Politics
Bashar al-Assad’s Government Has Collapsed. After Thirteen Years of Civil War, the Hardest Question Is Who Actually Owns the Victory.
Syria has undergone one of the most dramatic political collapses of the twenty-first century. On 8 December, rebel forces entered Damascus and Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, ending more than fifty years of rule by…
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…
Georgia’s Government Has Suspended Its EU Bid. The Protests Show That Foreign Policy Can Become a Question of National Identity.
Georgia has returned to the centre of the struggle over Europe’s political boundaries. On 28 November, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that his government would suspend efforts to begin European Union accession negotiations until 2028,…
Rich Countries Have Agreed to Provide $300 Billion a Year for Developing Countries. The Argument Is Whether That Number Is Large or Almost Meaningless.
The COP29 climate summit in Baku ended this weekend with developed countries agreeing to take the lead in mobilising at least $300 billion per year for developing countries by 2035, replacing the old $100 billion…
Trump Is Building His Second Administration. The Most Important Difference From 2016 Is That This Time He Knows Which Institutions Resisted Him.
Donald Trump’s transition back to the presidency is moving rapidly, and his first appointments already suggest that the second Trump administration may be structurally different from the first. Trump has selected figures including Marco Rubio…
Donald Trump Has Won Again. This Time, Calling 2016 an Accident Is No Longer Possible.
Donald Trump has won the 2024 United States presidential election, defeating Vice-President Kamala Harris and completing one of the most extraordinary political returns in American history. Four years after losing the presidency to Joe Biden,…
America Votes in Two Days. Whoever Wins, Nearly Half the Country May Believe Something Fundamental Has Gone Wrong.
Americans vote on Tuesday in an election that remains extraordinarily close. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are competing across a small group of battleground states that will determine whether Democrats retain the presidency or Trump…
BRICS Is Getting Bigger. The More Important Question Is Whether More Members Actually Means More Power.
The BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, concluded this week with leaders from an expanded group attempting to present something increasingly visible in international politics: the institutions created after the Second World War no longer reflect…
BRICS Is Getting Bigger. The More Important Question Is Whether More Members Actually Means More Power.
The BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, concluded this week with leaders from an expanded group attempting to present something increasingly visible in international politics: the institutions created after the Second World War no longer reflect…
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.
Israel and Hezbollah Spent Eleven Months Trying to Avoid a Full War. They May Now Be Discovering That Limited Escalation Has a Limit.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has entered its most dangerous phase since the Gaza war began. Over the past week, thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon in attacks…
