Top Stories of 2021
Joe Biden’s priorities. Better governments in Israel and Italy. European defense.
Struggling Through Simms
Brendan Simms’ history of Europe is overly deterministic.
What’s in the Dutch Coalition Agreement
Investments in climate, child care and defense; nuclear power and government-funded weed.
The Next Dutch Government, Explained
Why it took so long and what happens next.
How to Keep an Empire for a Thousand Years
Not through force, but by persuasion.
Don’t Fall for Putin’s Propaganda About Ukraine
Ukrainians must decide their own future.
Spain Tries to Attract More Expats
Taxes are cut, but there’s not much the national government can do about overbearing bureaucracy.
Two Visions of France
Éric Zemmour reduces the French to victims. Emmanuel Macron gives them agency.
French Republicans Do Macron A Favor
Party members eliminate the two best candidates against the president.
France’s Republican Presidential Primary, Explained
How the vote works and who has qualified.
What’s in Germany’s “Traffic Light” Coalition Agreement
I read all 177 pages so you don’t have to.
Commission Sides with Rutte over Macron on Industrial Policy
A Franco-German plan to relax antitrust rules is defeated.
Biden Did Not End Trump’s Trade War with Europe
The new president replaces aluminum and steel tariffs with a convoluted system of quotas.
Catalan Budget Crisis Is Tied to Independence
Reasonable independence parties need the support of separatist hardliners.
Dutch Get Preview of Next Government’s Policies
A deal between two of the negotiating parties was found on a train.