No appeasement
If liberal Britain is ailing we have only ourselves to blame, says Nick Cohen
Politics & Conflict
Hatefest
We must prevent the UN being unravelled by bigotry and conflict, argues Ian Williams
Blog standard
How well does online punditry translate on the printed page? Stephen Howe finds out
In praise of the coup
Military takeovers can be a good thing for African democracy. Paul Collier makes the case
On the trail of the red pilgrims
The philosopher Michail Ryklin tells Caspar Melville what really motivated communism's faithful followers
Film review: Milk
Sean Penn deserves his Oscar, but this biopic of America's first gay politician mostly plays it safe, says Fred Rowson
Muslim metal
Across the Islamic world young people are flocking to the sounds of hardcore rock and death metal. Mark LeVine reports from Cairo
The Weight of a Mustard Seed by Wendell Steavenson
Nina Power considers complicity in Iraq
Three-Letter Plague by Johnny Steinberg
Andrew Mueller enjoys some journalism with a human touch
In the burning house
In 2005 Russian artist Anna Alchuk was publicly vilified and put on trial for her involvement in the Caution:Religion! exhibition. Three years later she drowned herself. Her husband, the philosopher…