From Defeat to Dependence Eighty years after World War II, Germany and Japan—once defined by constitutional restraints on military power—are rebuilding their armed forces as the international order grows increasingly uncertain. Their transformation is reviving old debates about war, memory, nuclear weapons and the fragile foundations of global stability. By Ramesh Jaura This article was […]
Has the Democratic Party Lost Its Way Regarding Russia and China?
By Jan Servaes MIAMI | 6 May 2026 (IDN) — Anyone visiting a reputable U.S. bookstore today in search of an analysis of the position the United States occupies on the global stage under President Trump will immediately spot the hefty 534-page tome: Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder by Michael McFaul. […]
An Alternative Nobel Prize for Trump?
A Bold Proposal Worth Considering By Ramesh Jaura This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 5 June 2026 (IDN) — Imagine Donald Trump receiving a Nobel Prize—not for championing peace, democracy, or global unity, but for inadvertently reminding the world just how vital those ideals truly are. This is the daring idea from veteran […]
Ex British Prime Minister Tony Blair Should be Prosecuted Over Iraq
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 3 June 2026 (IDN) — President Barack Obama was not a war criminal despite US involvement in wars in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and against ISIS. They were legitimate if wrong-headed interventions. His predecessor George W. Bush was a war criminal. Apart from anything else his administration tortured captives, and […]
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: HIistory Will Not Yield to Power
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 30 May 2026 (IDN) — Israeli-Palestinian conflict, examining it from historical, religious, psychological, and geostrategic perspectives, as well as through the hard realities on the ground. After all this, one conclusion has remained inescapable: there will be no peace—none—unless it is anchored in a viable two-state solution. Nearly six […]
The Long Shadow of Slavery
50 million Modern Slaves and America’s Battle Over Historical Memory By Ramesh Jaura This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 30 May 2026 (IDN) — More than 50 million people around the world are living in modern slavery today, according to the latest estimates from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United […]
Turkey’s Egregious Human Rights Violations Are Beyond The Pale
By Alon Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 26 May 2026 (IDN) — Turkey’s human rights record has crossed from troubling to indefensible. Behind the language of counterterrorism and national security lies a systematic campaign that has dismantled the rule of law, criminalised dissent, and stripped hundreds of thousands of their most basic rights. In the aftermath […]
The World Tilts into A New Great Power Struggle
The New Age of Power and Peril By Ramesh Jaura This article first appeared on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 21 May 2026 (IDN) — The world’s geopolitical centre of gravity is shifting once again, and the personal diplomacy of US President Donald Trump is increasingly part of the equation. His complex and often controversial relationships with […]
Does it Matter to Africa if Nigel Farage Comes to Number 10?
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP and the author of the new book Writing for Media and Monetising It. ABUJA, Nigeria | 14 May 2026 (IDN) — The next British general election is in 2029, but you could already feel the tremor from the Council election of May 7. The surge of […]
A World Edging Back Toward the Nuclear Brink
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 29 April 2026 (IDN) — Not long ago, U.S. Strategic Command—the branch responsible for nuclear weapons—issued a stark warning: conflict conditions could “very rapidly drive an adversary to consider nuclear use as their least bad option.” That sober assessment captures a growing unease. President Joe Biden’s decision to send […]