What the psychology of mass murderers — from Charles Manson on up to Bashar al-Assad and ISIS — can teach us about the method behind their madness.
Je Suis Charlie (Manson)
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Europe & Central Asia
Military Intervention in Syria Is the Problem, Not the Solution
From Paris to Beirut, the Islamic State’s latest atrocities are a calculated effort to bring the war in Syria home to the countries participating in it.
Jeremy Corbyn’s Refusal to Launch Nuclear Weapons Shines Spotlight on Flaws of Deterrence
When British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn stated that, if prime minister, he would not launch nuclear weapons, the British chief of defense was predictably outraged.
Is It Wrong to Mourn Paris More Deeply Than Beirut?
Paris was a wake-up call for Westerners — a reminder that we usually have the luxury to ignore the costs of war, even as our governments inflict them on foreigners.
Massive Retaliation to Islamic State Attacks on Paris Can Be as Dangerous as Islamic State Itself
Ramping up bombing against the Islamic State would only add to the numbers of civilians killed by U.S. airstrikes in its territory.
Will Russia Turn Its Full Fury on the Islamic State?
Russia may seek serious vengeance on the Islamic State for the possible sabotage of Metrojet Flight 9268.
Will the Paris Climate Talks Deliver the World We Need? Not likely.
Even as governments set climate targets, they’re working hard to expand the extractive global economy with measures that could deepen the climate crisis.
The View from 2050
“Back in my youth, we imagined that lumbering dinosaurs like Russia and China and the European Union would endure regardless of the global convulsions taking place around them.”
Burma: Democracy with an Asterisk?
Burma’s constitution awards a quarter of its parliament to the military. But that’s not Aung San Suu Kyi’s biggest problem by a long shot.
The Road Ends in Djibouti for Some Eritrean Refugees
Thousands of Eritreans are marooned in this desolate corner of the Horn of Africa.