James Thomson
James Thomson

James Thomson is a British editor and travel writer who has been based in Slovakia for more than 10 years. He started working with The Slovak Spectator in 2008, when he wrote the 14th edition of the Spectacular Slovakia travel guide. He has also lived and worked in Austria, Australia, Britain and New Zealand. He teaches undergraduate courses on news and information, 20th-century European history and modern China.

List of author's articles

An illustrative photo

April fool!

As the government auctions off ministries to stay in power, the self-employed are being asked to pay some of the costs.

US President Donald Trump and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico at the CPAC conference in the United States last week.

The age of the bully

Trump and his Slovak admirers are growing ever closer.

Postcard from the east

In which your correspondent visits a library, and dodges a wolf.

This summer, dozens of friends and relatives from abroad made the journey out to eastern Slovakia for a celebration. (Reader, I married her!)

Slovakia’s blessings

Slovakia certainly has its problems, but those of us who live here can count ourselves very lucky that we do.

Veteran KDH MP František Mikloško speaks during a November 17 opposition gathering in Bratislava marking the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

The age of the bullies, and their enablers

The “heroes” of 1989 will not save Slovakia.

An attendee leaves a commemorative cross at the memorial in Čunovo on November 10.

War veterans are honoured by Slovaks and expats at Remembrance Sunday service near Bratislava

The ceremony took place at the site where an RAF bomber was downed 80 years ago, during World War II.

The building of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, commonly referred to as the Slovak parliament, located in Bratislava.

Welcome to the Ozempic economy

Does anyone actually have a plan?

The Noc Vedy festiva in Košice.

Weekend: Let your science nerd out and embrace curiosity

Watch a historical drama about the 1968 invasion, and fly your kite high. Here's what to do during the weekend.

and 1 more
A memorial plaque is unveiled in Banská Bystrica for British and American heroes of the Slovak National Uprising on September 5, 2024.

Banská Bystrica marks contribution of UK, US special forces to SNP

Unveiling a new commemorative plaque, the city's mayor and visiting ambassadors stressed past generations' sacrifice for freedom.

President Peter Pellegrini.

Dangerous words

The SIS says some books pose a threat. But airport paperbacks?

Well over half a million euros' worth of SUVs photographed during a 3-minute walk around central Bratislava in late June.

Lord, won't you buy me a... Lamborghini SUV?

Whatever Slovakia's economic prospects, many people here are living well.

People cross a pedestrian crossing outside the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is being treated, in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Friday, May 17, 2024.

But what about the game?

The prime minister is shot. The country moves on.

Illustrative photo.

Speaking clearly

Why Slovakia seems to pathologise "incorrect" speech.

PM Robert Fico.
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Not the best of times

People in countries that should know better are being treated like serfs, not citizens.

Local wags declared the offending pedestrian crossing a national cultural monument.

Crash test dummy

Think of it less as the ship of state, and more of a dodgem car.

Perinbaba.

Back to the future

You know it’s Christmas in Slovakia when everyone on TV is wearing hose and doublets.

Video

In America, we are all still Czechoslovaks

When politics and history collide, the result can be… well, confusing.

An older village house in Ďapalovce.

When disaster strikes

A rare earthquake reveals family solidarity and institutional weakness.

Smer leader Robert Fico received more than 530,000 preference votes in this year's election.

The devil lurks in the detail

As the dust clears following the September 30 election, some startling facts emerge.

Billboards in Bratislava ahead of the September 2023 early election.
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