Democracies Are Not "Backsliding." Jan-Werner Mueller | "The world today is not experiencing a comprehensive, let alone inevitable, shift toward autocracy any more than it is experiencing the conclusive rescue of democracy."
A Pact for People and Planet At the upcoming UN Summit of the Future, the proposed Pact for the Future could generate the political will to commit to a just green transition. Low- and middle-income countries could negotiate for fairer multilateral agreements and new financing mechanisms to address climate change.
India's Fake Growth Story Ashoka Mody | Indian authorities are downplaying inconvenient macroeconomic facts to celebrate seemingly flattering headline figures. But in covering up the growing struggles faced by the vast majority of Indians, they are playing a cynical and dangerous game.
The Wrong BRICS Expansion Daron Acemoglu | In many ways, the enlargement represents a major lost opportunity. The world does not need more countries to fall under Chinese and Russian influence. It needs a genuinely independent third grouping to provide a counterweight against both the China-Russia axis and US power.
Europe Can No Longer Afford Disunity Joschka Fischer | Instead of ushering in the “perpetual peace” Europeans had anticipated, the end of the Cold War gave rise to a multipolar world. To survive and assert their influence on the global stage, European countries must bolster their military deterrence capabilities.
For justice in Syria, hope comes from Geneva rather than The Hague Alain Werner | The ICC is playing a key role in the fight for accountability for the atrocities committed in Ukraine. However, the growing importance of national trials—in which Geneva plays a full part—is crucial in the fight against the global cancer of impunity for mass crimes.
The US Must Not Personally Humiliate Putin Keren Yahri-Milo | The cracks in Putin’s hold on power are beginning to show. But Ukraine’s allies must focus on increasing military and economic support while avoiding personal attacks, as Putin could respond by making the war even more brutal and unpredictable.
For Whom The Brics Toll Ana Palacio | The group's latest summit was touted as a pivotal event that could change the contours of international relations. It achieved nothing of the kind. But the fact that grievances against the current system are so widely shared should serve as a warning to the West.
British Conservatives' Contempt for Human Rights Gordon Brown | The UK’s Tories have been targeting the European Convention on Human Rights for a decade. Now, they appear closer than ever to abandoning it – a move that would betray Britain’s human-rights record and reputation and make it an international outlier, alongside Russia and Belarus.
Managing the AI Backlash Edoardo Campanella | Now that the initial enthusiasm for generative AI has given way to fears of technological unemployment, it is worth considering past episodes of worker resistance to disruptive innovations.