Patrick Smyth

Following the assault on Congress on January 6th, 2021, is the prospect of war really that far-fetched?

Israel’s population cannot plead ignorance to what’s happening in Gaza, but polls could give a false impression of public mood

Worldview: Despite being indelibly associated with cronyism, the latest polls show Jacob Zuma’s MK party posing a real threat to his old ANC comrades

Senegal has long been considered an example of stability in West Africa

Stand by for some elegant intellectual gymnastics to ensure that the former president is on the ballot

Struggle over the definition of anti-Semitism is a successful campaign by Israel’s supporters internationally to curtail the supposedly acceptable limits to criticism of Israel and muzzle its opponents

Dublin is, as yet, reluctant to be seen to enter the highly political immigration debate. But it may have to

Ordinary people on both sides have lost faith in the two-state solution. But one variation worthy of consideration is the idea of close Israeli-Palestinian confederation

World View: The results of two recent referendums are a reminder that yes/no answers to complex questions are not really that useful

Worldview: Success of striking carworkers in the new economy will be closely watched and applauded by trade unionists internationally

Euphemisms used by the Western powers are testimony to the complexity of the phenomenon

Former US president’s personal power-grab plan, assisted by a pliable judiciary, involves an all-out assault on the separation of powers

Putin’s implied threats to use fission bomb is a stark reminder of the madness of complacency

Worldview: As many as one in three of those who voted leave in 2016 accept the economic consensus that Britain’s economy is weaker as a result of Brexit

How familiar the Berlusconi model – embodying all the qualities of an Italian opera – now seems