Clik here to view.
Saying #MeToo in Japan
TOKYO — In late May, at a press conference in the Tokyo District Court, I went public about being raped. In Japan, it’s unthinkable for a woman to do this, but I didn’t feel brave — only that I had no...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The incredible shrinking Britain
LONDON — The U.K. has an inventory of strategic tools few countries possess, including a globally mobile and experienced military force and nuclear power with second strike deterrent. As a cornerstone...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Steve Bannon is not done yet
WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon is no snowflake. He’s a grown man, has serious ideas, and is used to laughing off incoming rhetorical fire. But it’s surprising that so many seem to believe his propaganda...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Latvia, a disappearing nation
RIGA — Atis Sjanits has an unusual remit for an ambassador. The Latvian diplomat is not responsible for relations with another nation — but with his own country’s diaspora. Sjanits’ job is to respond...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The other terrifying lesson of the Cuban Missile Crisis
If you add two clichés together, can the sum be something more than a cliché? Could it actually be alarmingly insightful? In this case, the first cliché is another Donald Trump tweet – Tuesday’s double...
View ArticleMacron’s fake news law will protect democracy
This is a POLITICO debate. For the counterargument, click here. LONDON — President Macron kicked off the year by announcing the introduction of legislation to safeguard liberal democracy — in France...
View ArticleMacron’s fake news law will threaten democracy
This is a POLITICO debate. For the counterargument, click here. PARIS — Emmanuel Macron is the latest political leader to hop on the anti-fake news bandwagon, as regulators lose patience and promise to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Italy, at sea without a paddle
MILAN, Italy — Three years after a young mayor of Florence became prime minister on a ticket of generational change, Italians go to the polls on March 4 with little hope of electing a new government...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is Trump stuck with an Iran deal he loathes?
WASHINGTON — As a new year’s wave of street protests rocks Iran, the demonstrations put President Trump in an awkward bind — right as he faces a new deadline to decide whether to continue on with the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nikki Haley’s split personality at the UN
The United Nations has a long history of hosting slightly pointless meetings. Most of them are harmless. Now and again, the diplomats in Turtle Bay even come up with ways to make the planet a better...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Oprah hates politics
WASHINGTON — In a sleepy southern town, an unexpectedly violent scene: a mob of angry whites chanted racially charged slogans on one side, while equally incensed counterprotesters advocated for civil...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Catalonia won’t be silenced
The Spanish government’s attempt to repress the voice of the Catalan people has failed. In last month’s Catalonian parliamentary election, pro-independence parties won the greatest support in their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Europe needs to slash its budget to survive
As discussions about the new long-term budget kicked off in Brussels this week, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker used a tired old argument to preempt criticism of lavish EU spending: It’s...
View ArticleLead Europe? Berlin can’t even lead Germany
ATHENS — It was only recently that Germany seemed like a rock of stability in an otherwise unpredictable world, a country to which other EU members turned desperately for leadership and direction....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Want to support the Iranian people? Keep the nuclear deal.
TEHRAN — Visiting Tehran this week with former U.K. Labour Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont, I have been struck by how much will be at...
View ArticleBrexit is an electrifying moment for renewing the NHS
To heal the divisions of the Brexit referendum it is vital that we recast Brexit as an inspiring moment of electrifying and comprehensive national renewal — economic, cultural, political. This is an...
View Article‘Hand-to-hand’ combat in Italy’s election
BOLOGNA, Italy — When Italians head to the polls on March 4, they’ll be voting under an electoral system that’s not only new, but radically different from what came before it. For the first time since...
View ArticleEU’s heart might be open, but Britain’s isn’t
LONDON — Donald Tusk’s recent lament on Twitter that the EU’s heart is still open to Britain if it changes its mind about leaving the club is likely to fall on deaf ears across the Channel. While there...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Juncker can make his final year count
As Jean-Claude Juncker enters his last full year in office, he’ll be thinking about his legacy. Will he be remembered as the European Commission president who saw the European Union shrink, rather than...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Macron goes where no French leader has dared to tread …
PARIS — Is France finally willing to take its farmers’ snouts out of the European Union trough and let the bloc spend more of its budget on new priorities such as defense, border security, integrating...
View Article