As the ideologies of dominant factions within Toryism converge with far-right thought in the rest of Europe, claims that the U.K. does not face radicalization on the right look absurd. The transformation of the Tory Party looks irreversible, but it remains to be seen what kind of far-right movement it will become.
U.S. government efforts to root out Chinese influence in academia have been clumsy at best, discriminatory and counterproductive at worst. Restrictions and guardrails to protect scientific integrity and national security should be applicable to all, not based on ethnicity or national origin.
In late November, Algeria adopted new laws regulating the media and journalism, characterized by the government as allowing for more press freedoms. But considering the government has done so much to eviscerate freedom of expression and tame independent journalism in Algeria, that characterization doesn’t hold weight.
Government-formation talks following the Netherland’s shock elections in November are going into quiet mode, as Geert Wilders, the far-right provocateur who went from fringe figure to would-be prime minister, tries to cobble together a coalition. At the moment, the most likely scenario is a weak and unstable government led by Wilders.
In November, Liberian President George Weah astonished many observers both at home and abroad by conceding defeat to opposition candidate Joseph Boakai in the second round of the country’s presidential election, a move that stands in stark contrast to the recent coups and democratic erosion seen elsewhere in West Africa.
Madagascar could be hovering on the brink of another political crisis after President Andry Rajoelina was declared the winner of a sham election. Amid democratic backsliding and continued French support, Rajoelina will begin his third term with popular discontent and disillusionment with the ruling elite at an all-time high.
British media and policymakers paid only brief attention to a bombing in a South London suburb last week that in other contexts might have generated national panic. This remarkable lack of fuss was partly due to what the bomb had targeted: cameras enforcing an air-quality and climate initiative to discourage the use of older cars.
On Oct. 31, the Biden administration restored Mauritania’s trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, despite Mauritania not having fully eradicated forced labor and slavery. A closer look at several other aspects of U.S.-Mauritania relations may shed light on the Biden administration’s decision.
Although the scale of the unrest that engulfed the streets of Dublin last month took both the authorities and the general public by surprise, it probably shouldn’t have. It is just the latest and most extreme in a series of incidents in Ireland over the past six months fueled by the far right and rising anti-immigrant sentiment.
Israel’s previous wars in the past few decades have had limited economic fallout, in part due to their brevity. But its current conflict against Hamas in Gaza promises to be a more protracted campaign, one that will affect a more significant swathe of the Israeli population and disrupt supply chains to a much greater degree.
In Guatemala, efforts by the outgoing administration of President Alejandro Giammattei to prevent President-elect Bernardo Arevalo from taking office continue despite evidence that Guatemalans are determined to defend the electoral results. Most recently, the government has tried to cook up a criminal case against Arevalo.
Even as Chad’s leader, Gen. Mahamat Idriss Deby, oversees a political transition toward elections planned for next year, he faces significant longer-term challenges to his rule. If he can navigate them, Deby is almost certain to win next year’s election. In the meantime, the day-to-day mechanics of repression will remain intact.
The British national news agenda these days is dominated by debates over migration, economic stagnation and infighting within the Conservative Party. Though understandable, that is obscuring coverage of a breakdown in local governance affecting hundreds of communities across the U.K. that could have a profoundly destabilizing impact.
Former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will likely return to office in mid-December, and from day one the pressure will be on and the task ahead will be immense. Among other pressing issues will be jumpstarting Poland’s energy transition after eight years in which Warsaw adopted an obstructionist approach to the climate crisis.
Yesterday, Venezuela held a controversial referendum to underscore its longstanding territorial claim to Guyana’s Essequibo region. But despite fears the referendum was an effort to provide popular legitimacy for the government to seize and annex Essequibo, there are plenty of reasons why a military operation to do so is highly unlikely.
The Israeli works of popular culture that are the most critically acclaimed in the West are also often the ones that engage the most directly with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To outside observers, that has made it seem as though Israeli society was moving in a more conciliatory direction than it actually has in recent years.
After a brief period of high expectations and progress following last year’s presidential election, Somalia continues to face familiar obstacles. President Hassan Sheikh’s government urgently needs to develop long-term policies and set realistic objectives. But consumed by the stalled war against Al-Shabaab, it has struggled to do so.