Leadership
Assad Is Gone. Now Syria Has to Avoid the Mistake That Has Destroyed So Many Revolutions: Winning the War and Losing the State.
Two weeks after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government, Syria is beginning the much less dramatic and much more difficult process of determining what replaces it. Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS),…
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…
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.
Joe Biden Has Left the Race. The Most Important Question Is Why It Took a Crisis for His Party to Confront the Problem.
Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election today and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris, ending an extraordinary three-week crisis inside the Democratic Party and pushing the United States into territory no major modern presidential campaign…
Iran’s President Has Died. The More Important Question Is Why the Political System Can Continue Without Him.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several other officials were aboard a helicopter that crashed today in mountainous northwestern Iran while returning from a visit to the border with Azerbaijan. As of…
China Built Electric Cars the West Wants. Now the Argument Is Whether Being Too Competitive Has Become a Trade Problem.
China’s rise in electric vehicles is becoming one of the clearest tests of whether the global economy is moving away from the free-trade consensus that shaped much of the last three decades. Chinese manufacturers such…
Senegal’s Government Tried to Delay an Election. Its Institutions Pushed Back. That Is What Democratic Resilience Actually Looks Like.
Senegal votes today in one of the most consequential elections in its post-independence history, but the fact that the election is happening at all has become almost as important as who eventually wins it. President…
Nobody Says They Want a Regional War. That Does Not Mean the Region Cannot End Up in One.
The war that began in Gaza three months ago is increasingly becoming a regional system of interconnected confrontations. Hamas deputy political leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Beirut on Tuesday, in an explosion widely attributed…
The Houthis Cannot Control Global Trade. They Have Discovered They Do Not Need To.
A conflict that began in Gaza is increasingly affecting container ships thousands of kilometres away. Yemen’s Houthi movement has launched missiles and drones towards commercial vessels travelling through the Red Sea and has seized at…
Portugal’s Prime Minister Resigned Without Being Convicted of Anything. That May Be What Political Responsibility Is Supposed to Mean.
Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa resigned on Tuesday, ending nearly eight years at the head of government after prosecutors investigating alleged corruption surrounding lithium mining, hydrogen production and major investment projects searched government ministries and…
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…
