In The News

BBC: France Activates No-Deal Brexit Plan

January 17, 2019
Cooperation on complex trade, financial and security relationships requires compromise. Brexit’s most vehement supporters did not realize that leaving the European Union would still require compromise. Britain, as one member among 28 nations and representing about 16 percent of the European Union’s total GDP, lacks leverage. Agreement of all EU members is required for any deal. The British...

Guardian: May Endures Historic Defeat

Andrew Sparrow January 15, 2019
The United Kingdom scrambles on what to do next after Parliament soundly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan. After a campaign of misleading information and interference by foreign interests, British voters narrowly approved exit from the European Union in June 2016. Numerous trade, security and immigration agreements formed over the course of decades have long guided British...

Al Jazeera: Indian Bill That Excludes Muslims

January 10, 2019
India’s lower house of parliament approved a bill granting citizenship rights to non-Muslim immigrants. The legislation would require approval of the upper house – unlikely because it’s not under the control of the Bharatiya Janata Party that devised the plan. India is host to numerous refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Critics have called the proposal, contained in the...

Spiegel: If Macron Fails, Europe Fails

Henrik Enderlein December 24, 2018
Emmanuel Macron won the French presidential election without support of a traditional political party on a platform of strengthening the European Union in revolutionary ways. But the yellow-vest protests that began over a fuel tax are eroding his authority. He has led numerous reforms for the French job market, wage negotiations, taxation and the budget deficit. “Macron has already reformed his...

Spiegel: Exit From Brexit?

Markus Becker December 14, 2018
Britain, facing a March deadline, struggles to reach agreement on ending its EU membership. Increasing awareness about membership benefits has triggered second thoughts, and some leaders urge a second referendum. Ending Brexit would not be helpful for Britain or the EU, argues Markus Becker for Spiegel Online. Another referendum would encourage ugly rhetoric, with Brexit supporters feeling...

BBC: May Wins Confidence Vote

December 12, 2018
British Prime Minister held on to her job after facing a vote of confidence from fellow Tory members. Just before the voting started, Theresa May told fellow MPs she would see the Brexit deal through before resigning as party leader before the next scheduled election in 2022. After she delayed a vote on Brexit by full parliament, 48 members of her party expressed no confidence. Most Tory party...

Washington Post: Cultural Anxiety Fuels France’s Protests

Ishaan Tharoor December 11, 2018
The “gilets jaunes,” or yellow vest movement, target French cities with violent protests and economic disruptions. The protests are spreading to Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain. One analyst suggests that what began as opposition to a tax designed to slow climate change has exploded into a working-class revolt. Yet surveys suggest that 79 percent of French citizens regard climate change as a...