STEVE JOHNSON recommends a protest album with a harder edge than many in the genre
Russia in the labyrinth of Middle East politics
This is a concise and timely handbook to Russia policy in the Middle East, writes GAVIN O’TOOLE
Russian ground support Sukhoi Su-25 at Latakia, Syria on October 3 2015
[Mil.ru/CC] 
DENNIS BROE finds much to praise in the new South African Netflix series, but wonders why it feels forced to sell out its heroine
CARL DEATH introduces a new book which explores how African science fiction is addressing climate change
In his second round-up, EWAN CAMERON picks excellent solo shows that deal with Scottishness, Englishness and race as highlights
Fiery words from the Bard in Blackpool and Edinburgh, and Evidence Based Punk Rock from The Protest Family
MATTHEW HAWKINS is mesmerised by a performance that dissolves the line between audience and performer
MATTHEW SHARPE recommends the essays of a Renaissance politician that instruct and unnerve after 400 years
Russian Foreign Policy towards the Middle East: New Trends, Old Traditions
Edited by Nikolay Kozhanov
Hurst £25
WHILE there is still no hard evidence that Syrian mercenaries recruited by Russia have arrived in Ukraine or started fighting there, there is no doubt thousands have signed up to do so.
Reports have proliferated since March that Moscow is using its close ties with the regime of Bashar al-Assad to source a new supply of potential cannon fodder for its Ukrainian adventure.
There is nothing new about Syrian fighters serving as mercenaries abroad in countries such as Libya on behalf of Russian foreign policy interests, often under the cloak of deniability and at low cost.
More from this author
GAVIN O’TOOLE welcomes the reissue of a seminal work of revolutionary theory that have genuine relevance in the current context
GAVIN O’TOOLE explores the resistance expressed by central American artists to their own erasure by US imperialist policies
Here’s an antidote to the Venezuela election-induced tantrums of Western elites. GAVIN O’TOOLE reviews it
GAVIN O’TOOLE applauds an analysis of culture that explains why political conflicts today are focused more on values and identity than the economy and social questions
