Editor's note

It’s been 20 years since the deal that paved the way for peace in Northern Ireland. Yet some communities are still plagued by paramilitary violence. Siobhán McAlister, Clare Dwyer and Nicola Carr, who spent time interviewing young people affected by paramilitarism, explain how damaging it still is to young lives.

Stephen Hawking’s final book Brief Answers to the Big Questions, which has recently been posthumously published, leaves open the question of whether time travel might one day be possible. But how seriously should we take this? Peter Millington examines what physics can currently tell us about space and time and says that the answer remains that time travel as we imagine it will probably remain the province of science fiction.

Democracy in Latin America is in crisis, says Pia Riggirozzi. Despite the efforts of left-wing governments to create new, fairer forms of society across the continent, economic woes, corruption and the resistance of business elites have led to widespread disatisfaction. And the far right is filling the vacuum.

Gemma Ware

Society Editor

Top stories

Graffiti in Belfast by republican paramilitary group Action Against Drugs in 2018. Clare Dwyer

Paramilitaries still cast shadows over lives of young people in Northern Ireland

Siobhan McAlister, Queen's University Belfast; Clare Dwyer, Queen's University Belfast; Nicola Carr, University of Nottingham

Two decades after a peace agreement was signed in Northern Ireland, communities affected by the conflict are still living in fear of paramilitaries.

Lwp Kommunikáció/Flickr, CC BY-SA

Stephen Hawking’s final book suggests time travel may one day be possible – here’s what to make of it

Peter Millington, University of Nottingham

Despite his playful optimism, Hawking recognised that the undiscovered laws of physics may prevent time travel.

Supporters of Brazilian far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro celebrate his victory in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 28, 2018. EPA Images

Democracy is at risk in Latin America and the far right is moving in – here’s how it went wrong for the left

Pia Riggirozzi, University of Southampton

Left-wing governments failed to articulate a convincing alternative to neoliberal democracy – and the backlash has begun.

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