International Features

Organised hypocrisy is relatively a new concept that is being studied by sociologists and political scientists. Nowhere is organised hypocrisy more visible than in international relations where states blatantly violate the very norms that they claim to be following in conformity with civilized behaviour. Sociologists and political scientists are never short of examples to prove that organised hypocrisy exists and …

We are setting this ship afloat today. There may be mutiny on board, I hope not. The sea may be stormy but the ship must sail on and enter the ports of poverty, hunger, unemployment, malnutrition, disease and seek to bring comfort to those who need it J.R. Jayewardene at first SAARC Summit December 8, 1985. The South Asian Association …

The court of appeal has ruled that the government cannot use secret evidence in the case being brought against it by Binyam Mohamed (above) and five other former Guantánamo Bay detainees over torture allegations. Photograph: PA The court of appeal has dismissed an attempt by MI5 and MI6 to suppress evidence of their alleged complicity in the torture and secret …

As Congress weighs Afghanistan funding, the military is escalating what it calls the "war of perceptions" at home and abroad. The question is whether the American media and Congress will collaborate in the Pentagon's press strategy or retain a critical edge. It is no accident that the Pentagon is shaping the "information battlespace" by welcoming friendly reporters and think tank …

Do some soldiers enjoy killing? If so, why? This question is thrust upon us by the recently released video of U.S. Apache helicopter pilots shooting a Reuters cameraman and his driver in Baghdad in 2007. Mistaking the camera of the Reuters reporter for a weapon, the pilots machine-gunned the reporter and driver and other nearby people. The most chilling aspect …