First published on 24.07.2012. We commonly talk about the management of order in international relations. In the Cold War era this was a natural phenomenon due to the degree of stability and rules imposed by East/West bipolarity. The US’s (surprisingly…
First published on 19.05.2012. Celebrity culture has moved beyond its winter of discontent with President Obama. Only a few months ago it seemed that Obama was losing his tight grip over the world of entertainment, and especially liberal Hollywood. Matt…
First published on 14.05.2012. Campaigns to boycott major international sporting events have a very mixed record. Most athletes see themselves as the first victims during such occurrences, as their opportunity for reward suffers. Certainly athletes were the big losers during…
First published on 19.04.2012. The intense controversy over the praise accorded to Fidel Castro by Ozzie Guillen, manager of baseball’s Miami Marlins (in an interview with Time magazine) illustrates the wide-spectrum of reactions to the intrusion of figures from the…
First published on 20.03.2012. The “Stop Kony” video phenomenon and George Clooney’s ramping up of his activities on South Sudan appear at first glance to have some significant commonalities. In both cases a US-activist initiative grabbed attention with respect to…
First published on 15.03.2012. Two trials that connect small states to different dimensions of financial mismanagement have grabbed my attention in the last few weeks. The first – the trial of Geir Haarde, the former Prime Minister of Iceland –…
First published on 11.01.2012. The announcement by Yossou N’Dour that he intends to run for the presidency of Senegal has received a huge amount of well-deserved attention. By any standards N’Dour is a major hybrid musical/activist celebrity. Not only is…
First published on 03.10.2011. Two major waves of celebrity activists are trying to change the way financial institutions do business. The first is a very in your face wave, with prominent individuals from the world of entertainment notably the film-maker…
First published on 25.09.2011. Happiness is grabbing an enormous amount of attention in terms of global public policy. A resolution passed at the UN General Assembly in July stated that “the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal” embodying…
First published on 08.09.2011. When massive financial shocks hit three years ago – punctuated by the collapse of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008 – scenarios were ripe concerning new forms of heroic political leadership. At the core of the…
