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Issue 542 of New Internationalist

Reader-owned global journalism

March-April 2023

A world to win

As New Internationalist turns 50, we’ve set our sights on 2073 – what kind of world do we hope to see when we hit our centenary? And what are the pathways to get there?

At the heart of most struggles for justice is the desire for a better world. We don’t just need solutions; we need the courage to imagine they will succeed, and the collective will to make them happen.

Also in this issue, the Right’s attempt to rewrite history in India, the Kurdish feminist revolution and is Ron DeSantis the next Trump, plus debates, ideas, letters, interviews, reviews and much more.

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In the next issue:
Loneliness

In this issue

The Big Story

A world to win

Conrad Landin introduces the Bigger Story: in which our writers make propositions for a just future.

Hope from the seed of trauma

For Andrew Simms the pandemic years reveal the prospect of rapid, transformational change.

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Extractive delusions

Fungi have been touted as a panacea to our addiction to plastics, but Emma McKeever wonders if we are asking the wrong questions.

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Lessons in Tax justice

Amy Hall reports on the Kenyan court case that could give multinational tax avoiders a run for their money. Part of the Decolonize How? series.

Stilling the pendulum

Dinyar Godrej looks to the moment when the perpetual swing of progress and pushback over our identities finally ceased.

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Decision time

How we can turn away from democratic dissolution and build a more participatory future? Nick Dowson explores the possibilities.

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What would your grandchild say?

Rebecca Wilks explores what it could mean to legislate for future generations – with some lessons from Wales.

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Present assignation

What does the future hold for art? A meditation from Raqs Media Collective.

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Cartoon Future

ILYA and Jamie Kelsey-Fry imagine the world in 2073 – when, in spite of 21st century capitalism’s best efforts, things have actually turned out alright.

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Features

Long Read: Before Iran, the Kurdish feminist revolution.

Rahila Gupta explores the Kurdish feminist revolution.

Control alt delete

The Indian Right is on a mission to rewrite history, as Tarushi Aswani reports.

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From the archive: The denial syndrome

We head back to 1990 when Anuradha Vittachi looked at the human tendency for denial in the face of climate change.

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Around the World

Country Profile: Moldova

Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, but wealth is far more evenly distributed than in most.

View from Africa

As legal action is launched in Nairobi against Facebook owners Meta, Rosebell Kagumire asks: are social media bosses beyond accountability?

View from Brazil

Leonardo Sakamoto on trans champions in parliament. Plus: Kate Evans’ Thoughts from a Broad

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View from India

Nilanjana Bhowmick outlines recent progress on abortion rights. Plus: Polyp’s Big Bad World

Mixed Media

Spotlight

Filmmaker Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso on the power of people coming together, as told to Grace Livingstone.

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Book Reviews

Abyss by Pilar Quintana, translated by Lisa Dillman; Call and Response by Gothataone Moeng; The Heart of Our Earth by Tom Gatehouse with Jo Griffin; Banzeiro Òkòtó: The Amazon as the Centre of the World by Elaine Brum, translated by Diane Whitty

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Film Reviews

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom directed and written by Pawo Choyning Dorji; Joyland by Saim Sadiq.

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Music Reviews

Being by Baaba Maal; The Land, the Water, the Sky by Black Belt Eagle Scout.

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Stories making the news

Landless workers take office in Brazil

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Introducing: Ron DeSantis

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Afghanistan’s One Kidney Village

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Turkey’s autocrat goes to the polls

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The techno-tracking of India’s sanitation workers

Spanish judges resist reform

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Peru: self-coup, counter-coup

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Regulars

Agony Uncle

All takin’ and no givin’? Agony Uncle looks at whether working for destructive industries to pay the bills is a long term strategy.

The Interview

Young South African climate activist Ayakha Melithafa speaks to Uyapo Majahana about holding power to account.

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Hall of Infamy – The Wagner Group

The Wagner group, aka Putin’s private army, has been dragged into the limelight by its bloody contributions to the war in Ukraine – but its tentacles spread further.

Southern Exposure

Peruvian photographer David Arias captures the magic of a steaming mug of coffee in the valleys where it is grown.

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Temperature Check

Climate activism is increasingly criminalized around the world. Danny Chivers looks at what can be done to resist.

Letter from Anta

Stephanie Boyd on a final farewell full of warmth in Peru’s southern Andes.

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What if…

Social media were not for profit? Nick Dowson imagines a different world of online communities that puts our needs first.

Past issues

Climate Democracy Economics Technology Human Rights Migration Minorities War & Peace

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