Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg
Judd Devermont, CSIS
The Malian military this week ejected the civilian government following two months of street protests, setting the stage for more turmoil in the restive Sahel region. On the morning of Tuesday, August 18, soldiers mutinied at the Kati military base outside the capital of Bamako and detained President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK), Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, and a number of senior military officers and civilian cabinet officials. IBK
Kanak Mani Dixit, The Hindu
The mending of the most exemplary inter-state relationship of South Asia must be as dramatic and rapid as the rupture.
Howard French, WPR
For most of the past decade, visions of the future of Hong Kong tended to fall into one of two starkly divided camps. The first, optimistic one held that the surprising resilience of Hong Kong’s civil society, including one example after another of massive and, until recently, overwhelmingly peaceful civil disobedience, would gradually bring Beijing around to the view that trying to impose tight controls over the city was not worth the devastating potential cost.
R. Fontaine, TNI
America and Europe could harmonize policies on Iran and Russia, support democracy in places like Belarus, build a common approach to China, and more.
Julian Jessop, CapX
Imagine that the government could simply print whatever money it needs to guarantee everyone a decent income, fantastic public services, and a secure job if they wanted one – with enough left over to save the planet too. That, for many, is the promise of a new economic paradigm known as Modern Monetary Theory (MMT).
Stephen Daisley, Spectator
Sarah Kurnick , The Conversation
Since at least the third millennium B.C., economically, socially and politically marginalized people have questioned authority by mutilating public images of rulers. And those in power have destroyed monuments to reinforce their authority and erase the names and accomplishments of their predecessors.
Steven Erlanger, NYT
Europe’s leaders are treading carefully to avoid providing a pretext for further state violence or for a Russian intervention.
M. Tanchum, FP
The region’s powers and the West are facing off against Turkey—and Turkey is not going down without a fight.
