The ongoing sovereign debt crises in the eurozone will have several important political and geopolitical consequences, as I explain in a feature in Business Monitor Online this week. Europe faces its biggest crisis since Yugoslavia’s collapse. Europe seldom has the unity and purpose to tackle major crises. The eurozone was probably too big to begin… [Read more]

Inevitably, many will see the terror attacks allegedly committed by Anders Behring Breivik last Friday as the work of a deranged individual. However, there is no question that Breivik, whatever his personal problems, chose to make his crimes political in nature, first by detonating a bomb in central Oslo near a key government building and… [Read more]

The arrest of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic, coming a month before the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, would appear to mark the symbolic end of a dark chapter in Balkan history. Of course, memories of the Yugoslav wars will linger for decades yet, but many… [Read more]

Allegations of sexual assault and attempted rape have dealt an all but fatal blow to IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s chances of running in next year’s French presidential election. While these developments leave the race wide open, incumbent French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s capacity to secure a second term in the Elysee Palace undoubtedly appears stronger as… [Read more]

Perhaps the most noteworthy development of last week’s UK regional elections was the Scottish National Party (SNP)’s victory in establishing the first-ever single-party majority administration in the Scottish Parliament’s history. The most eye-catching part of the SNP’s policy platform is its commitment to independence, and the desire to hold a referendum on the issue during… [Read more]

The United Nations has published its latest population forecasts for the world from now to 2100. The accompanying press release is worth reading, and the online database has been updated accordingly. Of note, the UN sees the world population rising to 10.1bn in 2100, with Africa’s population more than tripling to 3.6bn over the next… [Read more]

Syrian President Bashar Assad is facing the biggest challenge to his 11-year rule, with mass protests taking place across the country. The government has cracked down violently, but this has failed to restore stability. My colleagues and I now see a growing possibility that the Assad regime will eventually collapse under the strain, possibly resulting… [Read more]