Russia’s war in Ukraine has affected political life in countries around the world, and this influence has been greater in the countries that are politically closest not to Ukraine but to Russia. Because Ukraine is a democracy and Russia is an authoritarian kleptocracy, the war has highlighted a fundamental clash between alternative political systems. This dynamic raises the stakes considerably, b...

Amid the fractious relationship between Seoul and Tokyo, a heartwarming event illuminated a path forward, paying homage to courageous individuals past and present. The occasion: presentation of an award memorializing a legendary Korean independence fighter. The recipient: former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who has advocated his country’s “infinite responsibility” as a former colonizer...

In an annual exercise since 1947, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists sets its Doomsday Clock to provide an educated guess of how close humanity is to the apocalypse. The organization will announce its 2023 clock this month, and I expect the outlook is bleaker. If the United States responds to rising nuclear danger with more arms control instead of more weapons, it could help push the clock’s ...

Merriam-Webster has announced that “gaslighting” is the official word of the year for 2022. Indeed, the term “gaslighting” and various examples of it were part of a popular meme that circulated the internet last year. This suggests that many people all over the world had reason to pay attention to gaslighting last year because it had affected their lives in one way or another. What, then, is gas...

As we begin the New Year and approach Chinese New Year, we need to reflect on how to face a grimly uncertain future. Gold prices are back up, the Ukraine war grinds on horrendously, politics are messier than ever and most analysts signal a recession ahead. The World Bank’s latest outlook sees the global economy growing by only 1.7 percent in 2023 and 2.7 percent in 2024. That’s a full one percen...

The transition of Croatia into the euro currency zone these days can teach us a lot about bitcoin in the US. According to the ideology of bitcoinism, the citizens of Croatia are making a huge mistake in obeying this transition and abandoning their legacy currency, the kuna. According to bitcoinism, the kuna will become ideal money for the people of Croatia because the government of Croatia decide...

There is something pathetic about the gangs of crazed supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro that stormed Brazil’s congressional building, presidential offices and Supreme Court on Sunday. Congress was not even in session. The mutineers were late: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had been inaugurated a week before. He wasn’t even in the capital on the day, but in Sao Paulo, 1,000 kilom...

Normally, the election of a speaker of the US House of Representatives doesn’t make much news, but not this year. After four days of voting and 15 ballots, Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker in the early hours of last Saturday. To get over the top, McCarthy gave into a long list of demands from far-right members of his paper-thin Republican majority. Starting Monday this week, the new...

For the past few years, the US and the UK have followed strikingly similar political trajectories. Against all odds, populist uprisings captured both countries’ conservative parties, secured power and embarked on projects of national transformation. These efforts went badly (to put it generously), and in due course support for the rebellions subsided. Lately voters have been calling for a rethin...

Dec. 26 last year was a shameful day for the South Korean military. As five drones from North Korea infiltrated into the South Korean airspace for many hours, it failed to shoot them down and only watched as one returned to the North. Military authorities should not only reflect on the disappointment of the people, but also focus on establishing measures to prevent a recurrence. The task should b...