‘Weak’ states giving way to populist wave

Those who feel left behind by the enrichment of the minority and the stagnation of the many are choosing to be represented by political forces that...

By John Lloyd 7 years ago

How democracy’s spread has dashed dreams of liberalism

South Africa’s Zuma is outwas the Washington Post’s headline on Thursday morning. “Will things actually get better?”

By John Lloyd 7 years ago

Give room to new clash of civilizations

The Darkest Hour, a film which emphasizes the courage and iron will of Winston Churchill through the...

By John Lloyd 7 years ago

How the Catalonia vote is a real threat to the existence of the EU

The EU cannot look on these movements with anything but disfavour and alarm.

By John Lloyd 8 years ago

Now is the summer of Britain's discontent

The BBC news at 7:00 this past Tuesday morning had eight stories - each redolent of the despair that grips British public life. An opener was the global threat posed by the successful test of a North Korean ballistic missile and the US response that "war cannot be ruled out".

By John Lloyd 8 years ago

In French politics, graft is a way of life

Political corruption in France is common, and usually – if the politician is at or near the top of the political game – unpunished.

By John Lloyd 8 years ago

Why I’m optimistic about Trump

I’m a Donald Trump optimist. Like the many who don’t support him, I am alarmed that he won. But I don’t believe he will be as bad as the worst fears. It’s a very modest definition of optimism, but I think it’s the best liberals can come up with.

By John Lloyd 9 years ago

What went wrong with democracy?

They do what populists have always done: play on fears, especially of those not defined as "our" people; exaggerate social breakdown; identify centrist and liberal governments as out of touch and corrupt, and point to a cosmopolitan, snobbish and self-interested elite with no respect for "the people".

By John Lloyd 9 years ago

Leaks are bad for politics and journalism

Journalism and politics now live in the leak culture, and both professions will be forever changed by it. Both have always benefitted from leaks of some kind, from the officially authorised to the criminally filched.

By John Lloyd 9 years ago

West losing battle for the heart of Europe

A little over a quarter of a century ago, Europe celebrated the healing of the schism that Communism enforced on it since World War Two, and which produced great tribunes of freedom.

By John Lloyd 9 years ago

ISIS an existential threat to the West

The Europeans have - it's not news - tended to be snooty about the Americans. Especially the French, but the attitude is ingrained even in the "special relationship" with the UK.

By John Lloyd 10 years ago