By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 14 October 2026 (IDN) — At last, a British prime minister who is not afraid to say Europe is good for Britain. After a slow start on the issue, Andy Burnham has now made it fairly clear that Britain will seek to rejoin the European Union. It is not […]
Books or Bombs? France’s Student Revolt vs. NATO’s Spending Push
By Medea Benjamin NEW YORK | 12 October 2026 (IDN) — For the third week in a row, high school students across France are taking to the streets demanding more investment in their education. They want more teachers, smaller classes, decent school buildings and a public education system that works for poor and working-class students. […]
Picasso’s Personal Mythologies: Three Paintings at the Currier Museum
By Sam Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 9 October 2026 (IDN) — Manchester’s Currier Museum is currently presenting Personal Mythologies: Picasso in the 1940s and 50s—a small exhibition consisting of three paintings, two of which are on loan through October: L’Homme au béret basque (1946) and The Two Children (1954). The third, belonging to the Currier collection, is the […]
Germany’s Ukraine Policy: The Merz Factor
By Wolfgang Bittner* The following commentary reflects the author’s personal assessment of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s policy towards Ukraine. GÖTTINGEN, Germany | 9 October 2026 (IDN) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was pleased that Viktor Orbán was not re-elected and that the EU can transfer 90 billion euros to Ukraine. On 14 April 2026, he […]
Germany’s Unfinished Sovereignty: Is Neutrality Still Possible?
By Wolfgang Bittner* GÖTTINGEN, Germany | 6 October 2026 (IDN) — Recently, there have been calls for Germany to become neutral,[1] as Stalin had already proposed in 1952. At that time, he offered the other three principal victorious powers of the Second World War negotiations on a peace treaty with Germany. The condition was the […]
Brussels: Demonstration Place du Luxembourg for Eritrean Refugees Detained in Libya
By Cedric Stephany | BRUSSELS, Belgium | 16 September 2026 (IDN) — Around 750 to 1000 people gathered on Saturday, September 12, at Place du Luxembourg in Brussels. The demonstration, held in front of the European Parliament, demanded the release of Eritrean refugees held in detention centres in Benghazi and Tajoura, Libya, and to call […]
Are Western Hopes Diving Ukraine Towards Collapse?
The Limits of Drone Warfare and the Growing Urgency of Diplomacy By Michael von der Schulenburg* BRUSSELS | 15 August 2026 (IDN) — As recently as 26 July this year, Ursula von der Leyen appeared full of confidence in victory during her visit to Kyiv: she claimed the tide of the war had turned, that […]
Rebuilding Before Peace
How Ukraine Is Reshaping Europe and the International Order By Ramesh Jaura This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 4 August 2026 (IDN) — The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has now gone well beyond being just a conflict in a particular region; it has changed Europe’s strategic position, brought deterrence back to […]
Russia’s Power Is Not Weapons, It’s Culture
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 8 July 2026 (IDN) — Observers say that what drives President Vladimir Putin is to make Russia respected. But perhaps Putin underestimates how much power Russia already has. He has overlooked which trumpets to blow. It is not his “hang tough” policies in military affairs. It is Russia’s culture. […]
Germany, Japan and the Return of Military Power (Part III)
Rearmament Without Militarism? By Ramesh Jaura This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com/ Editor’s Note: This article is the third and final instalment in a three-part series examining how Germany and Japan—the two former Axis powers that embraced constitutional restraint after World War II—are responding to a rapidly changing global security environment. Part I, From […]