In The News

Brutal Efficiency: The Secret to Islamic State's Success

Siobhan Gorman, Nour Malas and Matt Bradley September 4, 2014
The Islamic State group of terrorists, also known as IS or ISIS, is controlling swaths of territory throughout Syria and Iraq, community by community, with coercion, brutal tactics and US-made weapons captured from the Iraqi army. Strategies that include kidnappings with big ransoms and takeover of oil fields as well as extreme support for Islam win over young men from around the globe seeking...

Thailand’s Ultra-Monarchists Export Vigilante Justice

Michael Peel September 3, 2014
The rise of ultra-monarchism and harsh penalties for speaking against the monarchy in Thailand are heightening political conflict and tension throughout the diaspora. “Part-absurd, part chilling, the case highlights how the ever harsher application in Thailand of lèse-majesté laws protecting the frail 86-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej is spilling across continents in uncontrolled and...

Arab Nations Strike in Libya, Surprising US

David D. Kirkpatrick and Eric Schmittaug August 26, 2014
Without asking or waiting for US approval, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates targeted airstrikes against Islamist militias in Libya, reports the New York Times. During the 2011 Arab Spring protests, powerful autocrats, tending to regard any political opposition to their rule as extreme, had warned that extremists could hijack the democracy movements. Elections in Libya have since led to bitter...

An Interview With the US President

August 8, 2014
Multiple powers, including China and the United States, will contribute to ongoing economic development in Africa, suggests US President Barack Obama. Editors with the Economist interviewed Obama just before the US summit with African heads of state and business leaders in Washington, and he offers insights on US relations with emerging economies: ASEAN nations do not want to choose between China...

Obama Authorizes Air Strikes on ISIS to Help Iraqis Besieged on Mountain

August 8, 2014
After invading Iraq in 2003, the United States struggled to repair the bitter Shia-Sunni divide and install a system of governance more stable than that of brutal dictator Saddam Hussein. After US troops withdrew in 2011, a relatively small group of militants fighting in Syria took advantage of a power vacuum to impose what they call an Islamic State, also known as IS, ISIS or ISIL, rapidly...

Will Erdoğan’s Victory Mark Rise of Illiberal Democracy?

Hakan Altinay August 7, 2014
An easy victory projected for Recep Tayip Erdoğan as first president of Turkey elected by popular vote baffles critics in the West. Steady improvements in the Turkish economy throughout his 11 years as prime minister trump ongoing complaints about an authoritarian style, explains Hakan Altinay, director of the European School of Politics in Istanbul. “While Erdoğan's sympathizers would say...

Africa’s Jihadists, On Their Way

August 1, 2014
The most extreme ideologies tap into widespread frustrations and flourish in nations and communities that fail their people with poor education and governance. The Economist interviews youths who live in Chad, a country rich in oil but inept in distributing benefits to its citizens: “Most would rather have jobs than become religious marauders, but given the chance they may be tempted to join a...