November
- Opinion
- US election
America’s search for a new role continues
Despite the mediocrity of the candidates, America is not down for the count. But it is wasting precious time to redefine its world role
- James Curran
September
- Opinion
- US Votes 2024
Harris must dazzle in debate or face defeat
The Democratic candidate badly needs a breakthrough in this week’s televised debate to restore momentum to her faltering campaign.
- Gideon Rachman
August
- Opinion
- US election
The astonishing metamorphosis of Kamala Harris
Her shift from indifferent vice president to source of Obama-scale enthusiasm has caught many unaware. Yet Democratic talk of victory is dangerously premature.
- Updated
- Edward Luce
July
A history of political assassination in the US
There have been several instances of political violence targeting US presidents, former presidents and major party presidential candidates.
- Darlene Superville and Christina Cassidy
Is America entering another age of political violence?
Let’s hope that the voices of American moderation, who have been cowed by extremes on both sides of the political spectrum, step back into the arena.
- Peter Spiegel
June
- Opinion
- US election
Why next week’s Biden v Trump debate is so important
A set piece clash between Joe Biden and Donald Trump will turn less on policies than on manner and appearance. What they say will matter less than how they seem.
- Updated
- Edward Luce
- Opinion
- US election
It’s not the economy, stupid. Voters blame Biden for inequality
It’s unfair to blame the US president alone for imbalances that have been widening for decades, but nor will selling the good news harder make any difference.
- Ruchir Sharma
May
- Opinion
- Legal profession
How the US Supreme Court became a political organisation
When judges make decisions that should be left to politicians, they undermine democracy.
- Amanda Stoker
January
- Opinion
- US election
Is Joe Biden the next Jimmy Carter? Here’s why not
There are uncanny parallels between 2023 and the fateful year of 1979. But there is one good reason why President Biden will not follow his one-term predecessor.
- Barry Eichengreen
December 2023
- Opinion
- Foreign relations
Henry Kissinger was an inconsistent opportunist
America’s 20th century foreign policy giant and statesman was driven more by domestic considerations than he would ever have admitted.
- Tom Switzer
November 2023
Former US first lady Rosalynn Carter dies at 96
Carter was seen as unassuming and quiet before coming to Washington in 1977, but developed into an eloquent speaker, campaigner and activist.
- Will Dunham
- Opinion
- World elections
Joe Biden’s year of living dangerously
A Donald Trump victory next year would make the incumbent the most consequential single-term president in history – but not in a way he would wish.
- Edward Luce
September 2023
- Opinion
- China’s Great Slowdown
China learns nothing from the financial crises of others
Beijing’s reluctance to bite the bullet on bad assets looks like an error that the whole global economy may pay for.
- Adrian Blundell-Wignall
April 2023
- Analysis
- World elections
Biden’s best bet may be to stress how different he is to Trump
The president’s age and lacklustre approval ratings had generated more questions than usual about whether he can, or should, mount another campaign.
- James Politi and Lauren Fedor
February 2023
America’s oldest president, Jimmy Carter, prepares for the end
A political sensation in the 1970s, Jimmy Carter defied illness and death for years and became the oldest living US president.
- Peter Baker
December 2021
Cathedral bells toll for South Africa’s anti-apartheid hero
Desmond Tutu, a Nobel laureate who had preached against the tyranny of the white minority, was revered by black and white South Africans alike as the nation’s moral conscience.
- Wendell Roelf
November 2021
- Opinion
- Inflation
Why Biden should embrace the vaccine culture wars
The quicker coronavirus recedes, the faster the US service sector returns to normal, and the sooner inflation is tamed. Sustained inflation could ruin the Democrats’ chances of holding on to power.
- Edward Luce
October 2021
Powell, a statesman who influenced the course of the Iraq war
Colin Powell, 84, who died COVID-19 complications, rose from humble origins in Harlem to become the US Secretary of State during tumultuous times marked by war.
- Jurek Martin and James Politi
- Analysis
- Inflation
Spectre of 1970s-style stagflation haunts global economy
Is stagflation – low growth and high prices – really something to start worrying about?
- Matthew Cranston
September 2021
- Opinion
- Global economy
A perfect inflationary storm – like the 1970s
Humiliating defeat, fading productivity and supply side shocks – half a century later, all the signs of inflationary boil over are there.
- Kenneth Rogoff