The Spanish courts take a hand again on the Catalan issue, making compromise less likely and adding to the woes of the embattled prime minister.
Category: Political issues
On courts and constitutions
After being, by their lights, cheated out of two seats on the United States Supreme Court, the Democrats are ready to fight back, but their options are constrained by the constitution.
Whither Belgium?
Belgium finally looks set for a new government, 16 months after its election, but it will have to deal with a deeply divided country.
Neoliberalism one more time
An attempt to distinguish between "neoliberals" and "libertarians" tracks the major fault line in non-left politics.
Poland’s leader stands up for the animals
The Polish government is in crisis after its animal welfare legislation won more support from the opposition than from its own coalition partners.
A new leader for Japan
Japan's new prime minister, like most of his predecessors, is the choice of party factions rather than any sort of popular process. But public discontent rarely goes to the lengths of putting a different party in government.
Trump and the evangelicals
It's suggested that white evangelical Christians have sold out their values by supporting Donald Trump. But what if Trump actually embodies their real values?
Another Brexit hiccup
It's not just Northern Ireland that poses a border control problem for the Brexit negotiations. Some of the same issues recur on a smaller scale with Gibraltar.
Bulgarians in the streets
Protests in Bulgaria have so far been unsuccessful in securing the departure of its badly compromised leader. But electoral retribution may not be far off.
Collective responsibility in New South Wales
A cabinet crisis in New South Wales demonstrates some truths about how responsible government works. It also shows that coalition politics in Australia is not quite what it seems.
