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 […]
Civilization Unmasked: The Persistence of Human Brutality
By Alon Ben-Meir* We are not merely witnessing human suffering—we are learning to endure it without outrage. When atrocity no longer shocks the conscience, it is not only humanity that is under assault—it is our very capacity to remain human. NEW YORK | 3 June 2026 (IDN) — To my utter chagrin, the scale, frequency, […]
The Animal That Therefore I Am: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Genesis Façade
By Sam Ben-Meir* NEW YORK | 2 June 2026 (IDN) — Approaching the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one encounters not heroes, founders, or allegories of civilizational ascent, but animals—four of them—standing upright against the stone authority of the façade. A squirrel, a coyote, a deer, and a hawk occupy the Genesis Facade, not as emblems, […]
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 […]
A ‘Wake-Up Call’ for U.S. Democracy
By Jan Servaes MIAMI | 28 May 2026 (IDN) — The weekend preceding Memorial Day (observed on the last Monday of May) is not only the time when Americans host their first barbecue of the summer season, but also when—during religious services, parades, and speeches—they commemorate those who have fallen in all American wars. In local […]
Ukrainian Crisis Isn’t Worth a New Cold War
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 27 May 2026 (IDN) —Both the West and Russia have a responsibility to make sure they don’t throw the baby out with the bath water as their quarrel over Ukraine continues. So much has been achieved since the end of the Cold War. Why throw it away because of […]