The modern liberal concept of liberty has roots in Roman law and the Roman understanding of the master and the slave. We need to unpick that heritage to imagine a better basis for our political aspirations

UKIP's rise is the clearest sign yet of the crisis of Britain as a progressive, liberal project.

Our columnist explores the language and the headlines of dying and killing, from Tibet to the United States to Iraq. 

Combatting child sexual abuse in Russia involves some unexpected players – on the one hand, vigilantes who hunt down online child abusers, and on the other, the Kremlin, anxious to discredit the opposition. Mikhail Loginov reports.

Legal aid and Law Centres are under threat in the UK, along with the principle of equal access to justice. Geoffrey Bindman QC says it's time for the legal profession to dig into their pockets and help meet the gap in state funding. This week's Friday Essay.

How best to preserve the archaeological record of the past, which so often obtrudes on political objectives of the present? And what happens when nation states are effectively bankrupt?  Are its monuments to be allowed to collapse into decay?

The Spanish government's violent campaign against the grassroots Platform for Mortgage Victims is a dangerous turn against freedom of speech and association. These attacks must stop.

Those of us who were actively working for a sustainable and democratic society in Iceland have always wondered when the window of opportunity opened by the 'pots and pans revolution' would close. Did the last elections bring an end to Iceland's radically democratic moment?

Porous boundaries between politicians and pundits, rigid austerity and a zealous attempt to please foreign observers can only have a destructive effect on Portuguese society.

Despite his vow to uplift Czech political life, new president Milos Zeman made no excuses for his 'tired and emotional' appearance at a highly symbolic state event. His call for closer ties with Russia have raised further concerns in a traditionally anti-Russian society.

Some issues flagged up in the candidates’ manifestos are revealing. These are protecting the rule of law, youth employment, balanced economic development, pro-poor laws and strong institutions.

The authors of the re-launched Beyond the Fragments take a feminist approach to healing a divided left. They put women’s exploitation by capital firmly on the agenda. But where is the challenge to patriarchy?

In Tunisia, the resigning former Prime Minister and Ennahda leader, Hamadi Jebali, is being groomed for a presidential role by his party as well as international players, in a bid to market an “acceptable” Islamism.  

What the civil war in Syria has exposed is that the massive political and social transformation, and real regime change under way is led by people themselves. US military involvement serves only to escalate the destruction.

A disastrous fire in the 18^th century Lyadiny ensemble has resulted in the destruction of one of the two churches and the belltower. Wooden churches are very vulnerable, but all too often the situation is compounded by neglect and indifference, says Matilda Moreton

The argument that Beyoncé is not a role model is uncomfortably close to the idea that women must be de-sexualised to be worthy of respect.

The old national order is dead, but the new post-national union of states, whether called a federation or not, is unable to take shape. French philosopher Etienne Balibar calls for European action.

Introducing his revised NHS bill, Lord Owen calls today for transparency from Prime Minister David Cameron over the secret mandate for the EU-US Trade Negotiations which he hopes to boost at the G8 Summit in five weeks time in Northern Ireland.

Scotland's place in the Union, Britain's place in the EU. Two referenda are on the horizon, but the debates around each are strangely divorced from each other.

Two years ago trained members of the public attending immigration bail hearings published their first report, "A Travesty of Justice". Today the Bail Observation Project reports again. Unfairness and lack of due process persist.