Populist parties are the political groupings of the 21st century. Insurgents who get social media right can make big gains. But not all succeed. A supporter of Change UK party holds a poster advertising for voting in the European election in London, 14 May 2019 (AP...
I accompanied two U.S. presidents to D-Day commemorations. Then I traced the footsteps of my uncle, a doctor who became a war hero. Captain John Cotter (photo courtesy of Gene Gibbons) Seventy-five years ago today, tens of thousands of American, British, Canadian,...
They were eccentric code-breakers hidden in a Victorian mansion. Their secret work underpinned the D-Day invasion and shaped World War Two. Mike Hillyard, one of the volunteers who rebuilt a replica of the Turing Bombe machine that helped crack the Nazi Enigma Code,...
The Soviet Union and its allies opposed the West for 36 years. After the Iron Curtain fell, NATO expanded, deepening Russian-Western tensions. Russian Premier Nikolai Bulganin signs the eight-nation Warsaw Pact, Warsaw, Poland, 14 May 14, 1955 (AP Photo) The North...
It’s unloved and misunderstood. It splits time between Brussels and Strasbourg. Its powers have grown, yet voters shun it. It’s the European Parliament. European Parliament, Strasbourg, France, 5 February 2014 (Wikimedia Commons, by Diliff) Voters from the...
We surveyed Danish youth to understand what they know about the EU’s composition and procedures. The results surprised us. French President Emmanuel Macron poses with young EU citizens, Aachen, Germany, 9 May 2018 (EPA-EFE/Ronald Wittek) How much do young people...
The fire at Notre-Dame cathedral moved citizens in France. But an outpouring of donations to fund its reconstruction has stirred controversy. Notre-Dame Cathedral burns, 15 April 2019 (EPA-EFE/Ian Langsdon) I was meeting my parents at a restaurant near the...
I’ve spent the past school year studying overseas. It’s given me a new perspective on my own homeland and on the polarization that divides us. A protest against efforts to repeal the U.S. Affordable Care Act, New York, 24 July 24 2017 (EPA/JUSTIN LANE) I...
I’m a New Yorker studying in France. I now realize a president doesn’t define a country and there are constructive ways to talk about politics. (Courtesy of GetDrawings) Since arriving in France over six months ago, I’ve had the same conversation many times...
NATO continues to grow in size but not necessarily in strength. Can the 70-year-old military alliance withstand forces weakening its foundations? Today, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is celebrating a big birthday: It’s been 70 years since the world’s most...