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Watching Australia’s 2025 federal election from Wellington gave me an uncanny sense of déjà vu. As Labor swept to power with a commanding parliamentary majority and the Liberal-National Coalition suffered its worst defeat in generations, I could not help but think: “I have seen this movie before.” New Zealand’s Labour Party swept to power in 2020 with the first single-party majority under our proportional representation system. Read more

New Zealand generally likes arms control treaties. I have a modest proposal for a disarmament treaty. Read more

Donald Trump returned to power with America’s highly politicised universities squarely in his sights. Within weeks of his inauguration, his administration launched a sweeping campaign targeting dozens of institutions nationwide. Read more

There is a devil in European literature who claims an unexpected virtue: he intends evil but accomplishes good. In Goethe’s masterpiece “Faust,” Mephistopheles – essentially the devil – tells us: “I am part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good.” This paradox from German literature’s greatest work perfectly captures a surprising phenomenon unfolding today: Donald Trump may be the Mephistopheles that Europe did not know it needed. Read more

About a quarter century ago, my to-be wife introduced me to a card game called Flux. It was popular among the computer science and engineering students in Pittsburgh. Read more

Winning an election can still mean losing control. This paradox is playing out in Germany right now. Read more

Jim Allan’s spirited response to my Quadrant Online column, Trump’s war on constitutional democracy, misses what makes this moment so dangerous for America. While Jim and I share deep concerns about judicial activism and bureaucratic overreach, his attempt to normalise Trump’s recent actions ignores their unprecedented assault on constitutional government. Read more

Donald Trump’s February call with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine’s future marked the end of the post-war order. His promised visit to Moscow and Putin’s planned trip to Washington herald a new era of raw power politics. Read more

Geopolitics offers no shortage of distractions. Ukraine peace negotiations lurch forward then stall. Read more