Humphrey Hawksley

Academia Vs Journalism

Humphrey — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:48:28 +0000

Writing in International Affairs, John Keane, author of The Life and death of Democracy compliments my trade and disputes my conclusions of Democracy Kills.

‘Hawksley is an intrepid surivor of a declining species, a brave and honest foreign reporter with a strong reputation for questioning shibboleths. It is thus a pity that the book, a set of well-written enecdotes drawn from world-wide assignments during the past two decades, is tempted for the sake of sales to sensationalise its subject.”

John’s review is an important addition to the debate on democracy and he skillfully shows up the difference in the roles of reporter and academic.

Click here: Democracy Kills Click here: Democracy Kills

Literature and the Glasgow Kiss

Humphrey — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:13:37 +0000

Many thanks to Andrew Kelly, Katrina Brodin and others for bringing me to Glagow’s Aye Write Book Festival. Their hospitality, conversation and tutelage in the origins of the Glasgow Kiss will be unforgettable. Thanks also to Marc Lambert for skillfully guiding my session on globalisation. With the raconteur and journalist Alex Perry, the urbane and challenging Dominique Moisi and a stimulating audience we teased out some crucial issues. I like this one:- One of the bigger fall outs from the Western economic crisis is that China has been given a seat at the top table a decade or so too early. The greed for bankers bonuses tilted the strategic balance of power.

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Glasgow and globalisation

Humphrey — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:56:05 +0000

Heading for Glasgow for the Aye Write Book Festival to join a panel with Dominic Moisi and Alex Perry on the future of globalisation.

Saturday 6th March
18:30 – 20:00
Current affairs/Journalism
£7/£6

Since 1989, corporations and governments have embraced the idea that everyone benefits through free markets and democratic governments. Yet many argue that globalisation is also the direct cause of war, disease and poverty. Time magazine’s Alex Perry has seen globalisation first-hand. In Falling off the Edge he argues the boom is about to go bang. BBC foreign correspondent, Humphrey Hawksley, in Democracy Kills, argues that democracy is not the right answer for all as attempts to install democracy through elections have produced high levels of corruption and violence. For Dominique Moïsi (French Institute of International Affairs) there is a ‘clash of emotions’ not a clash of civilisations. Europe and the US are dominated by a fear of the ‘other’ and the loss of national identity and purpose; Muslims and Arabs, civil and religious warfare and historic grievances have created a culture of humiliation developing into a culture of hatred; Asia, able to concentrate on building a better future, has become ‘the culture of hope’. Can understanding the emotions behind cultural differences offer a better view of the world and perhaps a more peaceful solution to the ignorance and differences that plague us?

Click here: Democracy Kills

Buy tickets online for this event at Ticketweb

Link to Ticketweb site

Trade V Aid — the hot issue of the times

Humphrey — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:18:36 +0000

I’m preparing to chair a debate on Trade, Aid or Both: The Answer to Global Development?

Date: March 1
Venue: Grimond Room, Portcullis House, Bridge Street, London SW1A 2LW.
Time: 6 to 8pm

Come along. It’s feisty and free and something that impacts on us all.

Is aid the most effective instrument to promote sustainable development? Donor countries are coming under increasing pressure to improve their behaviour and procedures. In this discussion, leading experts in the field will examine current approaches and provide insights into how removing trade barriers and other obstacles can shape the development prospects for many poor countries.

Click here: Democracy Kills

Lisbeth Salander & Granada

Humphrey — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:14:20 +0000

I am enjoying Steig Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy. At the beginning of the second installment The Girl Who Played with Fire, Lisbeth Salander is in Granada on which Larsson gives her a side comment:-

Then the United States invaded and set up democracy. As far as Grenada was concerned, this meant that unemployment rose from around 6 per cent to almost 50 per cent, and that the cocaine trade once more became the largest source of income.

Click here: Democracy Kills

Death of Human Rights

Humphrey — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:02:34 +0000

Newsweek has an excellent cover essay by Joshua Kurlantzick on the collapse of the advocacy of human rights.

‘Today the lack of interest in human rights has been virtually institutionalised in Washington and other capitals,” he reveals. “Advocating for global freedom will get you nowhere.”

This is an intelligent piece that warns of a cataclysmic event such as the fall of the Berlin Wall or the 9/11 attacks to ’shake Western populations out of their torpor.’

Click here: Kurlantzick – The Downfall of Human Rights

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US Congress Vs China’s Congress

Humphrey — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:01:01 +0000

In a piece about logjam in the US Congress, The Economist argues:-

A few years ago only Chinese bureaucrats dared suggest that Beijing’s autocratic system of government was superior. Nowadays, there is no shortage of leaders from emerging countries, or even prominent American businesspeople, who privately sing the praises of a system that can make decisions quickly. We disagree.

And so do I, for what it’s worth.

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Window Vista

Humphrey — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:06:11 +0000

I may be late coming to this, but is Word on Vista total rubbish? Things that used to be so simple, like inserting page numbers, foot notes, tables etc, have become labrynths of unecessary complexity and the Word document cannot be read by many older programs.

How stupid can you get?

Gap Year Freedom

Humphrey — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:21:49 +0000

A recommendation from the younger generation. www.gap-year.com is on board for moving furniture around in people’s minds when it comes to democracy:-

“Here’s a thought-provoking book for anyone about to take off on their travels. Most of us in the developed world probably take the democracies we live in for granted. After all, we have the vote, freedom of speech, the choice to do our own thing and prosperity, or at least the potential to achieve it (despite the current economic crisis). So perhaps it would never really occur to us to really consider whether a democratic system is the only or most appropriate form of government everywhere in the world.”

Click here: Democracy Kills Click here: Democracy Kills

Anna the Imp

Humphrey — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 10:43:13 +0000

The Telegraph blogger called Anna the Imp refers to Democracy Kills in a blog about liberty which drew dozens of comments.

“I should say that Hawksley, despite the title of the book, offers a vigorous defence of democracy. I would certainly offer a vigorous defence of democracy; but, goodness, how we have traduced it by, first, making it a foreign policy aim- by bringing democracy at the barrel of a gun – and, second, by failing to understand the growing weakness of our own representative institutions. Two cheers for democracy, E. M Foster said. Is it possible, I wonder, now to get past one?”

Click here: Anna The Imp — Democracy

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Click here: Democracy Kills