Reports

 Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is facing unprecedented turmoil at home. Protracted demonstrations have led to a string of politically motivated arrests. However, trouble is also brewing on the foreign front. The Kremlin appears to be losing patience with the strongman’s trick of playing off Russia against the West and could ...

Bank regulators are forced to close their eyes again to vulnerabilities that made the 2008 banking industry meltdown possible. They need to ensure that banks continue supporting the real economy during the pandemic. For instance, capital requirements are being softened and regulatory relief given so banks can lend as much as possible ...

Once a staunch defender of financial responsibility in the eurozone, Germany has thrown its support behind the European Commission’s ill-conceived, unwarranted and politicized spending scheme to aid the eurozone’s economy.

The Covid-induced economic crisis has led policymakers to put in place large fiscal rescue packages including new spending, tax cuts and subsidies. Governments will now be tempted to spend more to boost the recovery. Soon, however, countries will have to pay for the debts they have rung up. Those that ...

The countries in OPEC+ are currently complying with the terms of their deal to restrict output, but this discipline may not last. Meanwhile, oil markets remain at the mercy of the global economic recovery. Demand will need to increase well above the current levels to absorb the inventory buildup accumulated ...

Among the developed nations in Europe and North America, productivity growth had been on a steady decline over recent years. The Covid-19 crisis brought a sharp change in that trend, with some countries seeing an increase in productivity by more than 20 percent. It was a surprising result, especially with ...

Germany has recently adopted a new hydrogen strategy and is aiming to push a European Union-wide policy on the chemical element. Hydrogen can deliver and store energy, and it can do so in clean, secure and affordable ways. The key question is which methods of production will gain traction – ...

The militias of Tobruk-based warlord Khalifa Haftar failed to take the capital of Libya and are being pushed out from the western part of the country, where there are strategic oil fields. Turkey’s intervention played a decisive role in this military outcome. As other external powers engaged in Libya consider ...

The WHO has arrogantly chastised the Swedish government’s policy of seeking herd immunity instead of trying to suppress contagion. The Swedes’ approach, however, may pay off during the pandemic’s second wave predicted by many experts.

In Russia, the Covid-19 outbreak has undone years of centralization by the Kremlin. Regional governors had to be granted powers that Moscow may not be able to take back once the pandemic ends. The crisis has also exacerbated friction between the church and the government, while dropping oil prices have ...

The Putin administration rushed a wide range of constitutional amendments through parliament during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Most analysts have come to the conclusion that the sole purpose of the changes was to allow the Russian president to hold on to power, but several developments contradict this ...

After a rise in popularity in the 19th century, the concept of self-regulation fell out of favor in the aftermath of the two World Wars. Behaviors like delaying gratification have been declining since then, gradually chipping away at the social fabric in most Western nations. However, the current crisis could ...

After the financial crisis of 2008, EU leaders decided that the European Central Bank needed supervisory powers over banks. Initially, the project successfully helped rein in bad practices and clean up banks' balance sheets. However, if the ECB's supervisory and monetary policy-setting functions are not kept separate, it could lead ...

Six months into 2020, the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on the global economy are becoming clear. Not only has it disrupted supply chains and upended long-standing industry alliances, it has reinforced governments’ spendthrift habits and central banks’ tendency to print money. GIS experts have offered their analysis and predictions ...

Some leaders like to talk up Europe’s so-called values when it suits their purposes. But some EU member states, and often Brussels, apply these “values” inconsistently – unpragmatically extending sanctions on Russia, for example, but refusing to stand up to Iran or China. Europe needs realpolitik and long-term strategy in ...

Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winner prime minister has made headway implementing his ambitious political reform and development agenda. However, the global pandemic put the changes on hold and the country’s political and economic outlook has darkened considerably.

While the airline industry was booming throughout the 2010s, the 2020 Covid-19 outbreak left it reeling. Governments the world over are bailing out flag carriers, leading to potential market distortions. Meanwhile, the sector is looking into several ways to speed up recovery while adapting to a radically different, post-pandemic environment.

During his first month in office, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has laid out a bold agenda on Iraq’s economy and security. But finding success will be much more challenging. Al-Kadhimi must keep Iran-backed militias at bay, while managing the future presence of U.S. troops and the lingering threat of the Islamic State. ...

Mustafa Al-Kadhimi — British citizen, former news columnist, and ex-intelligence chief — has now improbably risen to Iraq’s highest office. His opening was created thanks partly to the weakness of Iran, which is dealing with an economic crisis and the recent loss of General Qassem Soleimani to an American drone strike. In his first few ...

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, India is leveraging its status as the world leader in generic drug manufacturing to build its image overseas and increase its foreign policy clout. However, if other countries make good on their plans to enhance their domestic medical production capabilities, India’s exports could suffer in the longer ...

This month, Hungary commemorated the centennial anniversary of the Treaty of Trianon, which handed 72 percent of its land to neighboring states. While Hungarians have every right to reflect on the unfairness of the peace terms, this year’s ceremony has taken place amid much criticism from Western member states of ...

Sociocultural factors can explain South Korea’s model reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. The country’s difficult postwar years led to a strong sense of civic duty, which led citizens to adhere meticulously to government guidelines. However, this success on the health front does not preclude economic difficulties amid the global recession.

The U.S. and China are engaged in tit-for-tat threats over 5G. The stakes are high, since the technology will shape the future in unpredictable ways, and the competition will determine the technical infrastructure of modern governance. Whichever country gains the upper hand will also gain a geopolitical advantage – but ...

President Daniel Ortega has slowly taken Nicaragua down the path of dictatorship. With the economy in free fall and poverty on the rise, the government in Managua has resorted to brutal repression to keep a lid on social unrest. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit the country, making a bad situation ...