12 April 2004

From the Editor…

Welcome to the New Statesman website. Whether you are a new reader or an existing one - online or via the magazine - I hope you'll enjoy the great writing, fresh ideas and provocative debate that make the New Statesman Britain's award-winning current affairs weekly

Jason Cowley, Editor, New Statesman

Cover story

Is fascism behind the terror?

Islamist extremists believe in a worldwide conspiracy not just of Jews, but also of Freemasons. They thus echo the rantings of Europe's extreme right in the 19th and 20th centuries

By Nick Cohen

Features

When men have lost their reason

By Colin Tudge

Is the war on terrorism working? A scientific analysis suggests that it is not and that it has succeeded only in keeping us scared and compliant

Grade expectations at the BBC

By David Cox

Auntie's new chairman may be very popular, but he won't be able to choose the next director general

This man has been called Zimbabwe's Che Guevara. Did Mugabe have him murdered?

By Mark Olden

In a divided land, Josiah Tongogara is a hero claimed by both sides. Mark Olden traces an inspirational life and mysterious death

Panic on the beaches

By Peter Walker

Fears that the Maori own New Zealand's seashore by law have rocked the Labour government

Essay

NS Essay - Babies have now to be trained in the Protestant work ethic

By Suzanne Moore

As parents claim the credit if their child succeeds and professionals say there's something wrong with the family if the kids do badly, Suzanne Moore explores the implications of not trusting children to exercise free will

Regulars

New Statesman Leader

Iraq: how to move on

Diary

Diary - Marcelle d'Argy Smith

By Marcelle d'Argy

I love the way the English who are anti-Europe say, "I've nothing against the French. I'm off there on holiday." They're like men who visit brothels insisting they really like women. By Marcelle d'Argy Smith

Politics

Politics - John Kampfner learns of Tony Blair's nightmare

By John Kampfner

Terrorism, race and asylum have combined to become the most potent mix in modern politics. But Blair cannot, even if he wanted to, pull up the drawbridge

Mark Thomas starts his own think-tank

By Mark Thomas

My new think-tank will cure voter apathy: we will offer prizes and air miles and allow you to swap your vote here for one in America, so you can have a say in British foreign policy

Darcus Howe thinks multiculturalism is a white term

By Darcus Howe

Multiculturalism? The term was foisted on us by bureaucrats of the British state

This England

Competition

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Arts & Culture

Back to the future

By Grant Gibson

The 1960s architectural collective Archigram had a vision of transforming Britain's drab postwar landscape into a technological wonderland, but it never actually built anything. Thanks to retro-chic, its ideas are now enjoying a revival