World

In Greece, as the old system of government crumbles under the burden of sovereign debt, a new, grassroots system of politics is starting to make itself heard, write Hara Kouki and Antonis Vradis.

Few people would want to be in the shoes of Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou these days. Faced with an ostensible mutiny in the ruling social-democrat PASOK party, his worries have been exacerbated by the appearance of an unprecedented, continuous wave of protests in the streets of Athens by thousands of people - who had never demonstrated until a few weeks ago.

The presence of the Irish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia at a graduation ceremony at the university on Monday, albeit in a private capacity, meanwhile, raises questions about the attitude of the Department of Foreign Affairs to the Kingdom, writes Ronan Delaney.

Obama's rhetoric of change may have been seductive during his 2008 campaign, but American foreign and national security policy has remained much the same as it was during the Bush years. By Frank Groome.

The celebrations of the 70th birthday of the great American musician Bob Dylan include many personal journeys through the archives of memory. Here, David Hayes recalls a thrilling series of concerts Dylan performed in 1981...and a late-night encounter.

[The following article is cross-posted from OpenDemocracy.net under Creative Commons Licence.]

Thousands have taken to the streets this week in Spain to protest against corruption, unemployment, and a political structure that favors a two-party system.

“We're not merchandise in the hands of bankers and politicians,” was the motto of tens of thousands who demonstrated all over the country on 15 May, 2011.

Western powers will always prefer the attractions and efficacy of violence, despite lip service to the virtues of a non-violent approach, argue Diana Francis and Celia McKeon

The threat to the Schengen system has been contained, for now. By Cian Murphy.

The news of the killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by a US Special Forces team has prompted excited discussion of whether the event marks the end (or at least the decisive turning point) in the conflicts that, for a decade, US policy makers have styled as the “War on Terror”.

Ten days ago, an “underground town” of migrant workers was discovered below a military factory in Moscow. The discovery played into popular anxieties in Russia about migrants and was heavily spun by the national media. By Madeleine Reeves.

Human rights abuses in Sri Lanka and Bahrain have gone largely unreported while the world's attention has been focused elsewhere. By Colin Murray.