Switzerland votes – very narrowly – for new restrictions on immigration, calling into question its future in the European single market.
Category: Political issues
Party games in Australia
Two stories in Australian politics this week draw attention to structural issues that might benefit from some international comparison.
Ukrainians are still talking
There are still hopes for a peaceful solution to Ukraine's crisis. A seminar this week drew out some of the issues.
A new alias for Greece’s neo-Nazis
Golden Dawn, National Dawn – fascists are still fascists. But it's not yet time to panic about Greece.
Putting a general in charge
The nomination of Peter Cosgrove as Australia's next governor-general raises interesting questions about what sort of job it is – and what sort of country we are.
Another president-for-life looms for Nicaragua
President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua doesn't want to give up the job that he first held in the 1980s.
Constitutional change is harder than it looks
Media reports on Tony Abbott's push for constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians convey an impression of novelty. Yet nothing has really changed.
French Socialists have more than sex to worry about
French president François Hollande is trying to put the recent crisis in his personal life behind him, but that's not the source of his political problems.
Breaking up Ukraine?
The ongoing protests in Kiev and other cities of western Ukraine are starting to raise the question of whether it can remain a united country.
Catalonia’s choice
Catalans want to vote on whether to be independent from Spain. Getting a referendum will be harder than it is for Scotland, but there's probably more chance of a "Yes" vote if it happens.
The World is Not Enough 