Azher Hameed Qamar
Sweden has seen several Quran-burning incidents, which can reinforce anti-religious discourses and politicised campaigns against religious minorities. It can also put Swedish multicultural harmony at risk. Laws permitting this must be interpreted in the best interest of the people and their holistic well-being, argues Azher Hameed Qamar Read more
Didem Unal Abaday
In Turkey, LGBTI+ events and pressures on queer people’s right to assembly face increasing restrictions. This, writes Didem Unal Abaday, will only get worse with democratic decline. In the new parliamentary term after the 2023 elections, democratic backsliding is turning political homophobia into state policy Read more
Sanne van Oosten
We know that voters stereotype Muslim politicians as homophobic. However, they also project their own ideas about LGBTQ+ rights onto politicians. Sanne van Oosten examines which of these voter tendencies are likely to prevail with which voters, and argues that both strength and type of opinion matter Read more
Soumi Banerjee
Soumi Banerjee describes how Hindu nationalists are using ‘othering’ and ‘identity signifiers’ to appeal to a broad section of India's fractured population. This, she argues, lies at the root of current religious tensions Read more
Reinhard Heinisch
The more populism has evolved and the more we have learned about this supposedly elusive and contested concept, the more we recognise that the early insights we gained about the phenomenon have stood the test of time. Reinhard Heinisch argues that although these early lessons already pointed to the importance of credible change agency, ambiguity, and territoriality as crucial features for populism's success, their role is still not fully understood Read more
Sabine Volk
Germany’s largest far-right protest movement, PEGIDA, this month celebrates eight years of mobilisation and protest activity. Its survival, argues Sabine Volk, is a puzzle not explained by social movement theory. She explores an overlooked explanatory factor: PEGIDA's repetitive protest ritual Read more
Amit Singh
The hegemonic rise of Hindu nationalism and Hindu populism in India has trapped Indian Muslim minorities. The secular Indian state appears to be developing into a Hindu authoritarian state, and one where violence against Muslims is normalised, argues Amit Singh Read more
Farooq Yousaf
Farooq Yousaf and Bilquees Daud highlight the significant risk to women’s rights caused by the failure of the United States to include women in the so-called ‘peace deal’ signed with a male-dominated Taliban. As a consequence, the signs of regression immediately appeared in Afghanistan, and constitute a real threat. Read more
