OPINION

Giancarlo Elia Valori Deep rifts are tearing through the body of our society. They cause new anxiety and anger among people and create new currents in politics. The social basis of this anxiety includes geographical, educational and ethical factors. People are not born to earn a lot of …

Evgeny Buzhinsky Now that the New START Treaty is extended, the parties need to make efforts to work out a realistic new agreement that takes into account as many of the parties’ concerns as possible, but it should not set impossible tasks as a precondition, writes Valdai Club …

Europe remains in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic. The resurgence in the number of cases, together with the appearance of new, more contagious strains of the coronavirus, have forced many Member States to reintroduce or tighten containment measures. At the same time, the start of vaccination programmes …

Giancarlo Elia Valori On November 17, 2018, at 7.30 a.m., near the Paris métro station of Porte Maillot, several hundred people – all wearing the motorcyclists’ yellow reflective vests and waistcoats – started a protest demonstration against President Macron’s government. The protest then spread to the entire French …

Giancarlo Elia Valori Why do the United States and Iran keep on fighting each other? The dispute between the United States and Iran began 68 years ago. Since then, new developments added from time to time. In 1953, the U.S. intelligence agency CIA, together with the British MI-6, …

Radicalisation is a growing cross-border threat. But what is it, what are the causes and what is the EU doing to prevent it? Radicalisation is not a new phenomenon, but it is increasingly a challenge, with new technologies and the growing polarisation of society making it a serious …

Giancarlo Elia Valori Since the birth of the State of Israel in 1948, the young democracy – imported by force of arms into what Lord Balfour had defined in 1917 as the “Jewish national home” in Palestine – has distinguished itself for being permanently characterized by a lively, …

Rachel Kleinfeld, Thomas Carothers, Steven Feldstein, Richard Youngs  Democracy is on the defensive globally. Elected governments are struggling to stand up to emboldened authoritarian rivals. The coronavirus pandemic has increased democratic backsliding. Democracies are struggling to address these international challenges in the face of the pandemic and internal …

Giancarlo Elia Valori A few days ago, in a conversation with one of the former protagonists of U.S. foreign policy, in response to my questions and considerations he replied that the second Iraq-U.S. war was an unnecessary disaster, partly balanced by improved relations with Israel and special attention …