World politics
Europe's Canada Proposal Is a Bigger Strategic Idea Than a Trade Deal
Ursula von der Leyen's call to open the door to Canadian associate membership points to a Europe trying to build political capacity beyond its own borders.
Latest
Politics without the euphemismsworld
A New Global Poll Suggests Middle Powers Have an Opening
Public comfort with US and Chinese leadership is limited, while Canada, Japan and Australia score better in a new 34-country survey.
asia
India's Economic Optimism Has Fallen Sharply Even as Growth Remains Central to Its Global Story
A 34-country poll records a steep fall in Indian optimism about the next five years, adding another data point to the debate over how households experience headline growth.
asia
South Korea's $350 Billion US Investment Pledge Is Becoming a Sovereignty Question
Seoul's negotiations with Washington show how trade agreements increasingly blur into strategic bargaining over capital, tariffs and security.
asia
Hormuz Is Forcing South Korea to Connect Energy Security With Alliance Politics
Seoul is weighing how far to support navigation security in a waterway central to its energy imports while managing the political risks of military involvement.
middle-east
Saudi Arabia's Oman Oil Route Shows How Infrastructure Is Shaping Middle East Power
Rerouting crude through Oman is easing immediate supply fears, but it also highlights the strategic value of alternative export corridors during regional conflict.
americas
The Fed's Inflation Problem Is Now Entangled With Middle East Geopolitics
Energy shocks from the Iran conflict are complicating US monetary policy, showing how quickly foreign-policy crises can become domestic economic constraints.
opinion
Trump's Mail-Voting Push Is Less About Fraud Than About Who Gets to Write Election Rules
The fight over postal ballots is becoming a constitutional struggle over federal power dressed up as election integrity.
world
Trump Is Asking Ukraine to Spare Russia's Refineries. That Is a Political Choice, Not Neutrality
The US president's request may be defensible as an attempt to ease a global diesel shock. It also asks Kyiv to surrender one of the few tools that directly raises the domestic cost of Russia's war.
europe
France's Centre Is Not Being Squeezed. It Is Being Hollowed Out
With Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon leading many 2027 scenarios, France is approaching an election in which the old centre may no longer define the terms of debate.
Opinion & Argument
All opinionopinion
Trump's Mail-Voting Push Is Less About Fraud Than About Who Gets to Write Election Rules
The fight over postal ballots is becoming a constitutional struggle over federal power dressed up as election integrity.
opinion
The US-China AI Race Is Becoming an Excuse to Avoid Governing AI
Washington says slowing down would hand advantage to Beijing. Beijing says Western safety demands are containment. That circular logic makes every guardrail look like unilateral surrender.
opinion
India's Young Voters Are Not Ungrateful. They Are Tired of Being Told Growth Is Enough
The exam-leak protests exposed a basic weakness in India's political success story: headline growth means less when the path into the middle class feels rigged.
opinion
Pakistan Signed a Defence Pact That Its Geography May Not Let It Keep Ambiguous
Islamabad wants Saudi security ties, Iranian dialogue and freedom from another war. The region may force it to choose which objective comes first.
opinion
A $5,000 Election-Year 'Dividend' Is Populism With a Treasury Account
Handing voters a huge cheque before an election may be legal policy. It is also exactly the kind of politics fiscal conservatives used to ridicule.
opinion
France's Fiscal Crisis Is Becoming a Crisis of Political Credibility
Deficit slippage is not merely a bond-market story. It strengthens the parties that argue France's governing establishment can neither tax, cut nor reform its way out of stagnation.
World
More Worldworld
A New Global Poll Suggests Middle Powers Have an Opening
Public comfort with US and Chinese leadership is limited, while Canada, Japan and Australia score better in a new 34-country survey.
world
Trump Is Asking Ukraine to Spare Russia's Refineries. That Is a Political Choice, Not Neutrality
The US president's request may be defensible as an attempt to ease a global diesel shock. It also asks Kyiv to surrender one of the few tools that directly raises the domestic cost of Russia's war.
world
AI Governance Is No Longer a Tech Debate. It Is Becoming Foreign Policy
US-China competition, export controls and safety warnings are moving frontier AI from regulatory policy into the same strategic category as chips, energy and defence.
Americas
More Americasamericas
Washington's Military-Aid Shift Shows the Western Hemisphere Moving Up the US Agenda
The reallocation of military financing from Europe and the Middle East to Latin America makes the administration's regional priority tangible in budget terms.
americas
The Fed's Inflation Problem Is Now Entangled With Middle East Geopolitics
Energy shocks from the Iran conflict are complicating US monetary policy, showing how quickly foreign-policy crises can become domestic economic constraints.
americas
The Republican Midterm Strategy Has One Candidate: Trump, Even When He Isn't on the Ballot
Republicans are asking voters to treat the 2026 congressional elections as a referendum on Donald Trump. That can mobilise the base, but it also makes every local race answer for the presidency.
Europe
More Europeeurope
Europe's Canada Proposal Is a Bigger Strategic Idea Than a Trade Deal
Ursula von der Leyen's call to open the door to Canadian associate membership points to a Europe trying to build political capacity beyond its own borders.
europe
The EU-China Trade Fight Is Moving From Complaints to Economic-Security Policy
Brussels says its goods deficit with China has reached a tipping point. The harder question is which tools Europe is prepared to use.
europe
France's Centre Is Not Being Squeezed. It Is Being Hollowed Out
With Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon leading many 2027 scenarios, France is approaching an election in which the old centre may no longer define the terms of debate.
Middle East
More Middle Eastmiddle-east
Saudi Arabia's Oman Oil Route Shows How Infrastructure Is Shaping Middle East Power
Rerouting crude through Oman is easing immediate supply fears, but it also highlights the strategic value of alternative export corridors during regional conflict.
middle-east
Saudi Arabia Wants US Help Against the Houthis. Washington Is Trying to Support Without Owning Another Front
Intelligence and targeting assistance offer a middle path between abandonment and direct strikes, but proxy support can still drag patrons toward escalation.
middle-east
Trump's Iran War Has Collided With the Foreign-Policy Promise That Helped Define Trumpism
A movement built partly on contempt for 'forever wars' now owns a widening conflict whose exit conditions remain unclear.
Asia
More Asiaasia
India's Economic Optimism Has Fallen Sharply Even as Growth Remains Central to Its Global Story
A 34-country poll records a steep fall in Indian optimism about the next five years, adding another data point to the debate over how households experience headline growth.
asia
South Korea's $350 Billion US Investment Pledge Is Becoming a Sovereignty Question
Seoul's negotiations with Washington show how trade agreements increasingly blur into strategic bargaining over capital, tariffs and security.
asia
Hormuz Is Forcing South Korea to Connect Energy Security With Alliance Politics
Seoul is weighing how far to support navigation security in a waterway central to its energy imports while managing the political risks of military involvement.
Africa
More Africaafrica
Congo's Constitutional Fight Is Becoming a Test of Presidential Term Limits
Protests over possible constitutional changes show how quickly legal reform can become a legitimacy crisis when presidential tenure is involved.
africa
Nigeria's South Africa Boycott Turns Xenophobic Violence Into a Foreign-Policy Issue
When citizens repeatedly face attacks abroad, governments eventually pay a credibility cost for treating the problem as a matter of police statements and diplomatic reassurance.
africa
The Critical-Minerals Boom Will Not Transform Africa If Processing Stays Elsewhere
Geopolitical competition is raising the value of African mineral deposits. The political question is whether producing states capture more than extraction rents.