Events of the last view months of 2022 offer hints about the direction of the world in 2023. In November, results of the US midterm elections deeply damaged Donald Trump’s prospects for a return to the White House. In December, China abandoned its long-held “zero-COVID” policy, beginning the long process of returning to normal. And just before Christmas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to Washington and gave a stirring speech to a joint session of

For many Americans, social media has become a monster. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are seen as festering hotbeds of hate and misinformation that threaten the very foundations of American democracy and civility. Calls for regulation have intensified, with some prominent voices looking across the pond for a model to regulate social media in the public interest. In November, the European Union’s Digital Services Act took effect, with enforcement beginning for some businesses

The world’s leading economists spent most of 2022 convincing themselves that, if the global economy was not already in a recession, it was about to fall into one. But with the year’s end, the global slump has been postponed to 2023. Clearly, the reports that the United States was in recession during the first half of the year were premature, especially given how tight the US labor market is. And, despite the confidence with which many again proclaim the inevitability of a downturn, t

As 2022 draws to a close, I want to pay tribute to a man who devoted his entire life to correcting inaccuracies of modern history and thereby preventing a repeat of foreign territorial ambition on Korean soil. This year marked the 20th anniversary of the death of this self-taught bibliographer and historian, Lee Jong-hak. In remembrance, museums celebrated his life. With the impact of Russia’s territorial grab in Ukraine echoing around the world, the importance of Lee’s self-appoin

More than a decade ago, scholars began pointing to a troubling global trend: a "democratic recession." Dozens of countries were drifting away from democracy toward authoritarianism. The list of backsliders has spanned the globe from India and South Africa to Hungary, Poland, Mexico -- even, in recent years, the United States. Freedom House, a nonprofit organization that rates countries on electoral practices, civil liberties and other measures, has reported 16 consecutive years of the

We all know that both socialism and capitalism have their own upsides and downsides. The capitalist system creates polarization between the poor and the rich in an inhumane environment. Socialism creates a society of equal poverty, totalitarianism and dehumanization. The dilemma we face is that we have to choose one or the either. For some inscrutable reason, many Koreans seem to be in favor of socialism and thus ardently support radical politicians who proclaim they advocate for a socialist sta

This holiday season let’s try to bring a little comfort and joy to our close friends who are feeling disheartened and disillusioned. They realize now that they have been repeatedly disappointed by someone they truly trusted for years. And now we can give these friends a special gift by helping them find a worthy, and much more trustworthy, successor. And in the spirit of the season, we need to make sure the gift we give doesn’t come wrapped in political lectures and tied with ribbons

Before the United States made its chaotic exit from Afghanistan in August 2021, Congress had promised special immigrant visas to Afghans who worked with our military or civilians. Once our allies were without the protection of American forces, they would surely face Taliban revenge. As US troops left, about 80,000 Afghans did make it out of the country, most with the help of their US military colleagues (although tens of thousands who were qualified were left behind). But there was no time for

The biggest news story of 2022 was, without question, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. The war is the most severe conflict in Europe since 1945 and has raised tensions between nuclear-armed NATO and Russia to the highest level since the Cold War. The next biggest news story was the return of inflation in much of the world. Rising prices have pinched family budgets and caused labor and social unrest. To tame inflation, central banks have raised interest rates rapidly, which has added

One of the reasons the public is obsessed with Harry and Meghan is that they represent an important economic trend that resonates well beyond the British royal family: the rising tension between individual branding and the power and prestige of being part of an institution. And it’s not just the royals; it’s an issue for all industries. In the past, if money and security and status were what you craved, your path was clear: You got a job at the most prestigious institution you could

Most Americans are unaware that the United States is already fighting a war with China that involves Taiwan. This war isn't yet being fought with weapons. Instead, it is a battle to control the world's most critical technology: the design and production of microchips -- on which virtually everything in our modern world depends. From microwaves to smartphones to cars, from the stock market to missiles -- our economy and military run on the tiny silicon chips that power computer systems.

Soccer is undoubtedly the most popular sport among Koreans. Whenever World Cup season comes, many Koreans burn the midnight oil to watch the games with the Taeguk Warriors. Whenever a Korean player succeeds in a “goal-in,” shouts of joy burst out here and there from across apartment complexes in the middle of the night. At the ongoing World Cup in Qatar this year, the South Korean national soccer team did not fail the Korean people once again and performed quite well, reaching the ro

The United States and its allies in Europe have spent the last 10 months turning the screws on the Russian economy in retaliation for Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. The Western coalition blocked Russia from accessing around half of its more than $600 billion in foreign reserves, disconnected multiple Russian banks from the global financial system, diversified away from Russian natural gas and banned the import of Russian coal. Now, Russian crude oil is being targeted. For the foreseeable

The anti-quarantine protests that erupted across China last month highlight the gulf between the Chinese people and Communist Party leaders regarding the necessity of the strict zero-COVID policy. Given the obvious disconnect, it is worth examining how and why the authorities and the public have grown so far apart in their assessment of the policy’s costs and benefits. One important difference seems to be the value that the two sides assign to liberty. While the public may prioritize fre

After more than a decade of US policy focused on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, arms negotiations have been shoved off center stage. The long-running dispute over nuclear weapons has been displaced by a more immediate drama -- the rapidly spreading uprising against the Iranian regime. "Our focus every day, and the world's focus, is what's happening in the streets of Iran," Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said last week. "We support what Iranians a

Beneath the still-gleaming white dome, the US Capitol’s new generation of promising leaders are jockeying for position, staking their turf, marking their hydrants and swapping last-minute promises for next year’s power. Today we will mainly be speaking to just one category of our promising new leaders: The ones who want the American populace to know how proud they will be to lead the party of law-and-order. These new congressional leaders are proud to give strong, steadfast support t

Buddhism was introduced to Korea through two paths: the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo and Baekje. In 372, the emperor of Former Qin, a Chinese dynasty, sent an envoy and monk to Goguryeo’s King Sosurim, with Buddhist statues and scriptures. Twelve years later in 384, the monk Marananta, born in Chota Lahore in north Pakistan, crossed the ocean to Baekje via Eastern Jin, another Chinese dynasty, to bring Buddhism to King Chimnyu of Baekje. It is said that when Marananta decided to lea

Dec. 5 marks the 1,000th day since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic. With social distancing, vaccines and other interventions as well as natural infection, the world may be seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. But the pandemic is still not over. China has posted record numbers of cases lately and concern is growing that the COVID-19 in China will not respond to “Zero COVID” policies of the past. The question: Is China ready? Vacci

I once went to the village of Koreme in Iraqi Kurdistan and walked along a dirt road past a little brick school and a makeshift mosque to a dusty field of almond trees and high grass where all the males of the village -- age 13 to 43 -- had been taken in 1988 and told to squat, side by side. Iraqi soldiers then opened fire, and 27 Kurdish men and boys were killed. I spoke to one of the few survivors, who had hidden behind a tree with a bullet through his knee while his brother, nephew and neighb

The timely release of a new film version of Erich Maria Remarque’s "All Quiet on the Western Front" offers a reminder of the close parallels between World War I and the current war between autocracies and democracies. The fighting now is in Ukraine, but, as in WWI, the broader war has several fronts: the energy front, the grain front and, less well noticed, the Western front. Across Western capitals, autocrat-backed lobbyists, enablers, fellow-travelers and “understanders&r