Asia
South Korea’s President Declared Martial Law. Parliament Defeated It Within Hours. This Is What Institutions Are Supposed to Do.
South Korea has just experienced one of the most extraordinary democratic crises in its modern history. Late on 3 December, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, accusing opposition forces of paralysing government and engaging…
Georgia’s Government Has Suspended Its EU Bid. The Protests Show That Foreign Policy Can Become a Question of National Identity.
Georgia has returned to the centre of the struggle over Europe’s political boundaries. On 28 November, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that his government would suspend efforts to begin European Union accession negotiations until 2028,…
Rich Countries Have Agreed to Provide $300 Billion a Year for Developing Countries. The Argument Is Whether That Number Is Large or Almost Meaningless.
The COP29 climate summit in Baku ended this weekend with developed countries agreeing to take the lead in mobilising at least $300 billion per year for developing countries by 2035, replacing the old $100 billion…
BRICS Is Getting Bigger. The More Important Question Is Whether More Members Actually Means More Power.
The BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, concluded this week with leaders from an expanded group attempting to present something increasingly visible in international politics: the institutions created after the Second World War no longer reflect…
BRICS Is Getting Bigger. The More Important Question Is Whether More Members Actually Means More Power.
The BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, concluded this week with leaders from an expanded group attempting to present something increasingly visible in international politics: the institutions created after the Second World War no longer reflect…
Iran Has Fired Ballistic Missiles at Israel Again. The Problem With “Restoring Deterrence” Is That Both Sides Are Trying to Do It at the Same Time.
Iran launched roughly 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on 1 October, its second direct attack on the country this year and a major escalation from the shadow war that defined their relationship for decades. Iran…
Israel Has Killed Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah Has Lost Its Leader of 32 Years. The Harder Question Is What Comes After Decapitation.
Israel has killed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary-general since 1992 and one of the most influential political and military figures in the Middle East, in a massive air strike on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in southern Beirut.
Israel and Hezbollah Spent Eleven Months Trying to Avoid a Full War. They May Now Be Discovering That Limited Escalation Has a Limit.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has entered its most dangerous phase since the Gaza war began. Over the past week, thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon in attacks…
Modi Went to Moscow in July and Kyiv in August. That Is Not Neutrality. It Is India Trying to Maximise Diplomatic Freedom.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kyiv on 23 August, becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1992. The symbolism was unusually strong…
Sheikh Hasina Has Fallen. Bangladesh’s Harder Test Is Whether Removing an Authoritarian Government Can Produce Better Institutions Rather Than Another Cycle of Political Revenge.
Bangladesh has experienced an extraordinary political rupture in the space of one week. On 5 August, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India after fifteen consecutive years in power, following weeks of student-led…
Sheikh Hasina Looked Politically Unassailable. Then a Student Protest Became a Crisis of the State.
Bangladesh is entering one of the most dangerous moments in its recent political history. What began in July as a student movement against the country’s government-job quota system has expanded into a much broader confrontation…
Narendra Modi Won a Third Term. Indian Voters Also Took Away His Party’s Majority. Both Facts Matter.
Narendra Modi was sworn in today for a third consecutive term as prime minister of India, but he begins that term under a political structure very different from the one that governed India for the…
