Politics
Chile Election Sends Jeannette Jara and José Antonio Kast to December Runoff
Chile has voted in the first round of a presidential election that looks almost completely different from the one that brought Gabriel Boric to power four years ago. With nearly all votes counted, Jeannette Jara,…
US Government Shutdown Nears an End After Record 40-Day Standoff
The longest federal government shutdown in American history appears finally to be approaching an end. After 40 days without normal government funding, a group of Senate Democrats has joined Republicans behind a compromise that would…
Trump and Xi Reach One-Year Trade Truce After South Korea Summit
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Busan, South Korea, on 30 October, producing the most significant easing of the US-China trade confrontation since Trump’s return to office. The two governments have agreed to step…
Japan Has Chosen Sanae Takaichi to Lead Its Governing Party. If She Becomes Prime Minister, Japan Will Have Its First Female Leader and One of Its Most Conservative Governments in Years. Why a Country Defined for Decades by Pacifism Is Becoming Much More Comfortable With Power.
Japan is entering a potentially historic political transition. Sanae Takaichi has won the leadership of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, placing her in position to become Japan’s first female prime minister and giving the country…
Madagascar’s Protesters Wanted Rajoelina Gone. Now He Is Gone, and the Military Has Taken Power. Removing a Failed Government Is Much Easier Than Building a Better One.
Madagascar’s Gen Z uprising has achieved the objective that appeared almost impossible only weeks ago: President Andry Rajoelina is no longer governing the country. But the manner in which he fell should complicate any simple…
Madagascar’s Young People Are Protesting Over Water and Electricity. That Sounds Like a Local Infrastructure Problem. It Is Actually a Much Larger Question About What Makes a Government Legitimate.
Madagascar has entered a major political crisis after weeks of youth-led protests against power cuts, water shortages, corruption and poor governance developed into a broader challenge to President Andry Rajoelina’s government. The demonstrations began in…
Georgia’s Ruling Party Says It Won Every Municipality. The Opposition Tried to Force Its Way Into the Presidential Palace. A Country That Once Seemed Almost Certain to Join Europe Is Now Fighting Over What “Europe” Even Means.
Georgia’s political crisis has entered a substantially more dangerous phase. In yesterday’s local elections, the governing Georgian Dream party claimed victory in every municipality across the country after the two largest opposition blocs boycotted the…
Moldova Is Voting Between Europe and Russia. Can a Small Democracy Remain Politically Sovereign When Much Larger Powers Can Influence Its Politics Without Crossing Its Border.
Moldovans are voting today in one of the most consequential parliamentary elections in the country’s recent history. President Maia Sandu’s pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) is attempting to retain enough parliamentary power to…
Britain, Canada, Australia and Others Are Preparing to Recognise Palestine. Recognition Matters, but a State Cannot Survive on Diplomatic Recognition Alone.
The international diplomatic balance around Palestinian statehood is undergoing one of its largest changes in decades. Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, several Western governments have moved towards formally recognising the…
Nepal’s Government Tried to Ban Social Media. Days Later, the Prime Minister Was Gone. The Protests Were Never Really Just About Social Media.
Nepal has just experienced one of the most dramatic political upheavals in South Asia in years. What began with anger over the government’s decision to block major social-media platforms rapidly developed into a much broader…
Xi, Putin and Modi Just Stood Together in China. The Image Matters Because the World Is No Longer Dividing Neatly Into an American Bloc and an Anti-American One.
China has spent the past week making a very deliberate argument about the international system it wants to build. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, Xi Jinping hosted leaders including Vladimir Putin and…
Four Years After the Taliban Returned to Power, Afghanistan Is More Stable and Less Free. That Combination Is Exactly Why the Regime Is Difficult to Understand.
Four years have now passed since the final American military forces left Afghanistan on 30 August 2021, completing a withdrawal that ended twenty years of US-led military involvement and allowed the Taliban to consolidate control…
