Media and Information
Hong Kong’s Zero-COVID Strategy Worked. Then the Virus Changed.
For most of the pandemic, Hong Kong appeared to have accomplished something many Western countries could not. Through strict border controls, quarantine, contact tracing, isolation and aggressive restrictions whenever cases appeared, the city kept COVID…
Ukraine Gave Up Its Nuclear Weapons. What Did It Actually Receive in Return?
For months, the crisis around Ukraine has been discussed primarily through Russia’s intentions. Is Vladimir Putin preparing to invade, using military force to extract concessions, or deliberately maintaining enough ambiguity that nobody can distinguish between…
South Africa Warned the World About Omicron. The World Responded by Closing Its Borders.
By Friday, governments around the world were restricting travel from southern Africa, stock markets were falling, scientists were racing to understand a heavily mutated coronavirus variant and the World Health Organization had classified it as…
The Pandora Papers Reveal Something Bigger Than Tax Avoidance
More than 11.9 million confidential records from 14 companies providing offshore financial services have been examined by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and hundreds of journalists around the world. The investigation involves financial structures…
Belarus, Sanctions and the Limits of International Power
Ryanair Flight 4978 was travelling from Athens to Vilnius when Belarusian authorities informed its pilots of an alleged bomb threat and the aircraft landed in Minsk. Once it did, Belarus arrested opposition journalist Roman Protasevich…
A Ceasefire Is Not Peace
After eleven days of fighting, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire mediated by Egypt. For Israelis who had spent nights running towards bomb shelters and Palestinians who had lived through Israeli bombardment of Gaza,…
Negotiation Without Concessions
This week, international politics is defined by cautious engagement rather than decisive breakthroughs. I observe a recurring pattern across regions: actors signal willingness to talk, cooperate, or reform, yet remain unwilling to yield first. Diplomacy…
Justice, Legitimacy, and the Limits of Institutional Authority
This week, international affairs reveal a recurring tension between legal process and moral legitimacy, highlighting how judicial decisions, public health governance, and political accountability increasingly spill across borders. I observe that institutions, whether courts, regional…
Patience, Signals, and the Mechanics of Global Influence
This week, what I notice most is how patience has become a central tool in international affairs. The world does not move only through action or crisis; it also moves through observation, calibration, and strategic…
When Uncertainty Becomes the New Global Language
This week has felt like the world is learning a strange new vocabulary: one built from uncertainty, caution, and constant adjustment. Every country seems to be revising its expectations by the hour. What began as…
When Information Shapes the World More Quickly Than Diplomats
This week has shown how information can travel faster than diplomacy, and sometimes even faster than truth. As events unfolded across the globe, it became clear that perception now moves politics as much as policy…
The Fragility of Truth
Truth has always been fragile, but in our century, it feels almost endangered. The more we try to hold on to it, the more it seems to slip between our fingers. What once required courage…
