Search

The moderate increases in the European Central Bank’s interest rates are far from being brutal but the writing is on the wall that Europe’s monetary party is about to end, and Southern Europe has remarkable parallels to Mexico and Latin America in the 1980s. Of all the places in history, Mexico in 1982 could give us a hint about the future of European monetary policy. Read more

The strategic implications of Putin’s war against Ukraine keep evolving as the conflict enters its fourth month. As yet another unintended consequence, it has broken the anti-EU axis between Warsaw and Budapest. Read more

Finland and Sweden intending to join Nato is not just a radical departure from decades of Nordic foreign policy, it also shows how the invasion of Ukraine has altered the political landscape in Europe - not just in Scandinavia. There was a time when many left-leaning politicians in Europe viewed everything related to defence and security alliances with suspicion. Read more

As they say, it is better to learn from other people’s mistakes than to make them all yourself. It is one of those truisms so obviously correct it has been falsely attributed to at least a dozen people. Read more

Let’s start with a quiz. Over the past 12 months, which of these currencies performed the worst against the US dollar: the Zimbabwe dollar, the Russian Rouble, or the Euro? Read more

As Putin’s soldiers fight in eastern Ukraine, he is also involved in a battle much further west. Tragically, that western battle may even go his way. Read more

Russia’s Embassy in Wellington includes some 20 officials and their partners. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website tells us the Russian Embassy’s staff include Ambassador Zuev, a Deputy Head of Mission, a Second Secretary, another Second Secretary, a Third Secretary, four Attachés, and eleven “Administrative and Technical Staff.” It isn’t a small number. Read more