World News Insights: Opinion Articles

The Europeans are terrified by the prospect of Ukraine’s flames reaching their countries. They are afraid that their safe countries, thriving economies, and free societies will be Russia’s next target. The specter of losing today’s privileges is a major motive for their cautious and confused…

Hussam Itani

As President Vladimir Putin was launching his battle to restore Russia’s former glory by leveling Ukraine, something as important to his country’s future had already begun to play out at home. Russia’s most valuable asset — its young people — were indicating they want out. A poll taken before…

Stephen Mihm

Kremlin propaganda isn’t just piped into Russia’s brains via television. On TikTok, which suspended all new video uploads from Russia this week, some “influencers” managed to stand out in the sea of dancing and cooking clips by supporting President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The reach of…

Parmy Olson

This is the biggest crisis in world history since World War II, a far cry from the Cuban missile crisis, the chaos of the collapse of the Soviet Union, wars in the Middle East, etc. These kinds of wars go beyond defining the borders and interests of countries to deciding the fate of humanity. Their…

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

President Joe Biden’s effort to craft a US strategy for cryptocurrencies has highlighted a big question: Should the Federal Reserve enter the fray by issuing a digital version of the national currency, as China and others have already done? Although some are urging the US to act, there’s really…

Darrell Duffie

Some in the Arab world have loudly deplored the concern about the ongoing Russian Ukrainian war, particularly concern for the Ukrainian people’s suffering. We Arabs, they argue, have our own tragedies in Palestine, Iraq, and Yemen (Syria and Lebanon are often disregarded, as accusing America,…

Hazem Saghieh

Bitcoin has found its calling: As Ukrainians face escalating violence at the hands of Russian forces, the world’s premier cryptocurrency has become a key way for people to bypass centralized financial systems, store wealth and raise funds amid an unfolding humanitarian disaster. With Washington…

Tim Culpan

The international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is seriously lacking. There is one glaring question that needs to be answered: Should the US, Europe and Asia stop buying Russian oil? Choking off Russian oil sales would put significant pressure on the Russian economy, and perhaps…

Julian Lee

The White House’s roadmap for the next phase of the pandemic covers all the usual suspects, including Covid-19 surveillance, testing, vaccination and treatment. But there’s also a happy surprise tucked in there: a series of proposals to help improve indoor air quality. This marks an essential…

Lisa Jarvis

China is the wild card. President Xi Jinping has vowed that the friendship between China and Russia has “no limits,” and he certainly has the tools to help soften the blow of unprecedented sanctions imposed by the US and European Union on Vladimir Putin’s wartime economy. Beijing could buy some…

Shuli Ren

Covid-19 has been pushed off front pages by falling case counts and other news stories, though the pandemic’s threat hasn’t really changed — we’re just in the trough of the last wave. Nonetheless, it was strange to hear President Joe Biden talk in his State of the Union address as if the pandemic…

Faye Flam

One prominent casualty of Russia’s war against Ukraine is the idea that the US can safely reduce the role of nuclear weapons in its foreign policy. This idea has influenced President Joe Biden’s administration in its early thinking on foreign policy; it builds on a longer post-Cold War trend of…

Hal Brands