Worldcrunch
Because of her comments that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would constitute an “existential threat” to Japan, the Japanese prime minister has been facing Beijing’s wrath for three weeks. Taiwan is the central issue in East Asian tensions, and Donald Trump has stepped in with characteristic ambivalence.
In electing Pope Leo XIV, the institution of the Catholic Church appears quite clear about the place it should occupy beyond its spiritual commitment.
The post-liberal world needs an added dose of cautious and realistic diplomacy, and the United States remains its natural promoter. Yet there is little evidence, for now, that the Trump administration has an interest in diplomacy to keep the collective peace.
Will America become revisionist, unilateralist and expansionist under Donald Trump’s second term? In the early 1970s, French philosopher Raymond Aron spoke of the United States as an “imperial republic,” Now, in 2025, there is potentially much less “republic,” and much more “imperialism.”
A breakthrough scientific discovery, the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom and the birthday of the highest-grossing actor of all time.
What will Donald Trump’s foreign policy be in his second term? There is no manual for it, but there are a few clues to understand. This isn’t a typical democratic shift: Nothing will be the same, and there will be no guardrails like during his first term.
Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, Ivan Timofeev of the Russian International Affairs Council, considers which candidate would be better for Russia. While it’s often thought that Moscow should hope for Donald Trump to win, his first term as president shows his “transactional” nature and otherwise minor impact on foreign policy.
The Argentine comic strip, who is now about to get its own Netflix series, was created at a time when Latin America was going through political censorship. A testament to Mafalda’s innocent-but-serious attitude toward world problems, an excellent example of how young people often see more clearly than the rest of us.
Africans account for 43% of all rejected Schengen visa applications for non-Europeans. In light of this inequalities, it is time for the African Union to react and propose a symbolic but powerful alternative: the “Addis Ababa” visa.
In its final communiqué of the Washington summit, NATO severely criticized Chinese support for Russia in Ukraine, drawing a strong reaction from Beijing. China fears that the Transatlantic military alliance is now a tool for the U.S. in its global showdown with China.
Argentina’s rabidly neo-liberal president, Javier Milei, is downsizing the state at home and curbing diplomacy to the bare minimum of promoting the free market, lambasting communism, and nurturing ties with just two, cherished states, Israel and the United States.
Struggling to find drivers in Germany, the Cologne-based trucking company Emons is now successfully recruiting apprentices in the crisis-hit central African countries of Congo and Burkina Faso. While recruiting skilled workers abroad is a slow process, it is always better than unregulated migration.
Jordan Bardella may become the first far-right prime minister in France since World War II. Is this good news for Vladimir Putin?
Zionism shares with Nazism the claims of building what they call National Socialism, though the nationalism always takes over. There are lessons in the Oscar-winning film The Zone of Interest, and the current politics of the far right in Europe.
A chapter of history is closing: that of the active French military presence on the African continent, which will soon be reduced to a bare minimum after being a central element of France’s presence in its former colonial empire.
Under pressure from Arab states and Russia, which calls the shots in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad is tiptoeing away from the Iranian regime, a troublesome ally that has nevertheless spent billions of dollars to help keep him in power.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve Parliament and call special elections caught his international partners by surprise. The stakes are high, especially for Ukraine.
Global sand consumption has tripled in 20 years, to the point where the United Nations has called for countries to rethink their use of this “strategic resource” that is fueling tensions between states.
Comparisons between the wars in Europe and the Middle East tell us a lot about the standpoint of those who compare. They also signal to a new world order that has yet to be shaped.
The French president wants to convince Vladimir Putin to halt military deployment around Ukraine. But some in Moscow believe the Russian president is only interested in negotiating with the U.S. about the wider global balance of power.
The United States has shown it prefers economic incentives over penalties to help keep regional democracies within its orbit and away from China. That is a national-interest opportunity Latin American states cannot ignore.
Switzerland announced, on April 10, that it would hold a peace conference on Ukraine in June. While some 100 countries are expected to attend, Russia will not. So what is behind these talks, and what can be expected from them?
Will former U.S. President Donald Trump maintain his “dealmaker” approach towards Egypt in case he finds his way back to the White House?
Ecuador’s forced entry into Mexico’s embassy has been roundly condemned, but its worst effect in Latin America may be to undermine a regional tradition of dissidents seeking protection in an embassy in their country.
The UN and the international criminal justice system are failing to prevent and punish brazen aggressions and killings around the world. When this period of turmoil ends, states must find new rules and tools to prevent the return of totalitarian violence.
There is major maneuvering among the small but strategic islands in the South Pacific, with China offering security cooperation, and the United States reopening embassies and reviving dormant cooperation.
October 2 – October 8, 2023
The French president expressed his solidarity with Israel while calling for a political solution for the Palestinians; but he also made a surprise proposal for an international coalition against Hamas, which faces several obstacles — but is also a way to “frame” the conflict so that the dormant two-state solution can return.
October 2 – October 8, 2023
September 25 – October 1, 2023
September 18 – September 24, 2023
September 11 – September 17, 2023
China released a new map where it borrows strips of lands from its neighbors. Although this is far from being the first time the country is involved in territorial disputes, Beijing’s growing military shows it has the power (and will?) to try to make it a reality.
August 28 – September 3, 2023
From Gibraltar, a local ship-spotter watches the new Cold War through binoculars: Russian, American and Chinese warships, among others, regularly come through the Strait between Europe and Africa, connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.
Global politics have gotten in the way of humanitarian aid when it comes to the flooding in Ukraine. Zelensky points the finger towards a deep, structural UN shortcoming.
In an exclusive interview with German daily Die Welt, Volodymyr Zelensky comments on the power struggles inside the Russian government. At the same time, he accuses Russia of firing on rescue workers after the dam explosion, and offers harsh criticism for the UN and the Red Cross.
A diplomatic genius for some, a war criminal for others, Henry Kissinger has just turned 100. An opportunity for Dominique Moïsi, who has known him well, to reflect on the German-born U.S. diplomat’s roots and driving raison d’être.
The war in Ukraine is hastening the fall of major world powers Russia and the United States. There can only be one true victor from their protracted battle — China — and far too many risks for the rest of us.
As Russia and China push their way to the top of the power heap, and the United States balks at playing global police force, expect fundamental changes to accepted norms governing international affairs.