On asylum, the UK’s political class has failed everyone - again and again. This audio deep dive into the making of the modern Home Office finds out why

From military barracks to private security guards: what kind of country awaits asylum seekers reaching the UK?

In 2014, an American dad claimed a tiny parcel of 'unclaimed' African land to make his daughter a princess. But Jack Shenker had got there first – and learned that borders are delicate and volatile things

Scotland’s independence referendum isn’t about nationalism. It’s about a system that failed, and a new generation looking to take a chance on itself

An exclusive investigation for the Guardian that provoked international outrage, and forced a policy change across Europe

Mohamed Munadi's Tunisian village was barely affected by the uprising, but when Libya erupted he was one of many who fled to new shores

In Karakalpakstan, an obscure corner of central Asia where the waters of the Aral Sea have turned to desert, Jack Shenker finds a nation fleeing ecological disaster and authoritarian rule