Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Cameron's New Cold War
DAVID MORGAN takes a look at the latest Strategic Defence and Security Review – and finds that the Tories are prioritising global power games over keeping this country safe
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
EVERY state that ever existed in world history has sought to justify its actions abroad by claiming that it is has the moral right and justice on its side.
Only fundamentalist regimes or non-state actors such as Isis today still insist that “God is on their side,” but as recently as the first world war of 1914-18, both contending sets of imperial powers insisted that they had divine approval.
Today modern states such as Britain seek to justify their foreign policy on the basis of defending the national interest, upholding human rights and supporting their allies.
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