ISSUE 143 FEBRUARY 2008
Contributors to this issue
ARAVIND ADIGA ’s novel The White Tiger (Atlantic Books) will be out in March
DAVID ANDERSON is professor of African politics at Oxford University
PHILIP BALL ’s novel The Sun and Moon Corrupted is forthcoming from Portobello
CHRISTOPHER DE BELLAIGUE is the author of The Struggle for Iran (NYRB)
DON BERRY was a journalist for 35 years
DEREK BROWER is a journalist who covers oil, gas and energy politics
TOM CHATFIELD is assistant editor of Prospect
MARK COUSINS is the author of The Story of Film (Pavilion Books)
EMMA CRICHTON-MILLER is a writer and journalist specialising in the arts
KISHWER FALKNER is Liberal Democrat spokesman on home affairs in the Lords
CATHERINE FIESCHI is director of Demos
DAVID FLUSFEDER is a novelist and writer
AC GRAYLING ’s latest book is Towards the Light (Bloomsbury)
CHARLES GOODHART is a professor emeritus at the LSE
CHRISTOPHER HIRD has just established Dartmouth Films
TERENCE KEALEY is the author of Sex, Science and Profits (Heinemann)
MARTIN KETTLE is a Guardian columnist
MARK KITTO is a former entrepreneur. He runs a small business near Shanghai
BEN LEWIS presents BBC4’s Art Safari
MICHAEL LIND is the author of The American Way of Strategy (OUP)
JOHN LLOYD is a writer for the FT
LINDA MELVERN is a honorary professor at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth
PHILIP OLTERMANN is co-editor of How I Write: The Secret Lives of Authors (Rizzoli)
JONATHAN POWER writes for the International Herald Tribune
BEN ROGERS is a visiting fellow of the IPPR. He writes in a personal capacity
WILLIAM SKIDELSKY is deputy editor of Prospect
PAUL SKIDMORE is a fellow at Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
IAN STEWART is the author of Why Beauty Is Truth: The History of Symmetry (Basic)
GEOFFREY WHEATCROFT is the author of Le Tour (Pocket)
JON E WILSON ’s book The Domination of Strangers (Palgrave) is forthcoming
contents
Coverstory 26America still works The US economy is slowing down,but the long-term outlook for the country is more favourable than many think,says Michael Lind.There has also been a sharp improvement in many of America’s social pathologies,such as violent crime and drug abuse,write Peter Wehner and Yuval Levin,p30
Opinions
14Who do we think we are? The attempt to find a British national story by rummaging through history is bound to fail. JON E WILSON
15A warning from Kenya Other African countries may go the same way as Kenya. DAVID ANDERSON
17Cash for culture Despite Arts Council cuts, it’s still boomtime for the arts. EMMA CRICHTON-MILLER
18Why Pakistan fails Why has Pakistan failed while India hasn’t? KISHWER FALKNER
19Perchance to dream The purpose of life is to sleep. DAVID FLUSFEDER
Interview
22Zbigniew Brzezinski The national security adviser to Jimmy Carter discusses the cold war, the urgency of ensuring a swift exit from Iraq, and why the US always gets it wrong on Iran. JONATHAN POWER
Essays
32Critical condition Book reviewing’s authority is being undermined by blogging and an increasingly commercial publishing industry. Literary journalism needs to get better if it is to survive. WILLIAM SKIDELSKY
38The perfect crime? The Rwandan genocide was triggered by the killing of the country’s president in April 1994. The identity of the assassins remains a mystery. Now a witness has emerged with a new story. LINDA MELVERN
46Shopping in Tehran Normal domestic politics has resumed in Iran. Ahmadinejad’s political opponents will now try to make him pay for economic failures. CHRISTOPHER DE BELLAIGUE
50Disenchanted democracies Citizens in all rich democracies are both more sceptical ofgovernment and more demanding ofit. PAUL SKIDMORE
Witness
54Alberta’s oil rush The “tar sands”of northern Canada are home to the world’s largest oil reserve. The oil is bringing massive wealth to the region, but what about the social and environmental costs? DEREK BROWER
Portrait
58Charles Taylor Taylor may be the most important philosopher writing in English today. He is drawn to big issues, and his latest book defends religion from its critics. BEN ROGERS
4 Prospect FEBRUARY2008
