For now, Europe agrees it needs strong defences to deter Russia. But the nationalist right may do well in elections in Spain, France, Poland and Italy. Some are pro-Russian, all oppose European integration. My column on a crisis for European rearmament economist.com/internationa...

Fear united Europe. Nationalism may tear it apart

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin made Europe serious about its own defences. That may not last

economist.com

The folly of Donald Trump’s vision of a Middle East at once run by nationalist strongmen unconstrained by international law, and also made rich by international commerce, shipping, aviation and data centres. My column The Telegram, reported from the Gulf economist.com/internationa...

Donald Trump may love the Middle East to death

The folly of wanting a Middle East run by nationalist strongmen and made rich by global commerce

economist.com

In January Mark Carney told middle powers to fear a world order made lawless by great-power rivalry. Actually the more urgent threat is big-power collusion via a Trump-Putin-Xi love-in. My 3-pager, in place of The Telegram column this week economist.com/internationa...

How to survive a predatory world order

Middle powers face a new threat: Trump-Putin-Xi collusion

economist.com

Putin is escalating his aggression against Ukraine and Europe and European governments are calling out his crimes. That makes short-term sense as a deterrent. One day, it will complicate the messy work of halting the war. My column, reported from #HSF2026

Vladimir Putin and the pariah problem

Emphasising the Russian leader’s wickedness must not come at Ukraine’s expense

economist.com

Democracy is tougher than it looks. Menaced by voter anger, populism and disinfo, it has survived harsh tests before. From 1960s-1990s 1000s of Europeans were killed by political violence. The lesson of those “Years of Lead”? Channel rage into politics economist.com/internationa...

Democracy is stronger than it looks

Open societies have weathered murderous leftists and fascist radicals before

economist.com

It’s too kind to say the Xi-Trump summit was big on pageantry and light on substance. Given the urgent problems that can’t be tackled without China and America, to squander the meeting was a selfish dereliction of duty. My take economist.com/internationa...

America and China’s leaders indulge in pageantry as crises mount

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping squandered a chance to tackle the world’s gravest threats

economist.com

“They would have gotten the deal the other way as well.” In an interview with The Economist, @kajakallas.bsky.social, the EU’s top diplomat, says America could come to a Greenland agreement without the threats. Discover more of our geopolitics coverage with The Telegram: bit.ly/3TeJFMF

Donald Trump wanted Greenland to be part of his legacy, and so it will be. Just not as he imagined. My column, The Telegram, a few days earlier than usual, on the harm done by a presidential tantrum over Arctic territory, even as annexation threats are dropped economist.com/internationa...

Donald Trump drops demands to own Greenland, but the harm has been done

A revised defence pact with Denmark and Greenland is a modest improvement, but annexation threats were a costly blunder

economist.com

China gains when Pres Trump flounders in the Middle East. But the war in Iran has come too soon for China to take full advantage. The country wants to be richer and stronger, and needs a global trading order underwritten by the US to get there. My column economist.com/internationa...

China is not ready for a post-American world

Donald Trump’s disaster in Iran has come too soon for China to take full advantage

economist.com

A shared horror of nuclear conflict led Cold War US and Soviet leaders to cooperate on arms control, as shown in a new film #TheBrinkofWar about Reagan and Gorbachev. Putin, Trump and Xi don’t show the same fear of risks and brinkmanship economist.com/internationa... from The Economist

World leaders are losing their terror of nuclear war

Putin, Trump and Xi control the most powerful arsenals on earth. They should take nuclear risks more seriously

economist.com

The Ukraine war’s costs are rising for both Russia and Ukraine. That’s not changing the calculations of leaders on each side. The result is deadlock, as Ukraine’s allies brace for a long war and 50 years of confrontation with Russia. My column from Sweden economist.com/internationa...

The Ukraine war is intensifying, expanding and stuck

The bleak view from Sweden, a Ukrainian ally braced for 50 years of confrontation with Russia

economist.com

As his presidency flounders, don’t expect Donald Trump to limp off the world stage as a lame duck. Seeking vengeance is more his style. Allies and dependent nations should be especially worried. economist.com/internationa... from The Economist

As his presidency flounders, Donald Trump is more dangerous than ever

Forget lame ducks. America’s president will defend his dominance like an ageing silverback gorilla

economist.com

Great column by @dsorennie.bsky.social in @economist.com: “#Taiwan’s journey from dictatorship to open society had transformed its global standing. But outsiders cannot love its democracy more than its own politicians do.” @heguisen.bsky.social 🇹🇼:

David Rennie@dsorennie.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A bunch of deeply unimpressive politicians are paralysing Taiwan’s democracy for shameful, self-interested reasons. China is the only winner. My column on the KMT-led opposition antics holding Taiwan politics hostage. economist.com/internationa...

A bunch of deeply unimpressive politicians are paralysing Taiwan’s democracy for shameful, self-interested reasons. China is the only winner. My column on the KMT-led opposition antics holding Taiwan politics hostage. economist.com/internationa...

Taking Taiwan’s democracy hostage

Self-interested Taiwanese politicians are making the country increasingly ungovernable. China is the only winner

economist.com

The Economist Insider🎙️| What does Iran want? Sanam Vakil joined @dsorennie.bsky.social for the @economist.com's Insider podcast to discuss Iran's new cadre of leaders and the motives driving Tehran's actions amid the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.

The world’s in a gangsterish state, with Trump, Putin & Xi turning dependencies into protection rackets. That’s a dilemma for candidates to be next UN Sec. General. How to defend basic norms without crossing the veto-wielding bullies of the Security Council? My column economist.com/internationa...

Al Capone would recognise today’s world order. That’s not good

In a gangsterish age, the UN needs an ultra-pragmatist as secretary-general

economist.com

The idea might boil Trump’s blood, but if he had heeded Barack Obama’s core advice to US presidents, “Don’t Do Stupid Shit”, he would be in a far better place today. My column, The Telegram, on how the Iran debacle could consume Trump’s presidency. economist.com/internationa... from The Economist

The Iran war is consuming the Trump presidency

Donald Trump may hate to hear it, but Barack Obama was right about avoiding “stupid shit”

economist.com

To avoid dependency on AI from a domineering America, lots of countries and firms are tempted by open source/weight models from China. But China is an unreliable champion of openness, with ambitions for global dominance of its own. My column, The Telegram economist.com/internationa...

When China’s open-source AI is a trap

America’s quest for AI dominance is scary. China is not the solution

economist.com

As Donald Trump dominates another NATO summit, the alliance’s SecGen Mark Rutte will annoy many Europeans by flattering and placating Trump. My column on why allies should stop grumbling and give Rutte a medal for sacrificing his dignity economist.com/internationa... from The Economist

If ludicrous Trump flattery can save NATO, bring it on

The NATO chief Mark Rutte is quite annoying. It is in a worthy cause

economist.com

The Hormuz debacle has taught friends and adversaries of America a bleak lesson. To get Donald Trump’s respect, show that you can hurt him. My column on a world of coercion. It’s reported from Taiwan, home to a chipmaking choke point economist.com/internationa... from The Economist

Allies learn how to bully America

Can Taiwan use its chipmaking industry to strong-arm Donald Trump?

economist.com

This month @dsorennie.bsky.social is joined by a panel of Latin America experts to discuss Donald Trump’s threats against Cuba, and to consider the likelihood of democratic transition

Will Donald Trump try to take Cuba? | The Economist Insider

Earlier this year Donald Trump vowed that “the honour of taking Cuba” would be his. To make this dream a reality he’s tried economic coercion, imposing a punishing oil embargo on the island that has made ordinary Cubans suffer. Fuel, food, medicine and clean water are all in short supply, but the regime shows little sign of surrendering. A frustrated Mr Trump is now threatening force.  Would America really launch a military operation in Cuba? If it did, would it work? Or can Mr Trump cut a deal with the country’s leaders? David Rennie, The Economist’s geopolitics editor, is joined by a panel of Latin America experts to discuss these questions and consider the likelihood of democratic transition there.

econ.st

To Asian allies, Carney-esque talk of middle powers saving a benign world order is a fantasy. They are sure only America can restrain a China bent on domination, and dislike what they see as selfish European posturing against Trump. My column from Japan economist.com/internationa...

Asian allies are doomed to hug Donald Trump close

Forget middle-power coalitions. Japan and neighbours know that only America can deter China

economist.com

Excellent take on China-EU by my colleague @dsorennie.bsky.social, who travelled to both Beijing and Brussels (having lived in both previously) to gauge the rising trade frictions between them. *Very* sobering assessment of Europe by the Chinese. Nearing contempt, often.

The Economist@economist.com · 6mo ago

Chinese officials are connoisseurs of power and coercion. They see Europe as an economic giant with puny geopolitical leverage, hobbled by its need for consensus among 27 members

The Economist’s The Telegram: The EU and China are stumbling into a trade war – ‘If China is blamed for destroying European steel or carmaking jobs, say, any German chancellor or French president will face demands to intervene.’

The EU and China are stumbling into a trade war

Swamped by Chinese exports, Europe nears a point of no return

economist.com

America’s Founders feared Roman-style decadence.They’d have been alarmed by Trump-era echoes of Caligula, who put his name on temples, erected golden statues of himself, humiliated senators, wooed the public with gladiator games and vowed to make his horse a consul. economist.com/internationa...

America must hope Donald Trump is not a new Caligula

In the annals of rulers committing acts of folly, Roman decadence stands out

economist.com

It’s risky to let Ukraine into the EU-it’s a corrupt, fragile democracy with disputed borders. It’s more dangerous to keep it out. To fight or deter Russia, Europe needs Ukraine.And a spurned Ukraine would be a dangerous neighbour.No easy choices.My column, The Telegram economist.com/internationa...

To fight Russia, Europe needs Ukraine

It is risky to let Ukraine into the EU. It’s more dangerous to keep it out

economist.com

To critics, the mess in the Gulf reflects Trumpian flaws: impatience, hubris, over-reliance on threats, incuriosity about how foreigners think. In fact, several US presidents have made similar blunders. Trump stands out for unusual cynicism & incompetence economist.com/internationa...

A dangerous blind spot in Donald Trump’s Iran war strategy

America sets too little store by foreigners’ beliefs and values. It’s a costly mistake, each time

economist.com

To appreciate the global disorder being unleashed by the Iran war, consider the economic and political pain it is starting to inflict on India, a country that usually boasts of thriving on chaos. My column, The Telegram, reported from Delhi economist.com/internationa... from The Economist

India has much to lose from a world in chaos

Not long ago, India was cocky about handling an unpredictable America. No longer

economist.com

A giant gamble is underway in Iran. The result may take years to be known. An early winner, though, is Israel. Fearing a fight with Donald Trump, allies from Germany to Australia are endorsing Israeli rules of war, notably the killing of enemy govt leaders. My column economist.com/internationa...

Binyamin Netanyahu is the big winner from the Iran war, for now

To avoid a row with Donald Trump, Western allies are endorsing Israeli theories of war

economist.com

Donald Trump is trying something risky: the half-abandonment of allies. He is willing to do much less for the defence of Europe and NATO, but still expects allies to do as America says. That’s not a stable relationship and trust is crumbling. My column from #MSC2026 economist.com/internationa...

Donald Trump’s envoys failed to reassure Europe

A gathering of world leaders in Munich shows how trust has collapsed

economist.com