Ethics and Political Philosophy
Israel Has a Right to Defend Itself. That Does Not Mean Every Method of Defence Is Automatically Justified.
Israel expanded its ground operations inside Gaza this weekend, three weeks after Hamas launched the deadliest attack on Israelis in the country’s history. On 7 October, Hamas-led militants crossed from Gaza into southern Israel, attacking…
Poland’s Opposition May Have Defeated a Government Accused of Weakening Democratic Institutions. Now It Has to Repair Them Without Doing the Same Thing.
Poland voted today in an election that may end eight years of government by the conservative Law and Justice party, or PiS. PiS remains the largest individual party, winning roughly 35% of the vote according…
Canada Says India May Have Been Involved in a Killing on Canadian Soil. The Evidence Now Matters More Than the Politics.
Relations between India and Canada have deteriorated dramatically this week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Canada’s Parliament that Canadian security agencies were investigating what he described as “credible allegations” of a potential link between…
The Storm Hit Libya. The Scale of the Disaster Was Built Over Years.
Thousands of people are dead and thousands more remain missing after catastrophic flooding devastated the eastern Libyan city of Derna early on Monday. Storm Daniel brought intense rainfall across the region, but the most destructive…
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…
Argentina’s Economy Has Failed So Repeatedly That Radical Change Is Starting to Look Less Risky Than the Status Quo.
Argentina voted today in its unusual nationwide presidential primaries, and the strongest individual performance came not from either of the political movements that have dominated the country for decades but from Javier Milei, a libertarian…
Niger’s Soldiers Say Democracy Failed to Provide Security. That Does Not Mean Soldiers Can.
Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by members of his presidential guard on Wednesday, and the country’s constitutionally elected government has effectively been overthrown. General Abdourahamane Tiani, who commanded the presidential guard that detained Bazoum,…
India Has Built a New Parliament. The More Important Question Is What Parliament Is Supposed to Represent.
India inaugurated a new Parliament building last Sunday. The triangular complex stands beside the old circular Parliament House constructed during British rule and will eventually become the principal physical home of the world’s largest representative…
Turkey Has Inflation, a Weakened Currency and an Earthquake Recovery Crisis. Erdoğan Could Still Win Again.
Turkey is voting again today after neither Recep Tayyip Erdoğan nor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu secured an outright majority in the first round of the presidential election two weeks ago. Erdoğan entered the runoff with the advantage…
America Can Afford to Pay Its Debts. Congress May Still Prevent It From Doing So.
The United States is approaching another debt-ceiling confrontation. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress that the federal government could become unable to satisfy all of its obligations as early as 1 June unless…
If Banks Know Governments Will Rescue the System, Why Should They Ever Be Careful?
One week ago, Silicon Valley Bank was the sixteenth-largest bank in the United States. Today it no longer exists as an independent functioning bank, American authorities have guaranteed all of its deposits, financial markets are…
Two Trains Were Put on the Same Track. Calling That “Human Error” Does Not Explain Enough.
Late on Tuesday night, a passenger train travelling from Athens towards Thessaloniki collided head-on with a freight train near Tempi in central Greece. The passenger train was carrying around 350 people, many of them university…
