From the federal United States to the hyper-centralised UK, and even in the tightly state-directed system of China, local government is increasingly constrained and hollowed out. The slow-building emergency in government debt is not only on a national level but on a local level too. Across advanced and emerging economics, local governments have taken on growing responsibilities without the fiscal tools to fund them, undermining service provision and political trust without tr

Where Donald Trump’s first tenure as President of the United States was concerned with making America great again, it is quickly becoming apparent he has broadened his horizons with his second innings. Growing weary of his global reputation as an obtrusive, childish bully, he’s spent the last year showing the world all he wants to do is bring about peace – granted, of course, he gets the credit. A big gold medal would be nice, too. This is, of course, referring to Trump’s ind

To describe something as a ‘crisis’ is to deem it an urgent issue. Whilst a range of dictionaries provide various definitions, they all hinge on a notion of temporality and immediacy. Many allude to a ‘point,’ ‘time’ or a ‘flashpoint.’ Indeed, the word itself stems from the Greek word for turning point, ‘krisis.’  I don’t often consult a dictionary to decipher the headlines. However, when dealing with an issue so entangled with history and the narratives that accompany it, de

The ‘ un-Blairing ’, or the death of (domestic) liberalism and (international) liberal interventionism, cemented the failure of the presupposed ‘ End of History ’. Not only did the Iraq war tear down broad, contemporary ideological unity, but it also tainted the reputation of the leaders who espoused it. George W. Bush Jr. doesn’t deserve much of a defence: he was a woeful President, perhaps saved from the dungeon of history only by today’s sheer absurdity , though that remai

In light of the public murders  of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the death of four detainees in ICE custody so far this year, US citizens are protesting across the country over flagrant abuses of power. It is not surprising that in the midst of this outrage, the subtle militarisation and ‘ICE-style’ marketing of immigration forces here in the UK has gone unnoticed by most. In October, the Conservatives pledged  to create a new