BERLIN – As in a game of chess, there are geopolitical moves through which a country can – unwittingly – checkmate itself. Opening a debate on German nuclear weapons would be such a move. Yet this is exactly what some Germans have recently proposed.
Read MoreThe immigration issue has long been a thorn in the EU’s side, not least because of the fear-mongering and emotional manipulation that have impeded constructive debate. But a new social contract for economic migrants – which protects their rights, while restricting their social privileges – could finally remove the thorn.
Read MoreUS President Donald Trump must be giddy: this week, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, he will finally meet his Russian counterpart and strongman-hero Vladimir Putin. It is rare for someone who has reached the exalted office of President of the United States to retain the capacity for, much less interest in, hero worship.
Read MoreThe United States has never had a president like Donald Trump. With a narcissistic personality and a short attention span, and lacking experience in world affairs, he tends to project slogans rather than strategy in foreign policy. Some presidents, like Richard Nixon, had similar personal insecurities and social biases, but Nixon had a strategic view of foreign policy.
Read MoreDespite a show of strength and a charm offensive, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government is beginning to show its age. Russia is facing a dangerous protest movement against Putin’s system, and he has responded with heavy-handed crackdowns and winsome public appearances
Read MoreIn expressing some thoughts on the 60th anniversary of the European Union, I would like to start by saying that in order to see what was achieved between the 25th March 1957, when the first Treaty of Rome was signed, and March 2017, we could do worse than try and look back for an equivalent period of time, 70 years, in the period between 1870 and 1940.
Read MoreNiccolò Machiavelli believed that one could become a prince “by prowess or by fortune.” In the second case, a leader assumes power “with little exertion on their own part; but subsequently they maintain their position only by considerable exertion.”
Read MoreThe last two years have been hard on Argentina and Brazil. A sweeping corruption investigation and the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff have sent Brazil’s currency tumbling. The country’s economy contracted by 3.8 percent in 2015 and by another 3.6 percent the following year.
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