Johann Hari

Johann Hari (born January 21, 1979) is a British journalist and writer. He is a columnist for "The Independent", the "Evening Standard" and the Huffington Post. His work has also appeared in the "New York Times", the "Los Angeles Times", "The New Republic", "Le Monde" and "Ha'aretz". Hari describes himself as a "European social democrat", who believes that markets are "an essential tool to generate wealth" but must be matched by strong democratic governments and strong trade unions. [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=579]

Early life

Hari was born in Glasgow and raised in London. Having attended Woodhouse College he graduated with a double first in Social and Political Sciences at King's College, Cambridge in 2001 [http://www.johannhari.com/about.php]

Politics

International affairs

Hari has reported from many parts of the world, including Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Venezuela, Central African Republic, Bangladesh, the United States, Rwanda, Peru and Syria.

One of his most frequent topics is opposition to man-made global warming. He is a prominent supporter of the climate change protests camps in Britain [http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-we-should-all-be-at-heathrow-protesting-461337.html] , and has reported from Bangladesh, a country he says is doomed to drowning by global warming. [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=626 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1017 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] He is a critic of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=581 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] arguing instead for global social democracy and a "re-regulation of the global economy." [http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-has-market-fundamentalism-had-its-day-798314.html]

He has campaigned for nuclear disarmament [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=645 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] through support for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=914] . He is a supporter of the international legalisation of drugs,cite news
last =Hari
first =Johann
coauthors =
title = A midnight raid that shows the folly of drug prohibition
work =
pages =
language =
publisher =
date =2006-04-24
url =http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=854
accessdate = 2007-05-07] as he has argued that criminalisation of drugs causes more problems than drug use itself, particularly in fuelling armed gangsterism.cite news
last =Hari
first =Johann
coauthors =
title = The case for providing heroin addicts with safe spaces to shoot up is now unanswerable
work =
pages =
language =
publisher =The Independent
date =24 May, 2006
url =http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=882
accessdate =2007-05-15 ]

Hari has reported from Israel, Gaza and the West Bank [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/appeals/2006-indy-appeal/independent-appeal-what-would-happen-if-the-virgin-mary-came-to-bethlehem-today-429658.html] , where he was very critical of Israeli occupation policies, as well as of Hamas and Islamic fundamentalism [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=556] .

Hari reported from the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3245293] He argued that the Rwandan government invaded to secure economic resources and that the succeeding invasions were effectively by "armies of business" selling Congo's resources to the West. He has also reported from Venezuela's barrios and interviewed Hugo Chavez, whose government he broadly supports, although with some criticisms. [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=873]

He was, in its first year, a supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq after visiting the country, because he believed anything would be better than Saddam, although he always argued the WMD rationale was false. He later wrote his support had been a 'terrible mistake' [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=831 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] and he "should have known all along Bush would produce a disaster." He has subsequently been very critical of the occupation and of supporters of the war who still insist they were right. His post-war writings have been praised by Andrew Murray, Chair of the Stop the War Coalition, as "a tremendous service to the worldwide antiwar movement." [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/jun/19/hariagainstempire2]

British domestic politics

Hari urges his readers to vote for the Green Party where doing so will not split the left vote and let the Tories in. [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=600] [http://blogs.independent.co.uk/openhouse/2008/05/is-it-safe-to-v.html] He supports some policies of the Labour government, such as social programmes like SureStart and child tax credit [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=550] , but opposes others, like the mistreatment of asylum seekers and tax cuts for the rich [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=612] . He argues David Cameron is more right-wing than is generally understood, and is being disingenuous when he claims he will reduce global warming or child poverty. [http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-cameron-a-progressive-i-dont-think-so-826276.html] He is also a republican who believes the Queen should be replaced as head of state by the Speaker of the House of Commons. [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=847]

Prominent themes in his writing over recent years have included the plight of asylum seekers, refugees and detention centres [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=851] Citation
last =Hari
first =Johann
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = How the British government turned the children of asylum seekers into second-class citizens
newspaper = The Independent
pages =
year =2004
date = 16 October
url = http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=463] and in 2004, Hari appeared as a guest on Richard Littlejohn's "Sky News" to debate the issue of exactly how much asylum seekers get in benefits, where he accused Littlejohn of being a "liar".cite news
last =Hari
first =Johann
coauthors =
title = The asylum-hating press - and the politicians who appease them - have blood on their hands
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = The Independent
date =2004-04-16
url =http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=380
accessdate = 2007-05-07] Hari is critical of UK prison policies, claiming that rehabilitation is impossible in overcrowded prisons, and that far too many mentally ill people are incarcerated.cite news
last =Hari
first =Johann
coauthors =
title = How our prisons are crammed with the mentally ill
work =
pages =
language =
publisher =The Independent
date =2005-10-15
url =http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=693
accessdate = 2007-05-07 ] cite news
last =Hari
first =Johann
coauthors =
title = Blunkett's recipe for wasted money and higher crime
work =
pages =
language =
publisher =The Independent
date =9 June, 2004
url =http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=400
accessdate = 2007-05-13 ]

Hari, who is openly gay, supports gay rights, advocating full legal equality, including same-sex marriage. cite news
last =Hari
first =Johann
coauthors =
title = Gay marriages last longer
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = The New Statesman
date =10 September, 2001
url =http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=186
accessdate = 2007-05-15 ] He has criticized radical gay theorists, and ideas of gay difference, superiority or separatism. [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=352]

Hari is a strong defender of the European Union and supported Britain joining the Euro. [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=73 Johann Hari - Archive ] ]

Notable Secularist

Hari is a noted secularist and has recently been nominated for the Secularist of the Year Award by the National Secular Society and has also written in favour of free speech [ [http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/johann_hari/article344192.ece Johann Hari: Free speech for all, Abu Hamza included - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent ] ] and against alternative medicine. [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=521 Johann Hari - Archive ] ]

He has defended rationalism and what he sees as enlightenment values, which he believes are under attack from several angles. [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=348 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] A self-described antitheist, [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=540 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] he has criticised Buddhism, Islam, [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=395 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] Judaism and Christianity. He has criticised the Catholic Church's stance on birth control [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=985 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] and Islamist attitudes towards women. [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1105 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] He has been accused of Islamophobia, a charge he denies. [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=897] He has also been critical of postmodernist views. [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=871 Johann Hari - Archive ] ]

Public disagreements

With George Galloway

Hari has engaged in a long disagreement with his Member of Parliament, George Galloway whom he accused of "supporting a string of dictators" and being a remnant of the part of the left that supported Stalinism. [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=778 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] Galloway contested this. [ [http://www.respectcoalition.org/index.php?aid=103 RESPECT - The Unity Coalition - In the press ] ]

With Niall Ferguson

In 2006, Hari engaged in a public debate with the historians Niall Ferguson and Lawrence James in "The Sunday Times", "Daily Mail" and "The Independent" about the overall effect of the British Empire in India. Ferguson viewed British colonialism as, on balance, a positive thing for India, whilst Hari argued that the British Empire was a form of totalitarianism comparable with Stalinism. [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=903 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] [ [http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article994043.ece Niall Ferguson: Home truths about famine, war and genocide - Commentators, Opinion - The Independent ] ] [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=909 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] [ [http://comment.independent.co.uk/letters/article1095992.ece Letters: Criminal justice system - Letters, Opinion - The Independent ] ]

With the Chapman Brothers

In 2007, Hari criticised the Chapman Brothers for adopting an anti-Enlightenment philosophy, and for Jake Chapman saying that the boys who murdered Liverpool toddler James Bulger performed "a good social service" [ [http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/johann_hari/article2237694.ece "The art of subverting the Enlightenment".] "The Independent", 5 February, 2007. Retrieved 9 February, 2007] . Jake Chapman responded by calling Hari "fat-faced ugly [and] four-eyed" and "a fascist", and claimed the Bulger quote and others had been "stripped from the serious debate in which they belong" [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1067 johannhari.com] ] .

With Mark Steyn

Hari has frequently disagreed with Canadian writer Mark Steyn, particularly on the subject of Muslims. While Hari defends the use of the word 'Islamofascism' to describe jihadis, he has written that "It has been picked up by some people, like the vile Mark Steyn, who seem to think that all Islam is evil. I dislike all religions and would happily see the whittling away of every last church and mosque, but to imply that all Islam is on a par with al-Qa’eda is grotesque." [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=346] . Hari has also criticised the emphasis on demographics in Steyn's writing. In a review of Steyn's book 'America Alone', Hari condemned passages he argued showed Steyn to be celebrating that more "white babies" are born in the US, and his prediction that there will be "evacuations" of white people from France by 2015. [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1082] . However, when complaints were submitted regarding Steyn's writings to the Human Rights Commissions in Canada, Hari defended his right to free speech. [http://blogs.independent.co.uk/openhouse/2008/06/standing-should.html]

With Nick Cohen

In 2007 Hari reviewed Nick Cohen's book "What's Left" in the American "Dissent" magazine, where he called for Cohen and others (like Hari himself) who supported the Iraq war from a left-wing perspective to admit they had been wrong and had profoundly misunderstood neoconservatism. [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1157 "'What's Left' by Nick Cohen: A book review, and a eulogy for the pro-war left"] , "Dissent", 20 July 2007, as reproduced on Johan Hari's website.] . Cohen argued that Hari's review was "Maoist" and "deceitful". [ [http://www.nickcohen.net/?p=248 "'What’s left?', "Dissent",] as reproduced on Nick Cohen's website.] . Hari responded by offering quotes from Cohen's writing which he argues backed up his claims and accusing Cohen of "a baffling denial of his own words". [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1161 "A response to Nick Cohen's response: Bizarre denials and hyperbole"] , "Dissent", 29 July 2007, as reproduced on Johan Hari's website.] Soon after they were both nominated for the Orwell prize, which Hari won.

Other writing and work

Hari is also the author of a book about the British monarchy which called for a republic, "God Save the Queen?", where he argues that the system of monarchy does deep psychological damage to the members of the royal family as well as conflicting with democracy. [ [http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=603 Johann Hari - Archive ] ] He has also written a play called "Going Down in History", which was greeted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with positive reviews, most notably by the "Daily Telegraph" as the work of "the new David Hare". ["Daily Telegraph", August 17 2001] ]

Awards

* The Orwell Prize for political journalism, 2008
* Amnesty International Newspaper Journalist of the Year in 2007
* One of Debrett's top 100 international 'People of the Year' in 2007
* 'Young Journalist of the Year' at the British Press Awards in 2003
* 'Student Journalist of the Year' by the Times in 2000

References

External links

* [http://www.johannhari.com/index.php JohannHari.com] Official website, featuring an archive of his writings.
* [http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/johann_hari Articles for the "Independent"]
* [http://www.littleatoms.com/sounds/johannhari.mp3 Interview] with Johann Hari on Resonance FM's Little Atoms chat show.
* [http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/X/x/what_can_i_do_about_it/the_young_ones/1.html Profile] of Hari from Channel Four
* [http://www.democracynow.org/print.pl?sid=06/08/07/1436229 Hari discussing Congo] on Democracy Now
* [http://laanta.blogspot.com/2005/11/johann-hari-interviews.html Commentary] on Interview with Hari
* [http://laanta.blogspot.com/2005/11/johann-hari-interviews.html Sudan Tribune article] about Hari's commentary on the role of corporations in Darfur