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Curated by Project Syndicate

Confronting Radical Islam

14 commentaries

ISIS and Boko Haram are being driven from their strongholds in Iraq and Nigeria, but terrorist acolytes are seemingly everywhere, with bombings, shootings, and stabbings this year in Dhaka, Copenhagen, Nice, New York, and elsewhere. How can governments respond effectively, without impinging on the fundamental freedoms of open societies?

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  1. Ban the Burkini?
    singer138_Peter Macdiarmid_Getty Images_burqa Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
    Free to read

    Ban the Burkini?

    Sep 8, 2016 Peter Singer thinks societies have a right to prohibit some cultural practices – within limits.

  2. Obama’s Real Mistake in Syria
    hill71_Saul Loeb_AFP_Getty Images_obama speaking Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

    Obama’s Real Mistake in Syria

    Aug 30, 2016 Christopher R. Hill argues that what went wrong with US policy is not what most people think.

  3. The Burqa and French Values
    lenoir8_Nullplus_Getty Images_burkini Nullplus/Getty Images

    The Burqa and French Values

    Aug 25, 2016 Noëlle Lenoir explains why many in France view sartorial rules as necessary to uphold secularism and feminism.

  4. Trump’s Pro-ISIS Foreign Policy
    gerges3_Jeff Swensen_Getty Images_trump foreign policy Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

    Trump’s Pro-ISIS Foreign Policy

    Aug 24, 2016 Fawaz A. Gerges says the US presidential candidate might as well be reading from the Islamic State's script.

  5. How to Stop Terrorism in Europe
    chellaney77_Remko de Waal_AFP_Getty Images_security Remko de Waal/AFP/Getty Images

    How to Stop Terrorism in Europe

    Aug 22, 2016 Brahma Chellaney explains why new internal security measures won't be enough to keep Europeans safe.

  6. Taking Sides in the War Within Islam
    mosque prayer Philippe Huguen/Getty Images

    Taking Sides in the War Within Islam

    Apr 12, 2016 Bernard-Henri Lévy declares a state of intellectual emergency in confronting religious extremism.

  1. stiglitz331_serggnGetty Images_techregulation serggn/Getty Images

    A Big Defeat for Big Tech

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Tech companies know that if there is an open, democratic debate about data security, consumers’ concerns about digital safeguards will win out. And while the industry's lobbyists tried to ensure that no such debate could ever occur, one of their more cynical moves has now been exposed and thwarted.

    details how the industry tried to slip extraordinary protections against regulation into US trade agreements.
  2. zizek27_Giles ClarkeGetty Images_jimmycherizier Giles Clarke/Getty Images

    Haiti’s Proud Boys

    Slavoj Žižek

    If we measure a failed state by the cracks in the edifice of its power, reflected in brewing ideological civil wars, deadlocked assemblies, and increasingly insecure public spaces, we must recognize that the United States is not so unlike Haiti. Both have given rise to violent gangs with political ambitions.

    warns that rich Western democracies are not immune to politically motivated gang violence.
  3. hedegaard11_y Dursun AydemirAnadolu via Getty Images_parliament elections Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Unity Is Europe’s Greatest Asset

    Connie Hedegaard emphasizes the importance of stability amid persistent economic and geopolitical crises.
  4. qian34_PEDRO PARDOAFP via Getty Images_immigration PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

    The Truth About US Immigration

    Nancy Qian warns that overheated campaign-season rhetoric is dangerously polarizing and ultimately self-defeating.
  5. mueller51_ David McNewGetty Images_gop trump David McNew/Getty Images

    The Zombification of Political Parties

    Jan-Werner Mueller argues that Donald Trump’s capture of the GOP’s organizational machinery recalls authoritarian tactics elsewhere.
  6. basu100_David Dee DelgadoGetty Images_newyork David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Legal Behavior

    Kaushik Basu highlights the potential benefits of emphasizing adherence to the spirit of laws, if not their letter.
  7. brown106_KOLA SULAIMONAFP via Getty Images_nigeriaschool Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images

    For Nigeria’s Schools, Safety Must Come First

    Gordon Brown writes that the latest mass abduction of students underscores the dilemma facing parents throughout the country.
  8. owoo1_disabled iStock / Getty Images Plus

    Give Women with Disabilities a Chance

    Nkechi S. Owoo explains what is needed to protect and empower one of the world’s most vulnerable demographic groups.
  9. op_mkurz3_Spencer PlattGetty Images_rustbelt Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    How Capitalism Became a Threat to Democracy

    Mordecai Kurz examines the economic policies and market dynamics that have ushered in America's Second Gilded Age.

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