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German state elections rarely warrant a column in New Zealand. But when an election threatens to end Germany’s post-war political order, an exception is justified. Read more

Last week’s prisoner exchange between Russia, Belarus and several Western nations offered a stark glimpse into the workings of modern autocracies. As such, it serves as a timely backdrop to Anne Applebaum’s new book, Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World, which examines the collaborative efforts of authoritarian regimes to undermine liberal democracy globally. Read more

In the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, all eyes were on the Republican National Convention. While Trump’s formal nomination as the GOP’s presidential candidate was a foregone conclusion, his choice of running mate raised eyebrows: JD Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy. Read more

Last Thursday, as any readers not currently residing under rocks will know, there was a general election in the UK. Labour won big, earning the second largest parliamentary majority in the party’s history. Read more

The 2024 UK general election will go down in history as a seismic shift in British politics. But not for the reasons many commentators suggest. Read more

“How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?”, asked Charles de Gaulle in 1962. Well, after its forthcoming elections, a plethora of cheese varieties may be the least of France’s problems. Risks abound for both France and Europe. Read more

Political strategists are obsessed with the art of winning elections. However, they sometimes overlook the equally impressive skill of losing them spectacularly. Read more

For over a decade, we at The New Zealand Initiative have been staunch advocates for liberalising New Zealand’s foreign direct investment (FDI) regime. Our consistent message has been that New Zealand needs an influx of foreign capital to accelerate economic growth, and that our current FDI rules are overly restrictive, acting as a significant deterrent to potential investors. Read more