The great events in Europe in 1989 had a worldwide impact - and it was in many ways destructive

How do the upheavals of 1989 look now? On the anniversary, openDemocracy writers reflect: Katinka Barysch: Timebends Arthur Ituassu: A time of fusion

While celebrating Europe’s “velvet revolutions” we should recall that what happened in Srebrenica is also part of Europe’s post-1989 history

Guest post by Helen of Police State UK"Today is all about listening to you - we're not here to speak for the Met, nor to defend them." Thus Victoria Borwick, chair of the MPA's newly convened Civil Liberties Panel, opened this morning's open meeting. The scope of the meeting - an evidence gathering session on public order policing, and more specifically the G20 demonstrations in April - had been unclear to some. Many people had brought questions demanding immediate answers, but instead their concerns have been 'noted', with no clear idea if answers will be forthcoming.It may seem late in the day for a data-gathering session on the policing of G20. Photos,video footage, eyewitness accounts and the Climate Camp Legal report have been publically available for months. Hundreds of complaints have been submitted to the IPCC, although fewer have been considered. The HMIC and Select Committee on Human Rights have both compiled investigative reports. This morning, however, the human aspect of hearing personal testimonies felt significant. People spoke emotively and powerfully about their experiences. For many people, this meeting was their first chance to express their grievances publically to those with the authority to address them. The chair handled the flow of speakers well, and I came away satisfied that all the most significant points of concern were granted a hearing. Some members of the panel, even if they were already familiar with the issues, seemed surprised and affected by what they heard. While the lack of clear answers was frustrating, the opportunity for dialogue was nonetheless valuable.Significantly, engagement and human points of contact were a theme of the morning's discussion. Some flagged up the breakdown of communication between police and protestors - sometimes despite the best efforts of activists. One speaker suggested text messages as a communication tool for police on the ground to maintain contact with police liaisons, and another pointed out that confiscating the loudspeaker used by Climate Camp at Bishopsgate prevented the protestors from discussion and making decisions amongst themselves. Police have a responsibility to respond to efforts from protestors to engage them in dialogue and to maintain that communication - as much to humanise the disagreements between both parties as for any resolutions that might be found.

It was a real revolution - but with one missing feature

How, in a year of lost fear and found courage, east Europeans vanquished a degrading system 

The achievement of a radical filmmaker divides and haunts Italy, thirty-four years after his death

Karadzic's refusal to appear in court raises the question of whether war crimes defendants should have the right to self-representation

Italy's showman-premier faces a struggle that will test his "postmodern populism" to the limit

The critics of the Yerevan-Ankara protocols neglect their potential benefits

The Armenia-Turkey accord entails a pragmatic and dangerous silence over the events of 1915

George Papandreou, today with a majority in the Greek parliament, talked to Anthony Barnett in December 2004 as he set out to transform Greek politics

The Irish people's second vote on the Lisbon treaty reveals a serious "democratic deficit"

An al-Qaida militant calls on Germany to leave Afghanistan. But why does he wear a suit and tie? 

Germany's federal elections bring about a fundamental alteration of its political landscape, argues Dennis Nottebaum

The financial crisis and geopolitical shifts open an age of opportunity

The problems of global economy, climate and security are sharpening. Where is Europe's voice?

The Basque militant group continues to defy the Spanish state. Why does it endure? 

Georgia’s disastrous defeat in the conflict of August 2008 is only part of a more complex story

The political fallout of the Russia-Georgia war of 2008 reverberates across the entire Eurasian region

An open letter to President Obama is caught in nostalgia and fails to address emerging global realities.

The Polish philosopher demolished Marxism in the west. How did he get away with it?

The lack of a serious opposition is a political lifeline for Italy’s scandal-drenched prime minister

Jon Lawrence's book, Electing Our Masters: the Hustings in British Politics from Hogarth to Blair, was published this March by OUP. Now he has turned his attention to the next election and the urgent need for real-life political interaction. In this paper on ‘The hustings, broadcasters and the future of democracy' in the History & Policy series, he calls on broadcasters to reinvent the old, irreverent spirit of the hustings to ‘deliver both dramatic television and serious democratic politics.' We have a long and valuable tradition of politicians submitting themselves to rigorous interrogation by the general public - one that he has chronicled in detail -  but only broadcasters can now ensure that that tradition survives and flourishes in the twenty-first century. The problem as he sees it remains residual paternalism and ‘that fear of abandoning professional control'. And the brief recent history that he gives contains few encouraging signs of a major step forward - broadcasters seem only slightly less cautious than their political masters. But Lawrence is clear,  ‘Further expansion of 'vox pop' coverage will not do. Political interaction must lie at the heart of a healthy democracy, and broadcasting is uniquely placed to help facilitate that interaction between public and politicians.'  He is also calling for new ‘public rituals ‘ that bring politicians and public together: ‘Candidates could be selected at open public 'primaries', official nomination hustings could be held in every constituency, and broadcasters could be encouraged to hold Question Time-style encounters across the country during an election, using new technologies to throw them open to the Facebook generation.' Lawrence lays considerable emphasis on ritual, drama and the ‘theatre and entertainment that must be at the heart' of politics if it is to connect, but this does not dilute his ambition for such encounters between the public and their politicians. His aim is the kind of interaction that ‘allows ordinary voters a chance, not just to have their say, but actually to hold their political masters to account.'

Robert Spain reviews Richard Berry, Independent: The Rise of the Non Aligned Politician, (Societas, 2008, 154pp). "Why don't they get people who people is heard of. Why don't they get, like, Frank Bruno standing... the good thing about celebrities is you know what they is like. Otherwise you get an MP and then you find out after a year that they is, like, you know, sleeping with horses." Ali G interviewing Tony Benn. In a case of life imitating art, one of the corollaries of the recent MPs' expenses scandals is the possibility that Esther Rantzen might become my local MP. I am not sure that I know what she stands for nor am I convinced that an election campaign based around the need to combat sleaze would necessarily enlighten me. Yet in constituencies across the country something similar is a possibility. David Cameron attempted to harness this feeling and limit the threat it poses to the Tories, when he promised to "refresh" his party by allowing independents with no Tory experience to stand for selection as MPs. Richard Berry's somewhat presciently timed book examines the phenomenon of independents, focusing upon successful independent candidates, at both national and local elections. The cases covered are all from during Tony Blair's premiership, a commonality not properly explored in the book: although Berry makes the point that independent candidates have been gaining support since 1997, he also notes in passing that some will claim that "this is a rather routine phenomenon for British politics". The sparse use Berry makes of statistics means that he does not conclusively prove his case but he does open up some interesting questions, showing that from 1997 to 2005 independent candidates received a rising percentage of votes in general elections and reminding us that almost 50% of mayoral elections have been won by an independent.

It's worth reading the editorial in today's Mail. It's a furious denunciation of a venal political class that has given up on even the pretence of reforming Parliament.  It's as if the last few months of flipping, moats and duck houses have taught us nothing, with potentially disastorous implications for our democracy, as the Mail points out. The Parliamentary Standards Bill MPs rushed through in time for their 82-day holiday creates an independent body to monitor expenses but it will be up to Parliament itself to consider any punishment. The plans for a legally binding Code of Conduct were removed from the Bill by MPs with the connivance of Jack Straw. The parallel with the failure to properly reform the banking system is striking. Self-regulation is still the watchword. Any threat of serious sanction for lying and corruption has been carefully and deliberately avoided. Like the bankers they so obediently service, politicians will return to business as usual at the earliest possible opportunity. The comfortable victory of Chloe Smith in Norwich North today only confirms this sense. The Tory landslide it heralds makes the prospect of serious democratising change less and less likely by the day. Smith, the first Tory MP to have come of voting age under New Labour, seems friendly and she certainly looks good on TV but listen to what she has to say and she seems capable of little more than Cameronian doublespeak. She may have defeated Labour in the polls, but her arrival confirms the victory of Blairism. This brings me to a fascinating report on politicians I was given by a friend who works for a PR company (I'll link to it if I can find it). It shows the "top" PPCs for each party i.e those that are most likely to win their seats. There is little to tell the Labour and the Tory ones apart. Nearly all of them seem to have spent their lives in politics. Of the 7 Labour ones, at least 5 went to Oxford (it could be more - it doesn't say where the others went).  Of those 5, three studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, the same subject as Cameron and Miliband (to name but two possible future PMs). I hope to do a proper analysis of the report soon because it's extremely enlightening. I mention it here because it shows how the problem of an elite, detached and professionalised political class - which the Mail, especially Peter Oborne, does such a great job highlighting - is going to get much worse following the next election when a new wave of party clones is brought in. Relying on politicans to give us an open responsive democracy really does seem a lost cause. In her victory speech, Smith claimed she will be as "honest" as Ian Gibson. As honest, that is, as an MP who claimed thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money for a "second home" inhabited by his daughter which he then sold to her at knock down rate. Plus ca change, eh?

This letter appears in today's Guardian: Well done to Nick Clegg (MPs' holiday betrayal, 22 July): first, for his protest against the way the two main parties are trying to sweep the expenses crisis under a carpet of minor changes; and, second, for connecting this to the financial crisis. Two months ago both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition were competing with the Lib Dems in their calls to transform the system in the face of a catastrophic loss of trust. Brown called for "a written constitution", Cameron for giving "power to the powerless". Clegg demanded change in "100 days", having pointed out that he had distinguished himself by demanding an end to a "rotten system" all along. But there was an important shift in the Lib Dem position too, which we hope Clegg's contribution means he at least will stick with. His party officials had said constitutional issues did not support on the doorsteps. Now public disenchantment with the governing classes, both political and financial, is tangible. As the Guardian has argued, we need A New Politics. This calls for wide non-partisan demand for thorough reform that appeals to all voters. We aim to contribute to this with an open politics network: Real Change. The fury of voters that no one seems to represent them, and that MPs and Lords permit each other to profit at our expense, exposes us all to the dangers of populism. It is also an opportunity to make reform happen. Guy Aitchison, Anthony Barnett www.realchange.uk.net

The once close relationship between eastern Europe and the US is growing distant. How to put it right?

True to liberal tradition Real Change is beginning with the people, the only sovereign authority. One thousand house meetings will be held and feed into a People's Convention, where the campaign hopes the future shape of our democracy will emerge as well as the strategy to see it done. Real Change is one of a number of ambitious new initiatives rising to the challenge of democratic renewal. 38 Degrees, Vote for Change, Unlock Democracy's campaign for a Citizens' Convention and Real Change have all emerged in what Timothy Garton Ash terms a "constitutional moment", a time of deep disillusionment, economic and political collapse. The bedrock of the establishment, its political legitimacy, has been fatally undermined and each of these responses demand a return to the people for its renewal. Garton Ash believes with popular legitimacy and expert competence the times we live can be shaped and sustained into the "constitutional moment" we need. Yet the authority of expertise has long been the silencer of popular participation: government knows best. Intelligence in Iraq, the spectre of terrorism in SIAC's secret trials, Belmarsh, Forrest Gate, Jean Charles de Menezes, not to mention the experts' false consensus on deregulation of the banks.

With Parliament shutting down until the 12th of October, 38 Degrees is launching a new campaign, MP Holiday Watch, to find out how exactly MPs spend their time. The usual story is that MPs spend this time getting back to their constituents and catching up on case work, but though this might hold true for some, the truth is that we just don't know what our MPs are up to. How many take well paid second jobs or spend most of their time holidaying in the sun rather than dealing with their constituents' issues? Some suggest that asking MPs to divulge details on how they spend the summer recess is intrusive and a needless violation of the privacy of our hard-working elected representatives. But, as David Babbs points out, these arguments sounds more than a little familiar when one considers the rationale for not investigating MPs' expenses for so long… While there might be a case to be made about protecting privacy if 38 Degrees were demanding detailed holiday plans and day to day movements of MPs, the short survey they suggest MPs take 10 minutes filling in seeks simply to build up a picture of how they will spend the recess – how many weeks on constituency work, how many weeks (if any) on a paid second job, and so forth. Requesting a breakdown of how our representatives spend the 82 days they do not have to be at Westminster is simple enough, and doesn't require the exact address your constituency MP will be staying at in the south of Spain, nor whether the kids will be going too.