Battles in Print & Culture Wars

Battles in Print are specially-commissioned essays that explore topics being discussed at the Battle of Ideas 2008, serving as introductions to the debate and encouraging further reflection. Battles in Print take a variety of forms, from short provocation essays to longer think pieces and interviews, and are available both online and in print at the festival itself. They are complemented by themed book reviews on Culture Wars, the Academy of Ideas' online review, which was relaunched this summer.

Editors: Dolan Cummings and Sarah Boyes

The 2008 Battles in Print are now available below. Select a theme on the left to see related Battles in Print from the archive.

 Politics & Ideology

Remaking citizens for the ‘Big Society’, Kathryn Ecclestone

Not classless, but class stasis, Neil Davenport

Trust in an age of cynicism, Dave Clements

Deshistoricising the Holocaust: remembrance and the abandonment of history , Dr Jean-Marc Dreyfus

Are we all cooperative now?, Rob Killick

What does it mean to be a liberal? An interview with Frank Furedi, Frank Furedi, interviewed by Sarah Boyes

'Elf-and-Safety: a case study in the perils of left-right thinking, Dolan Cummings

West versus East: the dangers of premature extrapolation, Bill Durodié

Questioning the carnivalesque , Ashley Frawley

Refocusing remembrance , Ted Harrison

Twenty years after the Wall came down: Dissonant German Unity, Sabine Reul

Rethinking welfare, Dave Clements

Towards a more profitable discussion about production, Angus Kennedy

Expenses, the loss of trust and why self-regulation's what we need, Angus Kennedy

A Journeying Perspective, Jack Tan

Rethinking therapy culture, Kathryn Ecclestone

The Truth? - you must be making it up!, Sarah Boyes

Lead on, Macduff: McLeadership and the real thing, Dolan Cummings

Whose culture is it anyway?, Sarah Boyes

Capitalism, the financial crisis, and us, Dolan Cummings

Slam-Dunk the Funk - Defending Progress in the Age of Environmentalism, Lee Jones

Radicalism then and now: what’s changed since 1968?, Maria Grasso

Down with cant: up with rhetoric!, Angus Kennedy

Identity politics: undermining democracy?, Munira Mirza

Can philosophy change your life?, James Gledhill

The domestic limits to American international leadership after Bush, Tara McCormack

What next for the EU?, Chris Bickerton

The End of Left and Right, George Hoare

The Gates of Eden are rusting!, Don Eales

The resurrection of religion: Moving beyond secularism or losing faith in politics?, François Houtart interviewed by Alex Hochuli

The quest for certainty and the question of autonomy, Stratos Ramoglou

The Public Service Customer: Misdirection, Manipulation or Myth?, Nicki Senior

Post Ideology: the moralising of society and the politics of behaviour, Russell Jacoby interviewed by Maria Grasso

Democracy and its discontents, Peter Mair interviewed by Maria Grasso

Engaging the youth: Am I bovvered?, Charlie Winstanley

Post Ideology: New Labour and the politics of behaviour , Emily Turnbull and Michael Blomfield

Nature's revenge?, Joe Kaplsinsky

Who are we in the 21st century?, Suzy Dean

Postmodern Europe: the silent revolution, Marc Glendening

Money is not the root of all evil, Patrick Hayes

What's up with student politics?, Rob Walsh

Is the rise of religion and faith-based politics a problem?, Martin Summers

Clash of Civilisations or Cultural Crisis?, Bill Durodié

The rise and rise of human rights – an unalloyed good?, James Gledhill

The Happiness Trap: promoting well-being or lowering horizons?, Lotte Meteyard

The Battle for History: national narratives versus personal memories, Chris Bickerton

The Battle for Affluence, Stuart Simpson

 Festival Buzz

"I was amazed by the high quality of the Battle of Ideas 2007 and the intellectual excitement that it provoked."
Prof Malcolm Grant CBE, president and provost, University College London