Armed Conflict
Gabon’s Election Was Deeply Distrusted. That Still Does Not Make a Military Coup Democratic.
Military officers seized power in Gabon on Wednesday shortly after electoral authorities announced that President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won another term. The officers cancelled the election result, dissolved several state institutions and placed Bongo…
BRICS Is Getting Bigger. That Does Not Necessarily Mean It Is Becoming More Powerful.
BRICS decided this week to invite six additional countries into the organisation. Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to join Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa…
Imran Khan Has Been Sent to Prison. The Question Is Not Whether Politicians Should Face the Law, but Whether Pakistan’s Law Applies Politically.
Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison and arrested after a court convicted him in a case concerning state gifts received while he was prime minister. The case…
NATO Says Ukraine Will Join. It Still Will Not Say When.
NATO leaders met in Vilnius this week only around 30 kilometres from the Belarusian border, with one question dominating much of the summit: what exactly does the alliance mean when it says Ukraine’s future belongs…
Modi’s Washington Visit Was Not Really About Friendship. It Was About Who Builds the Technologies That Will Define the Next Twenty Years.
Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington this week produced all the symbolism expected from one of America’s highest forms of diplomatic recognition. President Joe Biden hosted him at the White House, Modi addressed a joint…
India and America Are Getting Closer. That Does Not Mean India Is Becoming an American Ally.
Narendra Modi will travel to Washington this week for a state visit hosted by President Joe Biden, including a state dinner and an address to a joint meeting of the US Congress. The ceremony will…
The Kakhovka Dam Has Been Destroyed. Modern Wars Are Increasingly Fought Through the Systems Civilians Depend On.
The Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine was destroyed early on Tuesday, releasing an enormous volume of water from the reservoir behind it into communities along the Dnipro River. Thousands of people have been evacuated from…
The G7 Does Not Want to Stop Trading With China. It Wants to Stop Being Unable to Function Without It.
The leaders of the G7 met in Hiroshima this weekend with Ukraine dominating much of the summit. Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Japan, the G7 reaffirmed military, financial and diplomatic support for Ukraine and announced further…
Sudan’s Generals Started a War Neither Can Easily Afford to Lose.
Two weeks ago, fighting began in Sudan between the regular military led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or Hemedti. What initially looked like a…
Sudan’s Democratic Transition Was Supposed to Transfer Power to Civilians. The Men With the Guns Never Really Transferred Theirs.
Heavy fighting erupted across Sudan yesterday between the country’s regular armed forces and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Gunfire and explosions have been reported across Khartoum, while fighting has occurred around airports, military installations…
Tsai Met McCarthy in California Instead of Taipei. China Still Surrounded Taiwan With Military Exercises.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California on Wednesday. Three days later, China’s People’s Liberation Army began major military exercises around Taiwan involving aircraft, warships and simulated operations against the…
Sanna Marin Became One of Europe’s Most Recognisable Leaders. Finnish Voters Still Judged Her Government on Finland.
Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats have lost Finland’s parliamentary election tonight, although describing the result simply as a rejection of Marin would be misleading. The Social Democrats actually increased their share of the vote compared with…
