Matthew Carr's Blog, page 31
August 22, 2017
Peter Kosminsky’s Islamic State
The violence that we call terrorism has always been surrounded by a curious paradox. On the one hand virtually every terrorist emergency in history has declared terrorism to be a unique threat to society, yet the societies under threat are … Continue reading →
August 18, 2017
History, Peace, and Beauty: On Barcelona’s Ramblas
Of all the massacres perpetrated in Europe in the name of Islamic State, yesterday’s slaughter in the Ramblas has a particular personal resonance for me. I spent nine years in Barcelona, living near the Ramblas for part of that time. … Continue reading →
August 10, 2017
Solidarity With Gina Miller
There was a time, not that long ago in fact, when ‘liberals’ and ‘leftists’ were blamed for the rise of Brexit and Donald Trump. We – the ‘latte-drinking metropolitan elite’ had been too arrogant, the argument ran. We … Continue reading →
July 31, 2017
The Madness of King Donald
Even by the wild standards of what may well be the most deranged individual ever to inhabit the White House, the man who calls himself Donald Trump has had a prolific and remarkable week. Just to recapitulate. In the space … Continue reading →
July 14, 2017
Wayne’s World
Whatever the economic imperatives behind imperialism, every empire invariably generates a rhetoric of superiority, which supposedly entitles and even obliges certain countries or societies to acquire territory, dominate and conquer others or impose their system of government through direct or … Continue reading →
July 12, 2017
Civilisation and its Malcontents
In the conservative-far right lexicon, few words have the same emotive power as ‘civilisation’ – a term that usually equates with ‘Western civilisation’ or simply ‘the West.’ It’s one of those words that automatically gives depth and gravitas to the … Continue reading →
July 7, 2017
Mar-a-Lago Goes to Warsaw
It’s easy to mock Donald Trump, because almost everything he says and does is worthy of nothing but mockery. But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean you ought to stop doing it. Yesterday Trump attempted to re-cast himself as … Continue reading →
June 20, 2017
The United Kingdom of Insecurity
According to conventional political wisdom the first duty of a democratic government is to afford security and protection to all its citizens. This objective is often misleadingly conflated with the notion of ‘national security’ – a principle that supposedly … Continue reading →
June 19, 2017
The Devils of Cardona paperback
My first novel The Devils of Cardona was published in the US in June last year. This year it’s just come out in paperback. Here’s an extract from a piece that I wrote for the Literary Hub website to mark … Continue reading →
June 13, 2017
Send In the Clowns
There was a time, until very recently, when the Conservative Party was the competent party. They were the ones you called out to clean the drains that Labour had blocked, because unlike Labour they were the ones who acted in … Continue reading →
