The latest European Union leaders meeting was the perfect illustration of how the far-right parties that are gaining popularity across the continent may converge in their positions on most domestic issues, particularly immigration, but remain sharply divided over the question of supporting Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
The U.N. Security Council yesterday sanctioned six people from five armed groups based in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo amid worsening violence in recent weeks that has also caused tensions to escalate between Congo and Rwanda.
Alexei Navalny’s death last week fueled despair among dissidents and emigres struggling to break President Vladimir Putin’s grip on Russia. Now, unless other leading activists can move quickly to revive the remnants of Russia’s democratic opposition, their influence is likely to fade away for the foreseeable future.
As an aspirational great power, India had a big year for its foreign policy in 2023, marked by highlights that brought India’s potential as a political, economic and strategic player to the limelight. However, despite its proactive diplomatic engagements, India’s foreign policy continues to face enduring challenges.
Tensions have escalated between Brazil and Israel in recent days after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva compared Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to the Holocaust.
Senegalese President Macky Sall announced Friday that he would comply with a court order to conduct the country’s presidential election as soon as possible, after he attempted to delay the polls until December. The controversy is just the latest close call for Senegal’s democracy, which has significantly eroded under Sall.
Two recent controversies drew attention to the malaise and frustration regarding the state of soccer in China. But the travails of Chinese soccer are also helpful as a prism for understanding how Xi’s leadership style helps spawn corruption-fueled boom-bust cycles in the economy and the crackdowns that inevitably follow.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the defining symbol for the country’s pro-democracy movement over the past decade, died in jail, according to Russia’s prison service.
The Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards is supposed to help Hollywood forge closer ties with foreign film industries. But flaws in the category’s rules and process have not only have made it highly politicized and often unfair, but have also prevented it from fulfilling its purpose.
Nearly two years into Ukraine’s war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a major change last week, replacing the commander of the Ukrainian military. While we do not know the exact reason for the change, it is also unsurprising—without a clear path to military victory, a rethink of Ukraine’s strategy is necessary.
Russia is developing a space-based nuclear capability designed to target the United States’ extensive satellite network. The threat isn’t urgent, but it is the latest example of Moscow’s efforts to develop, expand and brandish its nuclear arsenal.
In January, Burundi severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda, accusing Kigali of supporting a DRC-based militia that attacked a Burundian town the month prior. Though sudden, the rift between Burundi and Rwanda just two years after their ostensible reconciliation is unsurprising and can be traced to the conflict in eastern Congo.
Last week, negotiations in the Netherlands to form a government led by Geert Wilders and his Euroskeptic, anti-immigrant party collapsed, leaving the country’s political future uncertain. But even as Wilders’ chances of forging a strong governing coalition seemed to crumble, polls show he has become more popular than ever.
Prabowo Subianto appears on track to win Indonesia’s presidential election. The current defense minister will inherit two distinct legacies from President Joko Widodo—one of democratic erosion and one of policy successes.
In August 2023, Japan, South Korea and the U.S. signed a set of documents intended to deepen and institutionalize trilateral cooperation. But whether these agreements can endure will depend on domestic politics in Japan and especially South Korea, and not least of all whether their disputes over historical issues can be overcome.
The recent panic over European military self-reliance has fostered an internal shift in attitudes toward the EU among far-right movements. As they warm to a more-powerful Brussels in the hope that they can shape the EU’s agenda, what once seemed like clear ideological battlelines have become increasingly blurred.
Israel’s planned offensive in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge, has once again raised the intensity of the war in Gaza and renewed international attention on Israel’s military operations.