On the eve of a party plenum in which 45 of 376 members have been purged, China faces its most pressing question: is the model it has adopted right for its historical phase? Beijing is uncertain. Domestically, it faces many problems, and foreign examples aren’t reassuring. If the US offers a positive model, Beijing might […]
Italy’s streets are on fire, and Moscow may be holding the match. European governments must act to end any political ambiguity that favors Russia’s government. The US can’t gift France or Italy to Putin Two forces, converging yet distinct, drive the violent protests in Milan and, perhaps, those in France and other European countries. The […]
China or Russia might be betting on the wrong horse in Ukraine and Europe. They overlook the complexity and depth of the US relationship with its allies. The new Hannibal bet. October 14 could be a pivotal moment for Europe and America. SpaceX abruptly imposed a speed cap on Ukraine’s Starshield service without warning Kyiv, disrupting […]
The wars and the oil blockades may be waiting for Xi’s party congress. The US could face significant short-term trouble. China’s long-term future is uncertain. The EU hazard. Just as Vladimir and Estragon waited for Godot in Beckett’s famous play, the world may now be waiting for Xi Jinping in the present political drama. America […]
Nearly a century after the Lateran Pacts, the crisis in voter turnout and the new premiership law could turn Italy into a low-representation democracy. The Vatican, bound to Rome’s political destiny, is also concerned. The new electoral law that Parliament just passed raises delicate questions for the Holy See. In 1929, with the signing of […]
The dollar is the global centerpiece; even the RMB is pegged to it. Despite everything, few people trust another world currency. The prices for China’s trilemma and its strategies. The Summer Palace Yiheyuan in Beijing was completed by the last empress, Ci Xi, shortly before the dynasty’s end, a little over a hundred years ago. […]
The global market: conquer it, banish it, or integrate it. Modern times impose an unprecedented trilemma on China. Beijing may want to fudge it, but there is no way around it. The Chinese Communist Party, like the Holy See, meets challenges from a broad conceptual standpoint. Currently, its currency is not fully convertible, whereas all […]
