Endemic racism in the two main parties is a serious problem, but could be dwarfed by the Tories’ strategic moves towards weaponising immigration and the fear of others, as in this new Facebook ad. Racism is widely recognised as a serious problem in the UK General Election, as shocking comments by individual candidates and party… Continue reading Towards Another ‘Turkey Week’? The Threat of Strategic Racism in the UK General Election
Boris Johnson is making liberal gestures on race and immigration - appointing the largest number of cabinet ministers of BME (black and minority ethnic) background, refusing to commit to cutting immigrant numbers after Brexit, even repeating his support for the idea of an amnesty for irregular immigrants. Some liberal observers see Johnson’s position as more… Continue reading Dominic Cummings’ appointment reminds that whatever liberal gestures Johnson makes on immigration, he is focused on winning an early election – and will reach for whatever dirty, racist weapons he needs
Genocide is generally conceived of as violence by centralised perpetrators, usually states and regimes, towards whole population groups. In the last two decades, however, there has been more emphasis on the typical complexity of perpetrator forces, including the roles of ancillary states, paramilitaries and even civilians. Few, however, have looked unremittingly at genocide from the… Continue reading Anatomy of a Genocide by Omer Bartov – review
The Spanish translation of my What is Genocide? is now out from Prometeo Libros, Buenos Aires. Many thanks to Victoria Cacares Mauri, the translator, and to Daniel Feierstein, editor of the Colección Estudios sobre Genocidio, in which the book appears.¿Qué es el Genocidio? is based on the original English text published in 2007. I have now completed a Second… Continue reading ¿Qué es el Genocidio?
In 2000 I published a book, Theory of the Global State: Globality as Unfinished Revolution which revised the terms of the debate about the state, arguing that the dominant state form in today's world is a 'Western state conglomerate' led by the USA but combining many 'nation-states' and international organisations. Together with the 'global layer' of… Continue reading Global State Formation in the 21st Century
An excellent institute in Europe's most attractive city - the ideal place to study! Foreign Affairs has just published an interview with me about the Master's programmes at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals, where I am Research Professor.
A new debate in the British Journal of Sociology begins from the work of John Hagan and his collaborators and includes commentaries by Tim Allen, Vincent A. De Gaetano, Michael Mann, Claire Moon and Martin Shaw.
What kind of violence has the Sri Lankan state been committing against its Tamil civilian population as the island‘s civil war ended; on what scale and with what intentions? Martin Shaw explores the difficult terrain where war, atrocity and genocide meet. Go to Open Democracy for full text.
The Armenian massacres belong to a wider pattern of "mass death" forged in war and state rivalry. Go to Open Democracy for the full text.
The impact of Israel's three-week assault on Gaza on the civilian Palestinian population is revealing of its true character, says Martin Shaw.Go to Open Democracy for the full text.
Martin Shaw 