I think we’ll make next week the last of the blog highlights for a while; that’ll make a nice even dozen for this series. This week, again some stories of continuing relevance.
National unity, of a sort, in Israel (March 2020). Covid-19 fractures the opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. A new government is finally on the way.
Asymmetrical stacking (August 2020). There are similarities between branch stacking scandals in the Liberal and Labor parties, but there’s also an important difference that it’s worth keeping sight of.
Biden! (November 2020). Joe Biden wins a tense presidential election, with a result that looks close but is secure against serious challenge.
Mr Koch and the Russians (March 2021). A dispute at a prestigious American think-tank exposes an apparent synergy in foreign policy between libertarianism and Trumpism.
Death of a humorist (February 2022). P.J. O’Rourke leaves behind a wonderful body of work but also an ambiguous moral legacy.
Disaster in the heartland / More Liberal woes in the heartland (May 2022 & May 2025). It’s hard to overstate the disaster that has overtaken the Liberal Party in its heartland. It may recover, but it will never be the same again.
A lesson from Canada? (April 2023). Justin Trudeau celebrates ten years in the Liberal leadership, as his party’s Australian namesake grapples with its continuing crisis of identity.
One dead mutineer (August 2023). The death of Yevgeny Prigozhin illustrates the brutality of Russia’s regime, but it is hardly the least excusable of Vladimir Putin’s crimes.
Shoring up the monarchy in Thailand (February 2024). Thailand’s constitutional court tries to protect the monarchy by outlawing dissent, in a move that’s liable to backfire.
Courts and constitutions revisited (July 2024). Joe Biden launches an attempt to make reform of the Supreme Court into an election issue.
Insurrection then and now (January 2025). Peaceful presidential transition in the United States throws Donald Trump’s subversion in 2021 into sharper relief – as do proceedings in South Korea.
Europe, unsteadily, stands up (March 2025). With the prospect of having to fend for themselves in a hostile world, Europe’s leaders prepare to put a lot more money into defence.
The World is Not Enough 