Politics
Trump Delays Russia Sanctions as Energy Crisis Exposes Limits of Economic Coercion
Donald Trump has postponed the implementation of major sanctions against Russia, reopening a difficult debate about whether economic pressure can remain credible when the country imposing it becomes increasingly vulnerable to the consequences. On 16…
Georgia’s Parliamentary Dispute Deepens as Opposition Challenges Democratic Legitimacy
Georgia’s political crisis has become a test of whether a country can retain the formal institutions of democracy while gradually weakening the conditions that make those institutions meaningful. The governing Georgian Dream party has continued…
Morocco Election Exposes the Limits of Economic Growth Without Political Trust
Morocco’s parliamentary election this week has taken place against an unusual contradiction. The country has attracted substantial foreign investment, expanded infrastructure and positioned itself as an increasingly important manufacturing and commercial hub between Europe and…
Sweden Election Gives Centre-Left Narrow Lead as Europe’s Rightward Shift Meets Resistance
Sweden’s election has produced a narrow advantage for the centre-left opposition led by former prime minister Magdalena Andersson, potentially ending four years of conservative government supported by the right-wing Sweden Democrats. The result is particularly…
BRICS Summit in New Delhi Shows Both the Promise and Limits of a Multipolar World
The BRICS summit in New Delhi has produced exactly the kind of image India wanted: Narendra Modi hosting Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Masoud Pezeshkian and leaders from across the Global South, with Xi visiting India…
France Faces Another Political Crisis as Government Struggles to Control Debt
France is entering another difficult political autumn as its government struggles to reconcile two realities that increasingly seem incompatible: voters want the welfare and public services associated with the French social model, while the state…
India and China Resume Border Talks as Relations Continue Cautious Thaw
India and China are continuing their cautious attempt to repair relations after six years in which the Line of Actual Control (LAC) transformed from a manageable disagreement into one of Asia’s most dangerous military frontiers.
Trump’s Fed Clash Reopens the Debate Over Central Bank Independence
Donald Trump’s confrontation with the Federal Reserve has become one of the most consequential institutional disputes of his second presidency. Trump has repeatedly attacked the Fed for keeping interest rates too high, arguing that monetary…
Trump and Putin Meet in Budapest as Ukraine Peace Deal Faces First Major Test
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have met in Budapest only weeks after the July framework that halted most large-scale fighting in Ukraine, with the negotiations now shifting from stopping the war towards deciding what the…
Israel Approves Major West Bank Settlement Expansion as Two-State Solution Shrinks Further
Israel has approved another major expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, intensifying an argument that has become increasingly difficult to avoid: governments can continue declaring support for a two-state solution while simultaneously allowing…
Taiwan Holds Major Military Drills as China Pressure Intensifies
Taiwan has completed another major round of military exercises as pressure from China around the island continues to shape one of the most dangerous security dilemmas in the Indo-Pacific. Taipei’s exercises have increasingly focused on…
Trump Signs Russia-Ukraine Peace Framework as Territorial Dispute Is Frozen
After more than four years of full-scale war, the United States, Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a framework intended to bring sustained large-scale fighting to an end. The settlement does not resolve the conflict…
