widescreen
Wim Wenders's road movies inspired me to drive to India in a camper van. Interviewing him recently, I found him reticent but still inspirational
Private view
The Russian paintings affair was, in reality, a minor wrangle about timing. Were the Russians being opportunistic or just paranoid?
Performance notes
Beethoven would have been surprised by the reverence his sonatas inspire today. Plus, why Mahler's 8th shouldn't be performed at St Paul's
Smallscreen
Creative destruction is what keeps Britain's television industry alive—so I don't mind too much that it finished off my production company
The half-baked entrepreneur
29th February 2008 — Issue 143Dear Premier Wen, allow me—a servant, philosopher and successful businessman—to offer you the truth about Bangalore, free of charge
China café
My wife shed tears over the lieutenant's death. But I had a more cynical explanation. Plus, our quiet hilltop village has turned into a refuge for Shanghai's capitalists
Washington watch
Could the campaigns for the nominations drag on until the party conventions? If so, Clinton may be calling on the Dem "super-delegates." Plus, candidates' campaign songs
This sporting life
It isn't easy to raise doubts about disabled sports without looking unsympathetic. But as the case of sprinter Oscar Pistorius shows, hard questions sometimes have to be asked
These islands
The country estate of Stowe lies at the heart of England, both geographically and historically. It embodies the English virtues of freedom, subtlety and trust
Lab report
Christopher Columbus may have brought syphilis to Europe after all. EO Wilson changes his mind on group selection. Plus, climate lessons from 90m years ago—or not
Brussels diary
As the PM starts to develop his European side, a new report suggests expansion has actually made the EU more nimble. Plus, Poland's youthful new minister for Europe
Confessions
I'm a liberal, so it pains me to admit that I read the Daily Mail. But the paper is superb at non-political news stories— and it fills in some key gaps in the Guardian's coverage
