Proportional elections and the greater freedom of the Concordat should have prompted a renaissance in local government. Peter McColl argues that more must be done if there is to be a transformation of local politics.

Lesley Riddoch and Eberhard Bort compare the genuinely local politics of our near neighbours to the large and remote local authorities in Scotland and find a very clear case for reform

Joseph Ritchie looks at theories of pacifism and non-violence and argues that they are not the same thing as ‘self-policing’ of the anti-capitalism movement which may weaken the message

Tom O’Hara looks at the origins of socialist utopian novels and their relevance to the left today and argues that while they may seem naive, they at least offered a real sense of alternative

Patricia Walls offers an Irish-feminist perspective on how the Scots tackle ‘sectarianism’ and argues that academic complacency is simply exacerbating the misunderstanding of the problem

In a turbulent year for Europe – and democracy in general – Gordon Morgan looks at how voters in the ten EU countries with elections reacted to the events unfolding around them and finds them voting ‘against’ rather than voting ‘for’

The Occupy movement points outwards from the mess in which we find ourselves to something better. Justin Kenrick suggests that the Transition movement can be the radical agenda the movement is looking for.

Tom Leonard: Selected Poems

Tom Nairn takes on Jeremy Paxman’s analysis of the state of British identity in the post-empire era and finds a nationalism that no longer seems to know if it is alive or dead.

We asked a supporter of independence to outline a positive, left case for that position (using almost exactly the same wording as asked of the union supporter). Stephen Maxwell responds.