Below is a list of publications by date, with links where available. For academic papers that are only accessible via a university library, I have also included a pdf of an earlier version.
2024
‘Through war and law Turkey aims to make no country safe for Kurds – a weekly news review’ Medya News 14 April
‘Resistance works! – a weekly news review’ Medya News 6 April
‘Grey Wolves on Europe’s streets – a weekly news review’ Medya News 30 March
‘War and peace and a celebration of Kurdish resistance – a weekly news review’ Medya News 23 March
‘The world is silent as Turkey prepares a new offensive against the Kurds – a weekly news review’ Medya News 16 March
‘We can never forget Palestine’ Medya News 11 March
‘Musical myths and cruel reality – a news review’ Medya News 6 March
‘The struggle for a better world, inspired by Öcalan’s philosophy, must continue unabated’ Medya News 4 March
‘The power of language – a weekly news review’ Medya News 24 February
‘After 25 years in prison, Öcalan has become a leader for a new generation – a weekly news review’ Medya News 17 February
‘Broken lives and broken promises: between earthquakes and elections – a weekly news review’ Medya News 10 February
‘War crimes by Israel and Turkey’ Medya News 4 February
‘What is America doing in Syria? – a weekly news review’ Medya News 3 February
‘A democratic experiment by La France Insoumise’ Green Left 2 February
‘Colonial powers and international institutions, the cases of Syria and Gaza – a weekly news review’ Medya News 27 January
‘Humza Yousaf must fight for all oppressed people and reject Erdoğan’ The National 21 January PDF
‘War is peace: Erdoğan’s rebranding of aggression as self-defence – a weekly news review’ Medya News 20 January
‘Humanity on trial – a weekly news review’ Medya News 13 January
‘Demirtaş to state prosecutor: “You are a colonialist. We are working on living together” – a weekly news review’ Medya News 6 January
‘2023 in Kurdistan – a review of the year Part 2’ Medya News 1 January
2023
‘2023 in Kurdistan – a review of the year Part 1’ Medya News 31 December
‘Ethno-sectarian politics in Iraq – a weekly news review’ Medya News 23 December
‘A social contract amid Syria’s ruins – a weekly news review’ Medya News 16 December
‘Can united humanity succeed where united nations have failed? – a weekly news review’ Medya News 10 December
‘Freedom struggles – a weekly news review’ Medya News 2 December
‘If you hate antisemitism, don’t support Israel’ Green Left 2 December
‘Opera and the Kurdish Question – a weekly news review’ Medya News 25 November
‘On war crimes and crimes against humanity – a weekly news review’ Medya News 11 November
‘On being Jewish’ a poem Youtube
‘Campaigning under the shadow of Gaza – a weekly news review’ Medya News 4 November
‘Rojava is suffering at the hands of Turkish bombing’ The Sunday National 29 October PDF
‘Invoking the wrath of God – a weekly news review’ Medya News 29 October
‘A tale of two genocides – a weekly news review’ Medya News 21 October
‘No Liberté in France as demonstrations are banned’ Bella Caledonia 16 October
‘There are no “military solutions” – a weekly news review’ Medya News 14 October
‘Turkey is trying to bomb Rojava out of existence’ Bella Caledonia 9 October
‘Pre-announced war crimes and mass detentions – a weekly news review’ Medya News 7 October
‘North and East Syria between imperialisms’ Medya News 30 September
‘Impunity to murder – a weekly news review’ Medya News 23 September
‘The scramble for Kurdistan and the power of Iran – a weekly news review’ Medya News 16 September
‘The “art of the possible” in Deir ez-Zor – a weekly news review’ Medya News 9 September
‘”Such a parcel of rogues” in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq – a weekly news review’ Medya News 26 August
‘Life imprisonment from age 14 – a Turkish show trial’ Bella Caledonia 24 August
‘What makes. a peace agreement? – a weekly news review’ Medya News 19 August
‘Special warfare in a forgotten war – a weekly news review’ Medya News 12 August
‘ISIS legacy – a weekly news review’ Medya News 5 Aug
‘100 years of Turkish betrayal – a weekly news review’ Medya News 29 July
‘The road to Lausanne and the division of Kurdistan – a weekly news review’ Medya News 22 July
‘Erdoğan puts the world on probation – a weekly news review’ Medya News 15 July
‘Attacking refugee camps, and other everyday violence – a weekly news review’ Medya News 8 July
‘Lawfare from Imrali Prison to Stockholm – a weekly news review’ Medya News 30 June
‘From targeted assassinations to scorched earth – a weekly news review’ Medya News 24 June
‘Putting ISIS on trial – a weekly news review’ Medya News 17 June
‘Iran’s multiethnic revolution and a spotlight on European relations – a weekly news review’ Medya News 10 June
‘A “Turkish Century” in the new world order – a weekly news review’ Medya News 3 June
‘The curse of Turkish nationalism – a weekly news review’ Medya News 27 May
‘Making Turkey Great Again, the rise of the far right – a weekly news review’ Medya News 20 May
‘İbrahim Kaypakkaya’s writings on Marxists and the Kurdish National Question – 50 years after his death’ Medya News 18 May
‘Will spring come again next week? – a weekly news review’ Medya News 13 May
‘The politics of hate – a weekly news review’ Medya News 6 May
‘Erdoğan battles against democracy and his own human frailty – a weekly news review’ Medya News 29 April
‘Beautiful words and dodgy dealings in Turkey’s election – a weekly news review’ Medya News 22 April
‘”He can do anything to reach power again” – a weekly news review’ Medya News 15 April
‘We want our world back – a weekly news review’ Medya News 8 April
‘A historic election in an authoritarian world – a weekly news review’ Medya News 1 April
‘Everywhere Newroz, always freedom – a weekly news review’ Medya News 25 March
‘Battling to be on the ballot paper – a weekly news review’ Medya News 18 March
‘A candidate for the entire opposition? – a weekly news review’ Medya News 11 March
‘A good time for disaster capitalists – a weekly news review’ Medya News 4 March
‘Representing the Iranian revolution – a weekly news review’ Medya News 25 February
‘Earthquake perspectives’ Medya News 18 February
‘Land of borders and barriers: helping Syria’s earthquake survivors’ Medya News 18 February
‘Disasters and dictators’ Medya News 16 February
‘Scapegoats and fall guys in the earthquake zone’ Medya News 14 February
‘Mass manslaughter by culpable negligence’ Medya News 11 February
‘Earthquake in Turkey: the state versus the people’ Bella Caledonia 9 February
‘Existential questions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq – a weekly news review’ Medya News 4 February
‘Human rights versus Turkey – a weekly news review’ Medya News 28 January
‘“Pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will” – a weekly news review’ Medya News 21 January
‘Democracy in the dock – a weekly news review’ Medya News 14 January
‘France: 25,000 march in Paris to demand justice for assassinated Kurdish activists’ with Peter Boyle Green Left 10 January
‘Turkey’s war on hope – a weekly news review’ Medya News 7 January
‘An end of year review: a world realigned’ Part I and Part II Medya News 31 December 2022 and Medya News 1 January 2023
2022
‘Chère Marianne, do you know why the Kurds are angry?’ Bella Caledonia 27 December
‘Murder in Paris and the judiciary as a weapon of war – a weekly news review’ Medya News 24 December
‘Then they came for the CHP -a weekly news review’ Medya News 17 December
‘More attacks, more resistance – a weekly news review’ Medya News 10 December
‘For Rojava, “a matter of to be or not to be” – a weekly news review’ Medya News 3 December
‘Day-X is now: North and East Syria under attack – a weekly news review’ Medya News 26 November
‘Turkey is bombing Kobanê’ Bella Caledonia 21 November
‘Lets ask who gains from the Istanbul bombing’ The National 20 November
‘Instanbul’s perfect bomb attack – a weekly news review’ Medya News 19 November
‘Turkey and chemical weapons: the accusations that no one wants to investigate’ Bella Caledonia 14 November
‘Made in the USA: the age of American imperialism – a weekly news review’ Medya News 12 November
‘Wake up world!- a weekly news review’ Medya News 5 November
‘Kurdistan, the fascists’ graveyard!’ Medya News 29 October
‘Guttering, choking, drowning – a weekly news review’ Medya News 22 October
‘”It’s called a revolution!” – a weekly news review’ Medya News 15 October
‘Women Life Freedom, the revolutionary call of the Kurdish Women’s Movement’ Bella Caledonia 12 October
‘Gender, ethnicity, class and revolution – a weekly news review’ Medya News 8 October
‘Revolution, counter-revolution, and revolution in Iran – a weekly news review’ Medya News 1 October
‘Women Life Freedom: three things the Ayatollahs hate – a weekly news review’ Medya News 24 September
‘The Ukraine affect – a weekly news review’ Medya News 17 September
‘The power of hate – a weekly news review’ Medya News 10 September
‘Imperial legacies – a weekly news review’ Medya News 3 September
‘If you tolerate this your children will be next – a weekly news review’ Medya News 27 August
‘Erdoğan and Assad, a match made in Russia – a weekly news review’ Medya News 20 August
‘Decisions made behind closed doors – a weekly news review’ Medya News 13 August
‘When war is the new normal – a weekly news review’ Medya News 6 August
‘Legacy of Lausanne – a weekly news review’ Medya News 30 July
‘Remembering Jiyan Tolhildan’ Bella Caledonia 27 July. And in French
‘A massacre too far? – a weekly news review’ Medya News 23 July
‘The return of ISIS? – a weekly news review’ Medya News 16 July
‘”Justified security concerns” about Turkey – a weekly news review’ Medya News 9 July
‘Crushing freedom movements is what NATO does – a weekly news review’ Medya News 2 July
‘Sweden at the crossroads – a weekly news review’ Medya News 25 June
‘The attacks never stop, and nor does the resistance – a weekly news review’ Medya News 21 June
‘Who cares about the Kurds? – a weekly news review’ Medya News 11 June
‘Waiting for the invasion – a weekly news review’ Medya News 4 June
‘Waiting on America and Russia – a weekly news review’ Medya News 28 May
‘On NATO’s altar – a weekly news review’ Medya News 21 May
‘Refugees and the hypocrisy of charity – weekly news review’ Medya News 14 May
‘Erdoğan’s blood-soaked electioneering – a weekly news review’ Medya News 7 May
‘Remember the Yazidis: survivors of ISIS genocide now under attack from the Iraqi army’ Bella Caledonia 4 May
‘The American elephant in the room – a weekly news review’ Medya News 30 April
‘Between a rock and a hard place – a weekly news review’ Medya News 23 April
‘Turkey is invading the Kurdistan region of Iraq – and the world has hardly blinked‘ Bella Caledonia 19 April
‘Stand-off in Syria and autocracy in Ankara – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 16 April
‘A good time for autocrats – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 9 April
‘Terrorism: the power of a word – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 2 April
‘”Surely there is more to come. It will be no less inspiring…” – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 26 March
‘We need to talk about Iran – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 19 March
‘Politics in a time of war – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 12 March
‘Closing Down Democracy – the Prosecution of the HDP’ The Turkey Analyst 10 March
‘Neither Washington nor Moscow – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 5 March
‘In the shadow of Ukraine – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 26 February
‘Ekushey – the Bengali origins of International Mother Language Day’ Medyanews 21 February
‘This shall pass – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 19 February
‘Relentless war- a weekly news review’ Medyanews 12 February
‘America: the dog that didn’t bark in the night – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 5 February
‘Putting the ISIS prison attack in context – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 29 January
‘Turkey and ISIS in deadly partnership – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 22 January
‘Turkey’s forever war against North and East Syria’ Medyanews 15 January
‘It’s the economy – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 8 January
‘Bitter winds and green shoots – a review of 2021′ PART I’ Medyanews 1 January PART II Medyanews 2 January
2021
‘Little peace and goodwill – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 25 December
‘Scottish politicians and writers in call to remove the PKK from the Terrorism list’ Bella Caledonia 22 December
‘The power of resistance – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 18 December
‘Something rotten in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’ Medyanews 11 December
‘Politics in court – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 4 December
‘Politics on the streets – Sarah Glynn’s weekly news review’ Medyanews 28 November
‘Post-Erdoğan dreams – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 21 November
‘Crisis at the Belarus border contains a warning for the future’ The National 17 November. pdf
‘”Die here or go to Poland” – a weekly news review Medyanews 13 November
‘Averting disasters – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 6 November
‘Kurdish group claims Turkey is using chemical weapons. Why is nobody investigating?’ Open Democracy 5 November
‘Discipline and punish – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 30 October
‘Normalising fascism – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 23 October
‘Erdoğan’s war for votes – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 16 October
‘After 23 years of international conspiracy – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 9 October
‘Political manoeuvres – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 2 October
‘For better housing and against fascism – the East End rent strikes of the 1930s’ History Workshop Online 28 September
‘Giving peace a chance? – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 25 September
‘Democracy at the crossroads – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 18 September
‘Cold War against the Kurdish Freedom Movement – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 11 September
‘The art of war – a weekly review’ Medyanews 4 September
‘When is a war not a war? – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 28 August
‘Surviving the American Century – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 21 August
‘The mother of all struggles – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 14 August
‘Marx and Me’ Human Geography 9 August. Downloadable pdf: Marx and Me
‘Politicking while Turkey burns – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 7 August
‘Erdoğan’s anti-Kurdish pogroms – a call for international solidarity’ Bella Caledonia 6 August
‘Nowhere is safe – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 31 July
‘Racist by definition – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 25 July
‘Three small victories and lots of funerals – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 17 July
‘The refugee question, or how Erdoğan gets away with nearly everything – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 10 July
‘Co-housing’ Enough 8 July
‘What about the people? – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 3 July
‘Turkish invasion of northern Iraq could lead to Kurdish civil war’ Open Democracy 2 July
‘Which side are you on – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 26 June
‘Erdoğan’s multifaceted war against the Kurds – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 19 June
‘Turkey is reportedly depriving hundred and thousands of people of water’ Open Democracy 14 June
‘”America’s back” – but what does that mean for the Kurds? – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 12 June
‘Turkey’s war on the environment – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 5 June
‘Daily Oppressions – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 29 May
‘Turkey sows the seeds of future conflict – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 22 May
‘Palestinians Kurds and confusion – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 15 May, and in French here
‘Creating a desert and calling it peace – Turkey’s water war against Rojava’ Green Left 14 May
‘What is happening in Israel and Palestine at the Al Aqsa Mosque’ The National 12 May. Pdf here: 21-05-13 What is Happening in Israel-Palestine – The National
‘This is what colonialism looks like – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 8 May
‘Warfare and Lawfare in Erdoğan’s Turkey – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 3 May
‘The fairest words and the foulest deeds – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 24 April
‘The Kobanê Case: a Turkish show trial’ (with podcast) Green Left 23 April 2021
‘Defending Kobanê is not a crime – an invitation to show solidarity with the HDP’ Bella Caledonia 19 April
‘Great games and smaller tortures – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 17 April
‘Where is the Opposition? – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 10 April
‘”Genocide” postponed – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 3 April
‘Appeasement in the new age of dictators – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 27 March
‘First they came for the Kurds – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 20 March and in French here
‘Where will you be when Turkey murders democracy? – a letter to all democrats’ Bella Caledonia 18 March
‘Mass politics – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 13 March
‘If Orwell’s “1984” did Human Rights – a weekly news review‘ Medyanews 6 March
‘”Grave concern” won’t save democracy – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 27 February
‘Erdoğan on the warpath – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 20 February
‘Turkey’s dirty war gets dirtier’ Green Left 16 February
‘Can reason end this witch hunt? Standing with Ken Loach’ Bella Caledonia 14 February. No longer on website but available here.
‘When Turkey attacks South Kurdistan they attack freedom and democracy – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 13 February
‘Rojava roundup and the return of Gezi Park’ – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 6 February
‘Students in Turkey ‘shoulder to shoulder against fascism” Bella Caledonia 4 February
”Good’ Kurds and ‘bad’ Kurds – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 30 January
‘Serving national interests – weekly news review‘ Medyanews 23 January
‘Choosing not to see fascism – a weekly review’ Medyanews 17 January
‘The long arm of the Turkish ‘law’ – a weekly news review’ Medyanews 10 January
‘Keeping Kurdish hopes alight – 2020 and beyond’ Bella Caledonia 3 January
2020
‘The drip, drip of oppression – weekly news review’ Medyanews 31 December
‘Waking up to Turkish Aggression – a news review’ Medyanews 24 December
‘Last week in perspective’ Medyanews 8 December
‘All Quiet on the Kurdish Front’ Medyanews 1 December
‘What Happened to the Yazidis?’ Medyanews 26 November
‘A Handbook for Revolution’ Bella Caledonia 22 November
‘World Kobane Day: Why we should all know what Kobane Day means’ Sunday National 1 November
‘The Limits of Macron’s Liberté’ Bella Caledonia 31 October 2020
‘Do democratic countries believe in democracy?’ Medyanews 16 October
‘The long march for democracy and Kurdish freedom takes the road from Dundee’ Source 8 October
‘The HDP cannot be silenced – but they need international solidarity’ Bella Caledonia 25 September
‘From Blairgowrie to the Black Sea – Strawberries and Nutella, and the capitalist mode of agricultural production’ Bella Caledonia 13 September
‘Denied freedom of thought and action, but Kurds are fighting back in Iran’ Sunday National 6 September
‘When teaching your mother tongue is punished with imprisonment’ Bella Caledonia 25 August
‘Mosques, Temples, Churches and Politicians’ Bella Caledonia 20 July
‘Sun, sea and suppression: How our Turkish holidays fund a fascist state’ Sunday National 7 June. pdf here: 20-06-07 Sunday National
‘Freedom’s Song – solidarity with the musicians in Turkey’s prisons’ Bella Caledonia 18 May
‘Turkey’s political prisoners face a potential covid-19 death sentence’ Bella Caledonia 20 April
‘After the Deluge’ Source 15 April
‘Portobello Lockdown’ Bella Caledonia 1 April
‘The geopolitics of COVID-19’ Bella Caledonia 20 March
‘Remembering Hevrîn Xelef’ Bella Caledonia 8 March
‘Why the Kurds were branded “Terrorists”‘ The National 23 February
‘How Turkey has Europe over a barrel’ Commonspace 19 February 20-02-19 How Turkey has got Europe over a Barrel – CommonSpace
2019
‘Solidarity with the Kurds of North East Syria’ Scottish Left Review, November/December
‘Civic Scotland is adding its voice to Turkey boycott’ The National, 27 October
‘The resistance goes on’ Commonspace, 18 October
‘The Kurdish Question – a poem for Rojava‘ Bella Caledonia, 16 October
‘Trump green-lights Turkish invasion of NE Syria and the destruction of hope’ Commonspace, 7 October
‘What would “system change” look like’ Commonspace, 20 September
‘The dangers of allowing reversals of democracy to be normalised’ The National, 25 August
‘Hope Vs Fascism in Syria and Iraq’ Commonspace, 24 July
‘The independence movement cannot afford to be neutral on the smearing of Jeremy Corbyn’ Common Space, 19 July
‘Turkey’s Ilisu Dam is a war on culture and nature with catastrophic consequences’ The National, 14 July
‘Lessons for the West from the East: the Kurdish democratic experiment’ Scottish Left Review, July/August
‘Erdoğan has been humiliated by Istanbul election re-run defeat’ Common Space, 24 June
Poems for the Kurdish movement, February – June 2019, Pdf: Poems for the Kurdish movement – Sarah Glynn
‘Victory for the Kurdish hunger strikers – but what next?’ Common Space, 29 May
‘Hunger strikes are over but the Kurds need our support all the more’ The National, 27 May
‘Erdoğan’s little helper – Why is Facebook censoring Kurdish solidarity?’ Common Space, 13 May
‘When it’s normal spending years in prison… the lives of Kurds in Turkey’The National, 5 May
‘Turkish thumbs down to Erdogan, thanks to Kurdish election strategy’Common Space, 1 April
‘Write a letter in support of the Kurdish hunger strikers’ Common Space, 29 March
‘The plight of Kurdish hunger strikers grows – we must not ignore them’ The National, 24 March
‘As the hunger strike rolls on, let’s join the Kurds in a celebration of resistance’ Common Space, 21 March
‘MP remains committed to Kurdish struggle amidst 121 day hunger strike’ The National, 8 March
‘Meeting the Kurdish hunger strikers in Strasbourg has restored my belief in humanity’ Morning Star, 28 February
‘Kurdish hunger strike first hand account: 70 days without food and still smiling’ Common Space 26 February
‘Yesterday Mandela, tomorrow Ocalan’ Common Space, 15 February
‘”We love life so much that we are ready to die for it”: Sarah Glynn from Scottish Solidarity with Kurdistan visits the Kurdish hunger strikers in Strasbourg’, The National, 10 February
‘Hunger strikers tell the world of Turkey’s torture of jailed Kurdish leader’, The National, 3 February
‘Interviews with Kurdish Hunger Strikers’ Common Space, 30 January
‘First Meeting with the Kurdish Hunger Strikers in Strasbourg’ Common Space, 25 January
‘Why are 162 Kurdish political prisoners on hunger strike?’ Common Space, 9 January
2018
‘”Only Alternative Municipal Housing”: Making the Case for Public Housing Then and Now’, in Neil Gray (Ed) Rent and its Discontents: A century of housing struggle, Rowman and Littlefield: London, pp 169-184, pdf: ‘Only Alternative Municipal Housing’
‘Nothing had changed: Everything had changed’ Jewish Socialist, Autumn/Winter 2018/19, pdf: Nothing Had Changed – Everything Had Changed
‘Women Life Freedom!’: What I found on my visit to the Women’s revolution in Northern Syria’ Common Space, 28 August
‘Erdoğan and Netanyahu, two sides of the same Imperialist Coin’ Bella Caledonia, 6 August
‘Labour’s anti-Semitism row is a blatant attempt to undermine Corbyn’s leadership and prevent criticism of the Israeli state’ Common Space, 30 July
‘Whose Art School? A’body’s Art School!’ Common Space, 27 June
‘Turkey on a knife edge as elections loom’ The National, 22 June
‘Afrîn and Manbij – a Tale of Two Cities’, Bella Caledonia, 2 June
‘Does Labour need to talk about anti-Semitism?’ Scottish Left Review 105, May/June, pages 16-17
‘Resistance is life: The Kurdish fight for freedom’ The National, 23 May
‘Meet the working class hero Turkey is trying to rip away from the Kurds’ Common Space, 23 March
‘Women Life Freedom!’, Bella Caledonia, 8 March
‘Why we must stand up for the hope of Rojava’, The National, 6 February
‘The importance of Afrin’, Bella Caledonia, 22 January
‘Hopes for 2018’ Bella Caledonia, 6 January. (Please scroll down to find my contribution.)
2017
‘Scotland must rise up against Universal Credit’ Bella Caledonia, 19 November
‘After Grenfell: Municipal homes for the 21st Century’. A talk given to a public meeting in Norwich sponsored by Norwich Trades Council on 2 November 2017. An earlier version was given at Common Weal’s Housekeeping Scotland event on 7 October 2017. Pdf: Municipal homes for the 21st Century
‘de-FENCE-ible space’ in All Materials of Value: Responses to walking in Salford, edited by John Van Aitken and Jane Brake, Manchester: Institute of Urban Dreaming. (An essay in pictures.) Draft pdf: de-FENCE-ible space
‘A Tangled Web: Sarah Glynn unpicks the fine lines between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism’ Bella Caledonia, 5 September. No longer on website, but accessible here.
‘Talking about Rojava – reflections on the recent international conference on Challenging Capitalist Modernity organised by the Kurdish community in Hamburg’, Bella Caledonia, 4 August
‘On the front line of the battle for benefits’ Bella Caledonia, 12 May
‘We must put grassroots activism at the centre of the Indy campaign’ Common Space, 4 April
‘Spring is always the bleakest time for those forced to rely on benefits’, The National, 1 April
2016
Righting Welfare Wrongs: Dispatches and Analyses from the Front Line of the Fight against Austerity (Editor) Glasgow: Common Print (I edited this for the Scottish Unemployed Workers’ Network, and wrote several of the chapters.) Buy from Common Print here. download free e-book here.
Warning – this book will make you angry!
This volume has been forged through grassroots activism by and with people at the sharp end of ‘welfare reform’. It illuminates everyday battles to maintain human dignity and even existence in the face of the new punitive welfare state. It is about solidarity and mutual support, but it is also about understanding and taking on the bigger politics behind this brave new world of coercion and control. It has been written for everyone who wants to comprehend what is happening and what we can do about it – and maybe even have a laugh along the way.
‘I am convinced that the network must have saved many vulnerable people from going over the edge, as has tragically happened in many parts of the country. I am not surprised now that this same group has written this marvellous book.’ – Paul Laverty, Screenwriter for ‘I, Daniel Blake’
‘Discovering Syria’s “real revolution”: In conversation with PYD co-chair Salih Muslim’, Common Space, 19 December
‘More than ever we need to show our support for Kurds and others under threat around the world’, Common Space, 15 November
‘The anger over ‘I, Daniel Blake’ needs to turn into action – here’s how it can’, Common Space, 31 October
‘Why we must resist the “work cure”‘, Common Space, 12 October
‘This is what democracy looks like: Sarah Glynn – member of Scottish Solidarity with Kurdistan was part of a Scottish delegation to the Democratic Union Party Congress in Brussels, discussing the democratic federalist system they are establishing in the autonomous predominantly Kurdish part of Northern Syria, Bella Caledonia, 30 September
‘What Scotland can learn about democracy from Syrian Kurdistan’, Common Space, 28 September
2015
Byker: Newcastle upon Tyne (with photographs by Keith Collie), Canterbury: Categorical Books. Pdf of text only: Good Homes – text only
New Byker, the Newcastle council estate conceived by Ralph Erskine in the late 1960s, demonstrates the potential for humane and imaginative affordable rented social housing – and the pitfalls of insensitive management and hostile economic and political forces. Its fame as an example of public participation and preservation of the existing community hides a rather more complex reality; but it also obscures the innovation and success of its layout and landscaping, with external spaces planned for social interaction. Erskine’s Byker is visibly unique and still attracts architectural tourists from across the world, but it is designed for living in. Many of those tourists must be shocked at the obvious signs of neglect of this iconic estate, and these reflect the long-term socio-economic neglect of its inhabitants. Architectural listing has opened possibilities of physical regeneration, but with social housing itself under attack, the future of the community remains uncertain. Sarah Glynn’s text looks in detail at the processes through which Erskine’s Byker emerged and developed, and the lessons to be garnered, architecturally, socially and politically. Keith Collie’s photographs capture the visual excitement and pleasure of one of the country’s finest surviving large-scale council estates.
‘The response to “Islamic extremism” that governments don’t want to hear’. Blog for Manchester university Press,
2014
Class, Ethnicity and Religion: A political history of the Bengali East End, Manchester: Manchester University Press. Buy from MUP here.
This exploration of one of the most concentrated immigrant communities in Britain combines a fascinating narrative history, an original theoretical analysis of the evolving relationship between progressive left politics and ethnic minorities, and an incisive critique of political multiculturalism. It recounts and analyses the experiences of many of those who took part in over six decades of political history that range over secular nationalism, trade unionism, black radicalism, mainstream local politics, Islamism and the rise and fall of the Respect Coalition. Through this Bengali case study and examples from wider immigrant politics, it traces the development and adoption of the concepts of popular frontism, revolutionary stages theory and identity politics. It demonstrates how these theories and tactics have cut across class-based organisation and acted as an impediment to addressing socio-economic inequality; and it argues for a left materialist alternative.
Housing for a Better Nation, policy paper for Common Weal
‘Good Housing for a Good Life’, Scottish Left Review 82 May/June
2013
‘The Case for Public Housing’ The Occupied Times
‘Dundee Responds: a reply to Nathan Abrams’ article in Northern Scotland on the history of Dundee’s Jewish community, and to his earlier book chapter, on which that article was based’ Northern Scotland 4 pp 78-86. Pdf to download: Dundee Responds – pre-publication draft
2012
‘You can’t demolish your way out of a housing crisis: A Scottish case study of what happens when neoliberalism becomes built into legislation’, City:analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action 16:6 pp 656-671. Pdf of earlier version: Mass Demolitions and Growing Housing Waiting Lists
‘Blowing up the Past, Destroying the Future’, New Left Project
‘Muslims and the Left: An English case study’, Ethnicities 12:5 pp 581-602. Pdf of earlier version: Muslims and the Left
2011
‘Oor Destroyed Hoosis’ Scottish Left Review 64 pp 20-21 . Pdf version: Multi Story
‘”Regeneration” in Interesting Times: a story of privatisation and gentrification in a peripheral Scottish city’ in Mixed Communities: Gentrification by stealth?, edited by Gary Bridge, Tim Butler, and Loretta Lees, Bristol: Policy Press. Pdf of earlier version: Regeneration in Interesting Times
2010
‘Playing the Ethnic Card – politics and segregation in London’s East End’, Urban Studies. Pdf of earlier version: Playing the Ethnic Card
‘Marxism and Multiculturalism’, Human Geography. Pdf of earlier version: Marxism and Multiculturalism
2009
Where the other half lives: lower-income housing in a neoliberal world (Editor) London: Pluto Press (As well as editing this, I wrote 6 out of 13 chapters.)
‘To feel secure people need good well maintained housing, where they know they can live without fear of having to leave. Our society has consistently failed to provide this. We are told the market will be the answer, but it isn’t. This book will explain why, and point the way to a socially responsible economy’ – Ken Loach
‘This book is a brilliant, compulsive and passionately written case for the continued importance of council housing’ – Mute Magazine
‘At last, a cross-national treatment – theoretical as well as empirical – of how neoliberalism has impacted housing policies and programs, and their effects on us all’ – Chester Hartman, Director of Research at the Poverty & Race Research Action Council in Washington, DC and Adjunct Professor of Sociology at George Washington University.
‘Provides a concise introduction to and a trenchant and impassioned critique of four decades of neoliberal housing policy; it challenges many of the invidious shibboleths of present-day development programmes, and begins the debate about alternatives based on the principles of equity and social justice’ – Professor Joe Doherty, Centre for Housing Research, University of St Andrews
‘Forcing councils to privatise and failing both to build social housing on a big scale or regenerate the estates has been the worst failure of our Labour government. Sarah Glynn and her contributors demonstrate the neoliberal legacy behind this and show the damage it inflicted on society’ – Austin Mitchell MP, Chair of the House of Commons Council Housing Group
This book demonstrates how neo-liberal policy makers have presented cities with a ‘false choice’ between degeneration …. It criticises the short-sightedness of policies of state-sponsored gentrification and the structural inequalities … This is a very readable and robust account of recent urban policy and its critical edge will no doubt challenge and enlighten its readers. – Professor Loretta Lees, Department of Geography in the School of Science and Public Policy, King’s College London.
‘Liberalising Islam: creating Brits of the Islamic Persuasion’ in Muslim Spaces of Hope: Geographies of Possibility in Britain and the West, Edited by Richard Phillips, London: Zed. Pdf of earlier version: Liberalising Islam
‘The Housing Question’ Concept (Journal of Contemporary Community Education, Practice and Theory) pp 19-23. Pdf of earlier version: The Housing Question
2008
‘Soft Selling Gentrification?’ Urban Research and Practice 1:2 pp 164-180 . Pdf of earlier version: Soft Selling Gentrification
‘East End Bengalis and the Labour Party – the end of a long relationship?’ in New Geographies of Race and Racism, Edited by Claire Dwyer and Caroline Bressey, Aldershot: Ashgate pp 67-82. Pdf of earlier version: East End Bengalis and the Labour Party
2007
‘Safe as Houses’, Scottish Left Review 42 pp 12-13. Related pdf: An Alternative Housing Strategy for Scotland
‘But We Already Have Community Ownership – making council housing work’ in Reclaiming the Economy: Alternatives to Market Fundamentalism edited by Andy Cumbers and Geoff Whittam, Glasgow: Scottish Left Review Press pp 141-156. Pdf of earlier version: But we already have community ownership
2006
‘The Spirit of ’71 – how the Bangladeshi War of Independence has haunted Tower Hamlets’ Socialist History Journal 29 pp 56-75. Pdf of earlier version: The Spirit of 71
2005
‘East End Immigrants and the Battle for Housing: a comparative study of political mobilisation in the Jewish and Bengali communities’ Journal of Historical Geography 31 pp 528-545 . Pdf of earlier version: East End Immigrants and the Battle for Housing
2002
‘Bengali Muslims: the new East End radicals?’ Ethnic and Racial Studies 25:6 pp 969-988 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0141987022000009395. Pdf of earlier version
2001
‘The Haveli – a social history’ in Architecture of Rajasthan, Marg, Bombay, pp 102-111. Reissued by Marg August 2004. Pdf of earlier version: The Haveli – a social history
1999
The Way We Worked: an oral history by members of St Hilda’s East Community Centre and Stepney Jewish Community Centre, St Hilda’s, London. (I organised the project, conducted the English interviews and edited the material for publication as a booklet.)
1995
(Publications before 1996 are under my former married name of Tillotson.)
‘Havelis Today: Skeletons of an Extinct Culture’ in The India Magazine, March pp 18-27
1994
Indian Mansions: A Social History of the Haveli, Oleander Press, Cambridge, republished by Orient Longman, Hyderabad India, 1998
‘a well-informed and readable social history’ Times Literary Supplement
‘There are people living today who will recognise in Sarah Tillotson’s narrative aspects of their own lifestyle, but most of us will read with astonishment and enlightenment of a way of life that has gone with the wind… Essential reading for the younger generation and for architects with a conscience.’ Narayani Gupta in India Today
1988
‘“Cultural Tourism” or Cultural Destruction’ in Economic and Political Weekly, Bombay, September 17th pp 1940-1941
1987
‘An Indian “Stately Home” – The Preservation of Jodhpur Fort’ in South Asian Studies 3 pp 71-79
1986
‘The tourist: defender or destroyer; Preserving monuments’ in The India Magazine, March
pp 36-43
Sarah Glynn 