Section: The Conversation (USA)
Six myths about national security intelligence
President Trump has gotten off to a rough start with the intelligence community. The day after being sworn in, Trump spoke at CIA headquarters in an apparent attempt to mend his relationship with the agency. The relationship was frayed in large part due to Trump’s skepticism about an intelligence assessment that suggested Russia had hacked...
How Brazil’s far right became a dominant political force
Recent reports indicate that far-right groups from the Ukraine have come to Brazil to recruit neo-Nazis to fight against pro-Russian rebels. Western readers reacted with shock and fascination – but however strange the story might seem, conservatism and political extremism have been on the rise in Brazil for some time. Many of the country’s...
Loose-cannon Trump enters the tinderbox of US-Russia-China relations
A Trump administration raises many questions about how America’s relationships with other world powers will play out. Reuters/Lucy NicholsonDonald Trump’s inauguration speech had one simple message: “America first”. His was an inward-looking vision of the future in which America would set about regaining all that has been stolen from...
Trump’s inaugural address will probably end up as just a footnote in history
All eyes are now on Donald J. Trump’s impending inauguration, which takes place in Washington DC, on January 20, and whose centrepiece is the inaugural address. But despite the attention lavished on these speeches by aides, speechwriters, newspaper columnists and pundits, few of them earn a place in history. There are, of course, some...
Despite the fuss, Trump’s inaugural will probably soon be forgotten
All eyes are now on Donald J. Trump’s impending inauguration, which takes place in Washington DC, on January 20, and whose centrepiece is the inaugural address. But despite the attention lavished on these speeches by aides, speechwriters, newspaper columnists and pundits, few of them earn a place in history. There are, of course, some...
Theresa May’s Brexit: how Europe reacted
Could British premier Theresa May’s Brexit statement have been any more bullish? Her abrasive tone and thinly veiled threats might almost have been designed to enrage a European elite already irritated over the UK’s prevarications over Brexit. Speaking in London, May outlined a Wild West Brexit, effectively threatening to set up the...
Trump NATO strategy awaited with increasingly frayed nerves in eastern Europe
While America celebrates the inauguration of its 45th president, there is widespread concern about his potential approach towards NATO, his relations with Russia – and whether Russian president Vladimir Putin will try to take advantage of any signs of weakness or disunity within the western treaty alliance. There are, potentially, troubling times...
Trumpus Andronicus? What the Byzantine Empire can tell us about the rise of populist leaders
Carlos Barria/ReutersThe approaching Donald Trump presidency has taken quite a battering from historians. Comparisons have abounded with the 20th century’s greatest villains, including Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, even if some have questioned how useful such parallels are. But there is an era that lends itself rather closer to...
Russia has yet to decide what it wants from Donald Trump – or how to get it
The dossier reportedly drawn up by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele has everyone pondering Russia’s potential ability to manipulate Donald Trump once he’s in office. In reality, most of the dossier’s claims aren’t very clear, and as yet are not backed up by evidence that could sway the public. The only sure thing the...
Centrelink data-matching problems show the need for a government blockchain
A blockchain could be used to record all of our interactions with the government. ShutterstockGovernments across the globe are experimenting with the blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin, as a way to reduce costs and provide more accountability to the public. In Europe alone, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Estonia are experimenting with...
