January
Does the ‘madman theory’ of leadership actually work?
US President Donald Trump is not the first world leader to believe that irrational behaviour in foreign affairs negotiations is a good way to get what you want.
December 2024
The new world order looks like mercantilism
The chaotic politics of the past 16 years masked the steady development of a new economic order, but trade and the economy aren’t zero-sum games.
November 2024
Three ways to tackle Trump’s looming tariff war
Canada, Mexico and China have options to avoid a trade war with the US president-elect. Here’s what they could do.
Campaign TV ads give voters permission to go rogue
Democrats and Republicans are highlighting relatable characters offering measured testimonials to coax voters into crossing party lines.
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
August 2024
The big risk in Kamala Harris’ surprise choice for VP
Tim Walz’s down-to-earth language was transformed into the equivalent of a political magic wand, but there’s a risk in overlooking Josh Shapiro in the must-win swing state of Pennsylvania.
‘You don’t embarrass the New Yorker in Trump’ says military adviser
Chris Miller, a former acting secretary of defence and Project 2025 contributor, says the AUKUS military alliance will be fine if Donald Trump wins the election, but Vladimir Putin could be in a jam.
July 2024
If Joe Biden goes: how would it work – and who would replace him?
The president faces huge pressure to step aside from his campaign. But what would happen next?
How toxic talk turns too easily to assassin’s bullets
A more centrist political culture doesn’t make Australia immune to the language that has inflamed American politics in recent times.
What if Joe Biden stays?
A second presidential term that was already burdened with political disadvantage will be incalculably more difficult because of questions about his age.
The US Supreme Court gives a free pass to Trump and future presidents
In a step towards monarchy, the bedrock principle that presidents are not above the law has been set aside.
June 2024
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.
February 2024
The expert who unmasked a Hitler forgery and appraised Nixon’s papers
Safeguarding History is a fun read about the life of a history expert who hobnobs with the rich and famous.
How Joe Biden can copy Lyndon Johnson and quit
A bad week for the 81-year-old US president has sparked alarm about his fitness for another White House run.
Can Joe Biden now be convinced to drop out?
Most voters, including supporters of his own party, see the president as too old to run again.
December 2023
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.
November 2023
Henry Kissinger: a diplomat both admired and vilified
Historians and friends hailed Henry Kissinger’s diplomatic achievements, while critics assailed his policies in Vietnam and elsewhere as murderous.
Henry Kissinger, US diplomat and Nobel winner, dies at 100
He was a pivotal US secretary of state under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, who oversaw America’s involvement in and withdrawal from the war in Vietnam.
Kissinger’s advice to aspiring leaders still holds
The arch foreign policy realist both intrigued and infuriated those around him and so many who have tried to assess his legacy.
Why ‘stabilisation’ is a misnomer for Xi-Biden meeting
Given the irritants on the horizon, even if the meeting in San Francisco is relatively cordial, relations are likely to quickly deteriorate amid ongoing strategic competition.