We may think of current reactionary politics as radical and new, but unchecked mercantilism has always elicited a fierce backlash from both left and right. Here’s what history tells us about today.
The world’s media, which has in the past found Zambia uninteresting, are suddenly paying more attention to the impoverished nation, for all the wrong reasons.
In a changing and unsettled world, migration can be a greater-than-ever contributor to development for communities of origin, destination areas, and for the migrants themselves.
There are groundswells of civic engagement in a handful of countries, but ensuring the survival of fundamental freedoms in these dangerous times will require a resistance that knows no borders.
France’s president-elect made his name in the global arena, and has a diplomatic bent. Revitalising French foreign policy may well be among his early successes.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES (UPDATED) Hungary has passed a law monitoring the finances of foreign-funded NGOs, another blow to civil society in Viktor Orban’s increasingly “illiberal democracy”.
Other regions may be helpful to Erdoğan for a short time, but they cannot substitute the economic and political contributions Turkey requires of Europe.
Balancing domestic expectations and delicate relations with neighbours while trying to deal with North Korea’s race to become a nuclear power will make for a challenging five-year term.
Macron’s win showed France is internationalist, outward looking, pro-EU and free market-oriented; Le Pen’s rise revealed that it’s also nationalist, protectionist, anti-EU and suspicious of outsiders.
Moha Ennaji, International Institute for Languages and Cultures
Trying to reintegrate foreign fighters who return home shouldn’t be considered the soft option. Governments in countries like Morocco and Tunisia need to respond realistically to a complex problem.