Argument
An expert’s point of view on a current event.
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Indian soldiers from Monusco, the U.N. mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, attend a ceremony in Goma honoring peacekeepers who died, on Aug. 1, 2022. The Global South, Not Europe, Should Play Peacekeeper in Ukraine
A peace deal will require boots on the ground. To avoid escalation, neutral countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America should provide troops—rather than the EU.
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Finnish conscripts take part in military training at a firing range. Does Europe Need the Draft?
Trump and Putin are causing a rethink over conscription policies.
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An attendee dressed like Uncle Sam waits for Donald Trump to arrive for a campaign rally at the Mosack Group warehouse on September 25, 2024 in Mint Hill, North Carolina. America Is Its Own Worst Enemy
It’s not unprecedented for a powerful country to simply shoot itself in the foot.
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A security guard stands at the entrance to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters on Feb. 3. DOGE Is Hacking America
The U.S. government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history.
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A group of about two dozen people, mostly women in long dresses and headscarves and their children, stand in front of a hut constructed from logs and a roof of dried grass. Banners affixed to the side of the building label it as a "USAID Integrated Life-Saving VASH and Nutrtition Support" clinic. Several of the women have their hands on their hips as they wait, and one woman crouches on the ground, holding her face in her hands with an expression of despair or frustration. U.S.-Africa Policy Should Be Driven by Trade, Not Aid
Washington’s focus on development assistance and democracy promotion has failed. Relationships based on commercial engagement are the answer.
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A visitor is observing a piece made of a map of Ukraine by the artist Dobrinya Ivanov during the exhibition "The Artist as Prophet" at the Weisser Elefant gallery on July 29, 2023 in Berlin. Ukraine Needs a Peace of Inches, Not Miles
The only path forward is a series of small-scale, gradual agreements with Russia.
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Garment packages sit piled at a textile factory that supplies clothes to fast-fashion company Shein in Guangzhou, China. Trump Accidentally Sowed Chaos at the Post Office
Closing the littlest loophole proved to have big consequences.
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A crowd of dozens of people march down a paved city street lined on either side by midrise buildings. Many of the people hold signs or wave Iranian flags, and six women leading the procession hold a large banner covered in the words "woman," "life," and "freedom" written in English, German, and Persian. Trump’s Grand Bargain With Iran Shouldn’t Abandon Its People
Trump has significant leverage to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Tehran that also protects protesters.
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A photo of the pope seated in an ornate chair wearing a white and gold hat and robe. Red hats are seen in the foreground. Pope Francis Is Ready to Take on MAGA
Trump’s assault on immigrants and charity has no friend in the Vatican.
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A man carries a wooden cross about a meter tall as he walks at the front of a funeral procession of people carrying a white casket on their shoulders. The procession walks down a brick-paved road between low buildings on either side. A man rides a motorcycle alongside the procession. Rwanda Keeps Getting Away With Sowing Chaos in Congo
Western powers are unwilling to hold Kigali accountable.
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A view of the entrance of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (B3) in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, on December 17, 2024. Brazil’s Slow-Burning Economic Crisis Might Be the U.S. Future
Fiscal discipline is easy to promise and hard to stick to.
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A woman with a rolling bag poses in front of a train with a panda mural on it as another woman takes her photo with a cell phone. South Korea Has More Leverage Over China Than You Think
The middle power has found a way to survive without bending the knee to Beijing.
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A caricature titled "The Rhodes Colossus" depicts the imperialist Cecil Rhodes standing on a map of Africa. Elon Musk Is America’s Cecil Rhodes
It’s not the first time that liberal capitalism has retreated—and predatory capitalists have filled the void.
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A group of people collect food. Sudan’s New Model for Aid Distribution
Rather than rely on other countries or international organizations, local communities have banded together.
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A man wearing a glove covered with red paint leaves a mark over a passport of the Republic of Serbia, as part of an action organized by the Croatian Women's Network and the Center for Women's Studies during a protest in front of the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Zagreb, Croatia, on Jan. 27. Deference to Passports Puts Dissidents at Risk
Biometrics, already used in some border crossings, could help protect activists.
