Bolivia may have a free and fair election
The quotation is usually given as “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” but Lord Acton’s original remark went…
The mysterious allure of being French
On Sunday, New Caledonia voted to remain French by a majority of 53.3 to 46 per cent. That’s…
It could get ugly again in Armenia and Azerbaijan
It’s probably Azerbaijan that started the shooting in this latest round of fighting with neighbouring Armenia. Which is…
Which non-violent revolutions will succeed?
The old calculation was simple and brutal: if you want to overthrow a tyrant, you must use violence.…
Boris Johnson’s cunning plan
“I’ve got a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel,”…
A Trump re-election would alter world views
“To lose one parent… may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness,” wrote Oscar…
Putin, Navalny, and Thomas à Becket
In 20 years of writing about Russia’s President Vladimir Putin – he was completely obscure before 1999 –…
Last days of the old Middle East
The ‘two-state solution’ is still dead. The deal to open diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab…
Lebanon has nothing left to lose, or loot
Beirut has been living with car bombs and air raids on a sporadic but continuing basis for so…
Belarus: the beginning of the end?
“Stop calling me a moustachioed cockroach,” said Alexander Lukashenko. “I am still the president of this country.” But…