Mark Twain is often quoted as saying, ‘History may not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.’ He might have added that when history does rhyme, the results are often disastrous. Just as the territorial ambitions …
Articles by: "Schlomo"
Last week, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled on two major bills pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government as part of its judicial overhaul. The decision to strike down the first and delay activation …
Israel’s forceful military response to Hamas’s 7 October massacre has sparked massive demonstrations around the world. Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel has once again been cast as an oppressive colonial power in many …
Sooner or later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s destructive political magic, which has kept him in power for 15 years, was bound to usher in a major tragedy. A year ago, he formed the most …
Peace processes tend to be riddled with uncertainties, especially when conflicts are protracted and each side’s intentions, willingness and capacity to comply with any agreement remain unclear. The significant political costs associated with making concessions …
‘Spain is different’ is a phrase that has often been used as a substitute for nuanced analysis of developments in the country. But Spain truly was different in its peaceful transition to democracy after the …
Some military coups purport to represent the vanguard of modernisation and change. Others, such as Chile’s in 1973 and Spain’s failed attempt in 1981, are fuelled by nostalgia for past dictatorships. The majority of coups …
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year galvanised the West against not only the Kremlin, but also other rivals, especially an increasingly assertive China. But last month, French President Emmanuel Macron headed to Beijing, where …
As the United States focuses on its showdown with Russia in Ukraine and its escalating competition with China, the Middle East has been left to run its affairs the way it always has: with marriages …
While wars invariably end, the underlying disagreements often remain. The peace is tenuous and interrupted by spasms of violence. The way a war ends—whether through outright victory, exhaustion or mutual deterrence—might make a difference, with …
The 19th-century English historian J.R. Seeley famously said Britain acquired its empire in a ‘fit of absence of mind’. The same could be said of the post–Cold War European Union. In some ways, the EU’s …
Despite Ukraine’s recent impressive counteroffensive around Kharkiv, the war with Russia has reached a prolonged deadlock. But there is one clear winner: the US arms industry. Some view these companies as the ‘arsenal of democracy’, …