From the moment the presidential race started taking shape, it was clear that along with being a contest between two candidates, the election would also be a contest between two different approaches to winning. Team Romney and its super PAC allies signaled that they would raise a ton of money to run a traditional campaign […]
Germans have long since made up their minds about Mitt Romney. Only 5 percent would give him their vote if they had one, they say. The result of the most recent poll by Forsa is far from surprising. When America votes, the German heart traditionally beats for the Democratic candidate. To many, the Republicans are […]
Sitting in the study of the prime ministerial bungalow in New Delhi, surrounded by manicured lawns and palm trees, Indian leader Manmohan Singh and his soon-to-be finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram pored over plans late into the evening to stem a growing sense of crisis. Singh, the 80-year-old soft-spoken architect of the country’s economic opening two […]
Two historically momentous events will unfold in the next few days. The Americans will decide who will run their country for the next four years, and the Chinese Communist Party will bring in a new leadership that would be responsible for shaping the world’s second-largest economy for the next decade. While there is little similarity […]
In Syria‘s horrific civil war, Islamists, ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood to radical Salafi groups, are leading the fight against Bashar al-Assad. Once the war is over, Sunni Islamic political groups are bound to become the most important political force in the country. But Islamic politics is on the rise throughout the region, not just in Syria. In […]
AS WITH comedy, timing matters when delivering a political punchline. On October 28th India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, at last reshuffled his cabinet. It was long overdue, made necessary by the departure in September of a coalition ally, and more generally by the growing sense, over several months, of a government adrift: dominated by aged […]
The party of Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych has claimed victory in a closely fought parliamentary election. Officials from the Party of Regions said the result showed Ukrainians had confidence in their leader. Partial exit polls suggested Mr Yanukovych’s party had gained the most votes, but opposition parties did better than expected. Thousands of observers are in Ukraine […]
The green shoots of recovery are growing a little taller. Newly released gross domestic product estimates measuring consumer and government spending, investments and net exports show the economy growing at 2 percent in the third quarter, up from 1.3 percent in the second. In normal times, this would be nothing to get excited about; average GDP growth between […]
SINCE the days of Park Chung-hee’s often brutal dictatorship (he seized power in 1961 and was assassinated in 1979), South Korea has transformed itself as a democratic nation. Its politics, enlivened by occasional fisticuffs in the National Assembly, are among the most vibrant in Asia. The bid by the late strongman’s daughter, Park Geun-hye, to […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin turns 60 on Sunday, his grip on power weaker than in the past but under little immediate threat if the oil price stays high. Adoring supporters will celebrate in cities from Siberia to Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, where the ruling party‘s loyal Young Guard will unfurl a banner on a bridge which […]
looking beyond borders 