Explainer
List of Explainer articles
-
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and French President Emmanuel Macron speak after the closing press conference of the seventh Med7 Mediterranean countries summit in Corsica on Sept. 10. Turkish Military Maneuvering Pushed Italy and France to Join Forces in the Mediterranean. Now What?
Formerly competitors, Paris and Rome’s Pax Mediterranea may spell Ankara’s final estrangement from Europe.
-
Sailors standing on the deck of a warship at a parade during the Turkish International Ceremony at Mehmetcik Abidesi Martyrs Memorial near Seddulbahir Turkey on April 24, 2015. How Did the Eastern Mediterranean Become the Eye of a Geopolitical Storm?
The region’s powers and the West are facing off against Turkey—and Turkey is not going down without a fight.
-
Women protest in Belarus Why Belarus Is Not Ukraine
Yes, there are surprisingly big protests—like those that rocked Kyiv six years ago—being met with brutal crackdowns. But Belarus is a whole different story.
-
In this photo illustration, the WeChat privacy policy is displayed on an iPhone in Washington on Aug. 7. Why Is the United States Effectively Banning WeChat and TikTok?
Apps are just the latest frontier in the U.S.-China contest. Washington is signaling to global firms the risks of doing business with Beijing.
-
This aerial photo taken on January 2, 2017 shows a Chinese navy formation, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning (C), during military drills in the South China Sea. The U.S. Declared China’s South China Sea Claims ‘Unlawful.’ Now What?
The announcement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brings the United States in line with international law and opens the door for sanctions and a more unified response to Chinese “bullying” in the key waterway.
-
Ruslan Boshirov What’s This Unit of Russian Spies That Keeps Getting Outed?
Unit 29155 of the GRU is behind plenty of Russia’s high-profile misadventures abroad—and now, apparently, the bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
-
Indian protesters burn a poster of Chinese President Xi Jinping along with Chinese items in response to the killing of Indian soldiers by Chinese troops, in Ahmedabad on June 16, 2020. Why Are India and China Fighting?
Nuclear powers New Delhi and Beijing engage in a skirmish marking the first combat deaths along their border in more than four decades.
-
Dominic Cummings Britain Hates Johnson’s Machiavelli
Conservative Party advisor Dominic Cummings has drawn national wrath over a seemingly minor scandal.
-
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron Are the Germans Edging Closer to True Fiscal Union?
In a striking reversal, Merkel joins with France in recommending a euro fund that could be a timid first step toward greater integration.
-
An aerial view shows an oil pumpjack at the Huntington Beach oil fields in California on April 20. Oil Price Nosedive Continues as Trump’s Deal Fails to Deliver
The impact of the coronavirus sends markets into an unprecedented slump, with no end in sight.
-
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Trump’s Big Turnaround: Cash Payments Instead of a Payroll Tax Cut
Parsing the latest economic fixes to the economic devastation being caused by the coronavirus.
-
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow on February 23, 2020. (YURI KOCHETKOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Will Putin Be Russia’s President For Life?
A series of choreographed moves have set the stage for him to potentially rule until at least 2036.
-
Containers are transferred to trucks at the Port of Tokyo on Aug. 19, 2019. Japan’s trade surplus with the United States, like that of many other countries, has fueled U.S. President Donald Trump’s ire, though experts say trade balances are a poor metric to use. What Trump Really Doesn’t Get About Trade
The U.S. president has disrupted the global economy for three years based on misguided notions about trade deficits. Now it’s Europe’s turn.
-
Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, and Lisa Nandy Britain’s Labour Party Starts Deciding Its Post-Corbyn Future
Front-runner Keir Starmer is seeking to get past Jeremy Corbyn and return the party to the early glory days of Tony Blair, but whoever the winner is will have to reckon with the party’s hard turn leftward.
-
Carlos Ghosn What Really Happened to Carlos Ghosn?
Nissan just filed a lawsuit against its former CEO. Here’s why—and what could happen next.
