Please circulate as widely as possible
New Discussion Papers on the Signs of the Times web-site
As part of Sign of the Times preparation for the general elections, we
have several new papers which consider important policy areas in the
election campaign.
• Oscar Reyes looks at the likely implications for privatisation and
surveillance of the 2012 Olympic Bid.
• Neal Lawson searches for signs of Social Democracy in New Labour
• Jeremy Valentine dissects the debate around managerialism and the
meaning of New Labour's 'modernisation'.
• Kerry Moore and Joanna Zylinska consider New Labour's politics of
immigration.
Signs of the Times
http://www.signsofthetimes.org.uk/
Signs of the Times is an independent, self-financed collective which
exists to provide a space for the free circulation and exchange of
ideas on the left, outside the confines of the academy and not limited
by party loyalties or sectarian ideologies.
We are seeking to expand our base of contributors to our on-line
discussion papers which explore current cultural/political issues.
Broadly speaking, these discussion papers provide more space for
analysis than is generally provided by a newspaper article, but are
shorter and more accessible than a piece in an academic journal.
Therefore, we also often publish pieces based on academic journal
articles or conference papers which the author has re-worked.
Articles to date have included Doreen Massey on globalisation, Mark
Curtis on the Iraq War, Paul Kingsnorth on the global justice movement
and Stuart Hall on New Labour, alongside features about the politics of
music, the meanings of ‘terror’, an interview with Adbusters founder
Kalle Lasn, and an exploration of the world of management self-help
theory.
We very much welcome contributions about the politics of culture, in
its broadest sense, as we are not simply looking for pieces on ‘hard’
politics. Contributors to date have included - but are by no means
limited to - academics, NGO workers, policy makers and journalists. The
articles need to be connected to contemporary events and issues.
Contributor’s guidelines:
- We publish fairly lengthy, reflective magazine-style articles of
approximately 2-4,000 words.
- A short bibliography and/or hyperlinks to further reading and
connected websites after the main text is encouraged. If you need to
reference in the text itself, please use the Harvard system (Author,
year of publication: page no) rather than footnotes or endnotes.
- Please include an abstract or summary of your article of around
100-200 words, together with up to 5 keywords, and a short biographical
note of around 20-30 words.
Please contact the content editor, Jeremy Gilbert on, or submit
completed papers to, [log in to unmask]
If you want to be removed from this distribution list then send a blank
mail to [log in to unmask]
To be added to the distribution list send a blank mail to
[log in to unmask]
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Café Diplo
Signs of the Times is not planning any 'live' events at the present
time, but we thoroughly recommend the events organised by the London
Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique. See
http://www.monde-diplo-friends.org.uk/ for more details, and see below
for listings.
SATURDAY MAY 14th
Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique Cafe Diplo at the French Institute, 17
Queensberry Place SW7. Tube South Kensington. 10.30 am. £3, concessions
£2, members free. Info 07984 178 193
BRITISH 'NO' and FRENCH 'NON' - EUROPE'S GREATEST THREAT? with RICHARD
GOWAN
Richard Gowan, Director of the Foreign Policy Centre, discusses the new
EU Constitution in relation to the forthcoming referenda. Richard is an
expert on European Strategy and the politics of the EU in Britain.
He has written extensively on European issues and is a regular
commentator on CNN, BBC News and World Service. The Foreign Policy
Centre is a think-tank launched to develop a vision of a fair and
rule-based world order. In 2004, in association with MORI, it published
'The Referendum Battle', the first comprehensive study and analysis of
British attitudes towards the Constitution.
SATURDAY MAY 28th
Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique Cafe Diplo at the French Institute, 17
Queensberry Place SW7. Tube South Kensington. 10.30 am. £3,
concessions £2, members free. Info 07984 178 193 or see our website
www.monde-diplo-friends.org.uk
INSIDE NORTH KOREA with Dr Jim Hoare
North Korea's isolation and nuclear capabilities have become a
prominent focus of international attention and of US foreign policy,
but information about the country remains very limited in the West. Dr
Jim Hoare, who retired from the Diplomatic Service in January 2003, was
in a unique position to learn about the country since he established
the British Embassy there in 2001. He has also served in South Korea
(1981-85) and in China (1988-91). He is now a consultant on East Asia,
and regularly broadcasts and writes about the region. He and his wife,
Susan Pares, have just published A Political and Economic Dictionary of
East Asia (Routledge: 2005), and North Korea in the 21st Century: A
Critical Guide is due to be published by Global Oriental shortly. He is
the current president of the British Association for Korean Studies,
and is an Honorary Research Associate at the School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London, and of the School for East Asian
Studies, University of Sheffield.
SATURDAY JUNE 11th
Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique Cafe Diplo at the French Institute, 17
Queensberry Place SW7. Tube South Kensington. 10.30 am. £3, concessions
£2, members free. Info 07984 178 193
IMMIGRATION, RACISM & HUMAN RIGHTS with KEITH BEST
A recent audit revealed that asylum seekers, on average, have higher
qualifications than the British population, and are able to make a
strong contribution to the economy. Yet the worst human rights abuses
in the UK are committed against refugess and asylum seekers. The
government has denied them the right to work, and a rising number
are refused benefits, ending up on the streets. Former MP Keith Best is
Chief Executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, which provides
free legal advice and representation to people with immigration and
asylum problems. Named in the Guardian as one of the 100 most
influential people in public service in the UK, he will unravel the
complicated immigration imbroglio.
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