It’s official : as of Thursday, January 21st 2010, US democracy as we all knew it has ceased to exist. In a highly controversial ruling, the US Supreme Court has done away with the ban on financial contributions by corporations in candidate elections. Thus, the American political system, already antiquated, will drift further away from those of its European [...]

From an European perspective, Barack Obama’s first year in office has been less than spectacular as far as results go. His left-of-centre administration includes many of Bill Clinton’s former appointees in vital areas such as economic strategy or foreign affairs. Many of his supporters feel let down with the lack of progress in Iraq, in Afghanistan, on the environment or by [...]

Until recently, we were used to hearing neo-conservative pundits peddle the idea that the 21st century will see a renewal of American hegemonism over world affairs. The “new American century” has fizzled out amid botched military interventions, lacklustre economic performance in the States and repeated stockmarket scandals that affected the economic stability of the whole [...]

Extending the war in Irak will probably be regarded by pundits as the biggest foreign policy blunder the US has made in recent memory. Much as a consequence of it, the war in Afghanistan has been fought with less resolve, enabling Al-Qaida and the Talibans to regain their strength and challenge the Western forces present there. Furthermore, [...]

After much horse-trading between the continental Europeans and the Anglo-Saxons, the G20 Summit in London has ended with an “almost historic compromise” (Angela Merkel). Known for their reluctance to regulate financial markets and to rein in hedge-funds or rating agencies, the American and British teams at the summit were coaxed by the Sarkozy-Merkel team to [...]