Articles by: "Mark Leonard"
The US and China are the closest of enemies

There has long been talk that the strategic rivalry emerging between the United States and China in recent years could one day give way to confrontation. That moment has arrived. Welcome to the Cold War …

The new tyranny of the dollar

Donald Trump may not want to launch wars in the Middle East, but that doesn’t mean he’s getting the United States out of the regime-change business. His administration has made it clear that it wants …

Present at the destruction

At the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly last month, there was a widespread sense of foreboding among world leaders. The anxiety went beyond standard concerns about what US President Donald Trump would …

Why is anti-Semitism returning to Germany?

Though the British Labour Party’s anti-Semitism scandal has dominated headlines in the United Kingdom of late, there is a more profound debate with the same theme taking place in Germany. Most worryingly, the fundamental tenets …

Europe for itself

Donald Trump is the first US president to think that the US-led world order is undermining US interests. Though the current order obviously benefits the United States, Trump is convinced that it benefits China even …

Will Italy’s populists upend Europe?

‘They are trying to stop us with the usual blackmail of rising spreads, falling stock markets and European threats,’ wrote Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s League party, on his Facebook page. ‘This time,’ Salvini insisted, …

How Europe can save the Iran nuclear deal

This week, a senior German official pointed out to me that, ‘The Iran nuclear deal is the last firewall preventing military tensions in the world’s most combustible region from spilling over into thermonuclear war.’ That …

Macron takes aim at European politics

Until the terrorist attack at a market in southern France on 23 March, French President Emmanuel Macron had been planning to launch a new European-level political campaign. Though the official rollout has now been postponed, Macron’s …

China’s big-data big brother

The Communist Party of China’s (CPC) decision this week to eliminate presidential term limits seems to open the door for President Xi Jinping to be not just ‘Chairman of Everything’, but also ‘Chairman Forever’. The …

Europe’s crisis starts at home

Deep divisions within Europe are increasingly threatening the values upon which the European project of ‘ever closer union’ is based. In 2015, during the refugee crisis, many commentators saw a divide between German Chancellor Angela …

The illusion of freedom in the digital age

Over the last few weeks, media around the world have been saturated with stories about how technology is destroying politics. In autocracies like China, the fear is of ultra-empowered Big Brother states, like that in …

How Britain lost its cool

The recent meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May in the Estonian capital of Tallinn was a portrait in contrasts. Merkel has pursued openness and internationalism, and leads a country …