While bird flu panic made a return to the UK mainland last autumn, the promised pandemic failed to materialise. What does continue to evolve, however, are repressive forms of population management sustained by hypothetical threats of megadeath – writes C. L-Stavrides

As database profiling of non/citizens grows increasingly pervasive and the dubious promise of 'techno-communism 2.0' haunts the blogosphere, real material differences will continue to sort the technologically ‘liberated’ from the dataslaves, declares Leutha Blissett

The notion of the 'failed state' is recurrently invoked to justify military and security interventions. Reviewing two books which take so-called failed states in Africa and South America as their object of enquiry, Angela Mitropoulos questions the founding premises of 'successful' national sovereignty

This year Europe has experienced what has been touted as 'the summer of art'. With the rare cyclical alignment of the Venice Biennale, Art Basel, Documenta 12 and Munster Skulptur Projekte, organisers of the four events have collaborated on a website [www.grandtour2007.com] to help coordinate the itineraries of those jet-set art lovers that would follow in the edifying footsteps of their 18th Century precursors. In 2007 Art has never been so big and apparently neither have the wallets of those stalking it.

From the Under Fire mailing list, a War Studies academic from King's College ventures an analysis of the current circumstances for production of what has formerly been identified as 'ornamental life'.