Reform - openDemocracy

Who’s funding Reform – and why?

Nigel Farage says his party is a break from the political establishment. That claim doesn’t match up with its donors

By Ethan Shone

/ 12 Jun 2025

Ukraine is reforming its welfare system as the cost of war rises

Social support will become means-tested as millions of Ukrainians face war, displacement and poverty

By Thomas Rowley and Kateryna Farbar

/ 26 Apr 2023

Ukraine is reforming its welfare system as the cost of war rises

The ISIS threat: terror, propaganda and ideology

Mainstream Muslim scholars must engage with reinterpreting passages of the Qur'an that seem to support ISIS' treatment of women. Translated excerpt from Trusselen fra IS: Terror, propaganda og ideologi.

By Mah-Rukh Ali

/ 25 Nov 2015

Will Iraq's prime minister implement Al Sistani’s anti-corruption dictates?

The wave of protests sweeping across Iraq has led Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani to demand that Abadi get serious about tackling corruption. But the prime minister's response so far has been far from reassuring.

By Zayd Alisa

/ 28 Sep 2015

Seven myths about democracy in Morocco

Morocco: stable, reformist, and taking steady if slow steps towards democracy—right? Wrong. Some common myths debunked.

By Till Bruckner

/ 19 Jun 2015

Economic reforms for Tunisia in 2015 and beyond

It is just as important for Tunisia to address economic as security threats. Three key reforms can help maintain gains and fix pressing problems.

By Ismael Seneca

/ 4 May 2015

The dangers of Reform - lobbying and the UK

Who really drives policy at Westminster, the unions or the big commercial lobbyists who appear to operate without any democratic process whatsoever, and with "charitable" status to boot?

By Mel Kelly

/ 19 Jul 2013

"This Can't Go On" - Cameron hires private health lobbyist into the heart of government

Nick Seddon, former lobbyist and private healthcare advocate, today walks through the doors of `10 Downing Street to lead on health policy formation for David Cameron. What does this say about Cameron’s real attitude to the lobbying game he has publicly decried? And what kind of policies will Sedd

By Andrew Robertson

/ 13 May 2013

Our fallible prophet

Rational reflection and reasoning should not be a threat to religion. Drawing on religious texts, the author argues Muslims should embrace the fallibility of the prophet, and so free themselves of the shackles of history and paralyzing dogmas.

By Sara Azmeh Rasmussen

/ 24 Sep 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Robert Manor

Robert Manor was the Prison & Jail Monitor for the John Howard Association. The John Howard Association is a Chicago-based not-for-profit working for prison reform within a complex social and political environment. In this comprehensive interview Robert talks plainly about the systemic problems of

By Charles Shaw

/ 19 Jun 2012

The Exile Nation Project - Interview with Steve Costello

From the time he was a young boy, Steve Costello knew he was destined for a life of crime. A committed gang member, he had already been to prison by the time he became a man, and was rapidly approaching the point of no return. In this riveting interview, Steve recounts his story, and the miraculou

By Charles Shaw

/ 28 Nov 2011

The Exile Nation Project: An Oral History of the War on Drugs & The American Criminal Justice System

openDemocracy & the Tedworth Charitable Trust proudly launch our multi-year, multimedia oral history project with the release of this first feature-length documentary film.

By Charles Shaw

/ 7 Apr 2011