While African states are working to create alternative economic and governance structures to challenge the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Bank and the IMF still have a significant presence in Africa. For instance, BRICS members Egypt and Ethiopia rely on IMF funding. Egypt recently secured a US$8 billion bailout amid economic challenges, and

Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai Party has lost its trust with citizens by breaking with an electoral promise of including royal defamation cases in a proposed amnesty bill for political prisoners, analysts said In late October, the party reversed course by announcing it would now exclude so-called lèse-majesté cases in its version of the bill. ???

In the new age of industrial policy, advanced economies are driving public–private partnerships and abandoning notions of laissez-faire competition. As of September 2024, the Japanese government has spent over US$25 billion on subsidising semiconductors, the ‘new oil’ integral to civilian and military technologies. While the potential economi

Minister Peter Szijjarto’s appearance last Thursday at the Russia-led Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security in Belarus Szijjarto‘s presence undermined the EU policy of isolating Belarus because of its close ties to Russia. He was photographed enjoying notably cordial interaction with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with wh

Since the Stockholm Forum, I have had the opportunity to connect with many Forum participants from non-violent resistance movements, civil society, government agencies and donors across geographies and sectors. Three things are clear. First, all recognize the underlying role that authoritarianism and kleptocracy play in driving insecurity and viole