How Russian History Sheds Light on Putin and Prigozhin’s Affairs
September 23, 2023 By: Danica Jenkins In Russia, failed coups portend turmoil and collapse. They also herald greater repression, and a tightening of centralized control. This is because Russian...
Ransom or Realism? Biden’s Prisoner Swap Deal with Iran
September 20, 2023 By: Klaus W. Larres Five American detainees have been released from imprisonment in Iran as the terms of the swap that set them free is drawing criticism. The Biden administration’s agreement with Iran for the swap could be seen as a simple business transaction to free five...
NATO Learning Hard Lessons about its Future in Ukraine
September 11, 2023 By: STEPHEN BRYEN Is NATO learning about its future in Ukraine? If so, it could be a bleak one. While the causes for war vary, inevitably wars become a testing ground for...
A Voice From France’s Past Offers Arguments for Europe’s Future – and Ukraine
September 10, 2023 By: Faisal Al Yafai Journalists know that authors with a book to sell often provide the best quotes. That, in part, explains the reappearance of France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy in the news recently, as an interview he gave to promote his memoirs sparked a storm for...
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Brics Expansion: Six more Nations are Set to Join – What They’re Buying Into
September 1, 2023 By: Bhaso Ndzendze One key outcome of the 15th Brics summit, hosted by South Africa, is the decision to invite six more countries to join the group with effect from January 2024. They are Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. All six...
Re-imagining Democracy for the 21st century, Possibly without the Trappings of the 18th Century
August 7, 2023 By: Bruce Schneier Imagine that we’ve all – all of us, all of society – landed on some alien planet, and we have to form a government: clean slate. We don’t have any legacy systems from the U.S. or any other country. We don’t have any special or unique interests to perturb our...
The Global South is on the Rise – but what Exactly is the Global South?
July 3, 2023 By: Jorge Heine The unwillingness of many leading countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to stand with NATO over the war in Ukraine has brought to the fore once again the term “Global South.” “Why does so much of the Global South support Russia?” inquired one recent headline;...
Lionel Messi: Move to the US is a Creative Deal which Follows in the Bootsteps of David Beckham
June 22, 2023 By: Matthew Hutchinson Few would doubt Lionel Messi’s impact on European football. The scorer of 474 goals during his long career at Barcelona, he has been named the best footballer in the world a record seven times. Now we are about to see what impact Messi will have on football in...
Ukraine war: Prigozhin in Open Rebellion after Kremlin’s Attempt to Bring His Wagner Group under State Control Backfires
June 22, 2023 By: Tracey German Even in such a fast-moving war, still some events have the ability to surprise. The decision by Wagner Group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to lead his troops back across the border into Russia, where he claims he has occupied the military HQ in Rostov appears to have...
How the Ancient Greeks kept Ruthless Narcissists from Capturing their Democracy – and what Modern Politics could Learn from them
June 20, 2023 By: Steve Taylor Ancient Greece was in many ways a brutal society. It was almost perpetually at war, slavery was routine and women could only expect a low status in society. However, there is one important sense in which ancient Greeks were more advanced than modern European...
Kissinger’s Century, and US Complicity
May 25, 2023 Henry Kissinger turns 100 on Saturday. His actions and legacy as a US statesman have been debated for decades, but perhaps at cost to remembering broader US complicity in the foreign policies and philosophies that he and his associates advanced. By: M L CLARK May 27, 2023 is the 100th...
On its 75th Birthday, Israel Still Can’t Agree on What it Means to Be a Jewish State and a Democracy
May 12, 2023 By: Eran Kaplan As Israel celebrates the 75th anniversary of its founding, and nearly a century and a half after the first Zionists came to Palestine from Europe, the core tension behind the country’s establishment – whether a Jewish state could be a democratic state, whether...
In Centennial year, Turkish Voters will Choose between Erdoğan’s Conservative Path and the Founder’s Modernist Vision
May 1, 2023 By: Ahmet T. Kuru Turkey has two historic events on the horizon. On May 14, 2023, voters will go to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections, and in October, the country will celebrate the centennial of the Republic. In 1923, military leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led the...
Return of the Child-Friendly City? How Social Movements are Changing European Urban Areas
April 26, 2023 By: Jonne Silonsaari, Gemma Simón i Mas, Jordi Honey-Rosés, and Marco te Brömmelstroet Urban development and social norms concerning childhood have led European cities to a situation where streets are no longer places for children and young people. Gill Valentine has explained that...