Opinion

By Jan-Werner Mueller Péter Magyar’s landslide victory in Hungary has triggered a global outpouring of commentary that sometimes reads like a trashy banner ad: “This one secret technique will make your far-right populism problem disappear!” Hungary’s experience supposedly demonstrates that one needs only to focus...

The spectacular victory of the BJP in the states of West Bengal, Assam, and Puducherry puts on the party the extra burden of reviving the states. With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, banking on domestic consumption and its sheer absorbing capacity, boosting the economy may work...

Yearnings for desired change, continuance, and constructive stability have been particularly discernible factors in the outcome of the Indian state Assembly polls in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Keralam, and Puducherry. Among them, the eastern state of West Bengal has drawn spiralling attention and displayed...

In most democracies, a leader outsourcing high-stakes diplomacy to family members and business associates would provoke outrage. But US President Donald Trump has faced little pushback for doing so, with many downplaying his crony diplomacy as mere “heterodoxy.” The long-term consequences will be severe. Instead...

Melvin Durai I’ve always thought of squirrels as cute, harmless creatures, but I’m beginning to wonder if they just have a very good Department of Public Relations. The department ensures that any negative stories about squirrels are drowned out by positive stories, some of them...

Ian Buruma What should be done about mass murderers once the regime they served is toppled? Countries all over the world, from post-Nazi Germany to post-junta Argentina, have faced this problem. The process is always messy and riddled with hypocrisies. Now it’s Syria's turn to...

Sanjay Kapoor is a veteran Indian journalist and President of Editors Guild of India (EGI), elected unopposed in late 2025. With decades of editorial experience, he is best known for his work as Editor of ‘Hardnews Magazine’. Widely respected for his expertise in foreign affairs...

Shivaji Sarkar None, not even US analysers, expected that a “non-descript war” with a small country like Iran could change the global energy scenario, that America is keen on monopolising. The US plans a conflict decades before as it had envisioned the 1969 Camp David...

Kaushik Basu As the economic consequences of US President Donald Trump's war against Iran become evident, policymakers around the world are running out of patience. The recent Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington made this abundantly clear, with UK...

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is just the latest in a series of major supply shocks the global economy has experienced since 2020. Yet each time, the resulting shortages appear to catch policymakers off guard. From personal protective equipment at the start of...