Argument
An expert’s point of view on a current event.
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ASEAN foreign ministers shake hands on stage at a summit about the coronavirus called by China in Vientiane, Laos, on Feb. 20. Hun Sen Is More Worried About Beijing Than the Coronavirus
Cambodia’s autocrat is putting his own people at risk to court his Chinese backers.
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Soldiers lift a coffin into a van during the dignified transfer of two U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan Why Afghanistan Is America’s Greatest Strategic Disaster
Pompeo's plan to make peace with the resurgent Taliban is a sad reminder of all that went wrong in Afghanistan—and how it could have been otherwise.
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Demonstrators hold placards and wave Indian flags. India’s Economic Troubles Are Rooted in Politics
Economic models often fail to account for hidden assumptions. Ignoring the importance of trust and belonging in society may be hurting New Delhi more than policymakers understand.
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Sky Pizza in Seoul ‘Parasite’ Has a Hidden Backstory of Middle-Class Failure and Chicken Joints
In a few words, Bong Joon-ho conjured up a whole tale of economic insecurity.
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A demonstrator against India's new citizenship law India’s Muslims Are Terrified of Being Deported
Many Indians lack the documents needed to prove citizenship—and Muslims are in the firing line.
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Migrant workers from Romania harvest daffodils near Holbeach in eastern England, on Feb. 25, 2019. Boris Johnson’s New Immigration Rules Will Harm Britain’s Economy
The U.K.’s new points system will keep low-skilled non-English speakers out, pleasing pro-Brexit voters but devastating entire sectors—from agriculture to health care.
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An Islamic State billboard is seen destroyed in the middle of a road in Qaraqosh, Iraq, on Nov. 8, 2016. Reintegrating Ex-Terrorists
Entrepreneurship can help reintegrate former militants—and may be useful for U.S. criminal justice reform, too.
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Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy speaking at a campaign event for Labour Leader and Deputy Leader on February 16, 2020 in London, England. When Social Justice Activism Becomes an Act of Self-Destruction
An overly strident campaign by Britain’s Labour party to protect transgender people is alienating potential allies across the country.
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A student shows a letter from the Indonesian health ministry Indonesian Screening May Be Missing Virus Carriers
The popular tourist destination has had no coronavirus cases. Is that good luck—or bad testing?
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Afghan returnees after arriving from Iran Iran’s Shifting Afghan Alliances Don’t Fit Easy Narratives
Tehran’s goals are pragmatic—and may be in line with Washington’s.
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Anti-government demonstrators rally behind barbed wire. Lebanon Is Broken. So Are Its Protests.
The country’s protest movement knows what it’s against—but it never figured out how to achieve what it’s for.
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Seedlings dot the landscape near the Soviet-era Karen Demirchyan Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, in October 2019 during a tree planting event organized by the Armenian Tree Project to commemorate the Armenian genocide. Make Armenia Green Again
Can planting 10 million trees shore up the country’s borders and save its environment?
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Wallace Mazon holds a sign calling for the abolition of the Iowa caucuses outside the Iowa Democratic Party headquarters in Des Moines on Feb. 4. If Iowa Were in Africa, International Observers Would Be Crying Foul
The process and results of the Iowa caucuses would be roundly denounced and challenged in the courts in most developing countries. So why are they allowed to stand in the United States?
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting with journalists in the Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ramallah on July 3, 2019. The Oslo Accords Are Dead. Should the Palestinian Authority Live On?
Trump’s peace plan killed any hope of a negotiated settlement. Rather than empty rhetoric, Palestinian leaders owe their people a new approach—even if it means disbanding the PA.
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Taiwanese soldiers run through colored smoke during an exercise at a military base in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, on Jan. 15. Taiwan’s Military Is a Hollow Shell
The end of conscription has left the army critically undermanned.
