The future of North Korea has rightly received greater attention following the sudden death of Kim Jong Il in December, and my colleagues and I have written about latest developments extensively on Business Monitor Online. In fact, we have been talking about the succession process and outlining scenarios for the country’s evolution for some years… [Read more]

America, after the collapse… I must admit that, unlike some of my colleagues, I’ve avoided reading books about the global economic crisis. Part of the reason is that I am sceptical about the benefits of ‘instant books’ – that is to say, books about current events published during the event or too soon after it… [Read more]

Today, August 19, marks 20 years since the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. Although it could be argued that the USSR was already collapsing well before August 19, 1991, it’s also fair to say that the coup attempt by hardliners that took place on that day to preserve the Union ultimately hastened… [Read more]

Egypt is entering a pivotal time in its modern history, as my colleagues and I explain today in Business Monitor Online. Popular protests against President Hosni Mubarak, inspired by those in Tunisia, are a major risk to his regime. However, even if the protests fail to dislodge Mubarak now, his advanced age (82) would appear… [Read more]

“It’s the economy, stupid”. It was short and to the point. A perfect anchoring message, created by famed US Democratic Party strategist James ‘The Ragin Cajun’ Carville, that helped Bill Clinton focus his campaign strategy and successfully take over the White House in 1992. It’s all about message control. Being able to frame the debate…. [Read more]

Anyone following the US ‘War on Terror’ will probably be aware that America is increasingly using drones – unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – to carry out airstrikes. They may also be aware that remote-controlled robots are being used for the purposes of bomb disposal in places such as Iraq. The growing use of unmanned platforms… [Read more]

What do the Great Fire of London, the rise of Adolf Hitler, and the attacks of September 11 2001 have in common? Though their occurrence spanned hundreds of years and different continents, they were all predicted well in advance, and by a single man. Michel de Nostradame, a.k.a. Nostradamus, the 16th century seer who used… [Read more]