Open Democracy

In August 2015, Ukrainian writer and filmmaker Oleg Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of a fabricated terrorism investigation by Russian security services. He was tortured in the process, and is currently serving his sentence in Labytnangi in Russia’s Yamal-Nenets region.

With our data being hailed as the world’s most valuable resource, companies are scrambling to exploit it and, by extension, us. Luca Belli, writing in Open Democracy, suggests that when governments fail to protect our right to network self-determination, we must do it ourselves.

Harvesting data sounds wrong! Whereas personal data sounds like something worth protecting. Elinor Carmi, writing in Open Democracy, investigates the language and ethics of data collection: what does ‘privacy’ really mean online? Is it fair that we want to keep our personal data personal?

The filter bubbles are moving offline. It’s not just social media platforms that are keeping us from coming into contact with challenging ideas. Antonis Vradis, writing in Open Democracy, suggests that echo chambers can also take on social and geographical dimensions.

Can dialogue free us from fear and pain? Perry Dougherty, writing in Open Democracy, highlights the importance of giving a voice to our experiences when healing from trauma.

A good government is an effective one. There’s no point appealing to the highest values of democracy if you can’t get anything done. Stein Ringen, writing in Open Democracy, argues that Machiavelli’s controversial 16th century demands for an effective government are still relevant today.

Want to invest some spare money in property? Think that makes you a risk-taker? Maybe it just makes you a member of the bourgeoisie leeching off the work of others. Andrew Sayer, writing in Open Democracy, argues against unearned income.

Online political discussions are often quagmires of insults and memes, but they can sometimes reveal new political trends. Chenchen Zhang looks at the term ‘white left’, an insult used by many Chinese netizens.

Could Bruce Springsteen save the American political left? Lasse Thomassen looks at how the Born in the USA star provides a model for politicians to re-cast national identity in a progressive light.

By virtue of being a business owner, the academic Karl Widerquist has a basic income on top of his already generous salary. But he doesn’t think that it is particularly fair. Here, he laments a system that often rewards people more for owning things than for actually doing things.

People who rely on government support to survive are often depicted as lazy and therefore less valuable to society. Margaret Somers and Fred Block make a plea for a different vision, one where cruelty isn’t the key to prosperity.

A casual observation of a busy street will offer up a million different narratives for how each and every person got there. Paul Tritschler, writing in Open Democracy, emphasizes the importance of storytelling for empathy and social understanding.

How much does religious thinking contribute to our understanding of human rights?

Capital punishment is still prevalent in many countries around the world, including the USA. Kirsten Han writes in Open Democracy about the mandatory death penalty in Singapore, about how it expected a boy to die for a mistake he made when he was just 19 years old, and wonders whether capital punishment really serves the purpose it claims to.

What happens to a country's sex workers during a military conflict and economic crisis?

Growing up an adoptee of mixed heritage in Britain, Kamila Zahno was too Black for the adoption agencies but not Black enough for the political campaigners. ​

The place of personal values in a secular democracy has long been the source of debate—is it better to agree or to be honest?

Most of us spend a huge proportion of our lives working. Yet the sociological study of workplaces has declined. LSE fellow, Jamie Woodcock, writing in OpenDemocracy, recounts his six months undercover in call centres, researching how workers are subject to constant watch, psychological pressure, and what they do to resist.

Hate picks no sides—it merely fills the gaps left by broken communication. Increasingly, thanks to the internet, we can reinforce our world views through the interactions we have online. Mana Farooghi, writing in Open Democracy wonders whether there is a solution to this growing state of disdain. ​