Politics
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…
Kevin McCarthy Prevented a Government Shutdown. Three Days Later, His Own Party Helped Remove Him.
The United States House of Representatives removed Kevin McCarthy as Speaker on Tuesday, something that had never happened before in American history. Eight Republicans joined all Democrats who voted to support a motion introduced by…
Ukraine’s Greatest Long-Term Vulnerability May Not Be Western Military Capacity. It May Be Western Political Patience.
Slovakia voted yesterday in an election whose consequences extend beyond a country of roughly 5.4 million people. Former prime minister Robert Fico’s Smer party finished first with about 23% of the vote, placing him in…
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…
India Did Not Choose Between the West, Russia and the Global South at the G20. That May Be Exactly Why It Mattered.
The G20 summit concluded in New Delhi today with an outcome that looked surprisingly conventional considering how divided its members have become. The group produced a consensus declaration despite disagreements over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,…
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…
China’s Economic Model Helped Produce One of History’s Greatest Growth Stories. It May Now Be Becoming the Problem.
China’s economy is sending increasingly uncomfortable signals. The property crisis that began with heavily indebted developers such as Evergrande has spread towards Country Garden, previously considered one of the healthier major private developers. Consumer spending…
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…
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…
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,…
