At the gas station near my home in Burbank, California, gas prices last week were an astronomical $6.50 per gallon ($1.72 per liter), much higher than the nationwide average of $4.67, and just above the statewide average of $6.19 per gallon. Filling up the tank can cost a shocking $100. Working families cannot afford this, and it doesn’t have to be this way. The reasons for high gas prices are many and intertwined. Our economy’s rapid recovery from COVID-19 has led to a surge in dem

Americans are being tested right now about the kind of country and world they want to live in. At home -- as children are slaughtered with easily acquired assault weapons -- members of the US Congress must decide whether they prefer the rule of law or the law of the jungle. Abroad, the Biden administration, and the American public, must decide whether the strong US support for Ukraine will be continued for the long haul as Vladimir Putin breaks all the rules that have kept peace in Europe sinc

Like many other democracies, Australia has experienced growing political polarization in recent years, particularly during the last nine years of the conservative government, led by the Liberal Party, in coalition with the smaller, rural-based National Party. That is why the result of the federal election in May could hold important lessons for other polarized polities. Consider the outcome in Kooyong, the safest of all Liberal seats. The electorate covers some of Melbourne’s most affluen

Three months have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine, and calls for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin are growing. The leaders of the European Union’s three largest member states -- Germany, France and Italy -- have all recently issued statements calling for a cease-fire, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz underscoring the need for this to come “as quickly as possible.” Italy and Hungary sought -- unsuccessfully -- for the EU to call for an immediate cease-fi

As President Yoon Suk-yeol’s foreign policy advisers attempt to mend fractured relations with Japan, they will likely sense a palpable change in the dynamics; they will realize they have more leverage than their predecessors. They can thank, in part, Korea’s ascent on the global stage, its popular culture being a huge boon. Though the cultural dimension may have its limits and needn’t be a zero-sum factor, perhaps it can serve as an alternative pathway to smoother relations.

The momentum behind Western sanctions against Vladimir Putin is flagging. Even as the European Union toasts its toughest restrictions yet against the Russian war machine -- including a partial ban on oil imports -- concessions are mounting, from exempting pipeline crude to removing Putin’s favorite cleric from the sanctions list. Hungary’s Viktor Orban, an admirer of Putin, is clearly playing a big role in splintering the united front. But the risk of fatigue and waning morale goes

The World Economic Forum’s first meeting in more than two years was markedly different from the many previous Davos conferences that I have attended since 1995. It was not just that the bright snow and clear skies of January were replaced by bare ski slopes and a gloomy May drizzle. Rather, it was that a forum traditionally committed to championing globalization was primarily concerned with globalization’s failures: broken supply chains, food- and energy-price inflation, and an intel

Each weekend last month brought ever larger crowds to popular areas in Seoul and other big cities in South Korea. Many remaining COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted earlier as cases fell sharply in April, but people still felt cautious. The lifting of the outdoor mask mandate in early May combined with warm weather and a continued drop in cases gave people confidence to get out and spend time with family and friends. By month’s end, Seoul looked and felt much like it had in 2019, except

Most South Korean adults must probably know what the “586 Generation” means. If you are a foreigner unfamiliar with Korean politics, let me explain. It refers to the bunch of midcareer politicians who were born in the 1960s and entered college in the turbulent 1980s, so naturally who now are in their (late) 50s. The 586 Generation, or just “586” for short, emerged as a group occupying a big turf in Korean political topography when many people who were active in pro-democ

Last week, in an unscripted moment, President Joe Biden warned bluntly that if China invades Taiwan, the United States will come to the island’s defense. “We’ve made a commitment,” Biden told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo. Including military action? “Yes,” he replied. That isn’t what US policy on Taiwan says -- not officially, at least. The White House and State Department hurriedly tried to walk back the president’s words. “O

The economic situation in Europe is truly disconcerting. Annual inflation in the eurozone has reached a record-high 7.4 percent, yet banks still lend to each other at negative rates. In April, year-on-year inflation in Estonia was a hair’s breadth shy of 20 percent, but only 5.4 percent in Malta. Public debt as a share of GDP is at unprecedented levels, yet German bond yields remain significantly below their long-term average, and spreads, though rising, are still contained. Across the con

For the past few years, there has been derision and contempt between the young and the old in Korean society. Politicians, who have often instigated such hostility to get votes, are primarily responsible for the generation war. Nevertheless, both generations have problems of their own. As for the young, they tend to think that they know everything. They believe they know love, life, and the world quite well. As a result, young people are impetuous. They never think they are too young to know e

Since Anders Breivik killed 77 people in Norway in 2011, mass murders in the name of white replacement theory (WRT) have become prevalent. Many of these killers, including Breivik; Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch shooter; and Payton Gendron, the suspect in the massacre in Buffalo, New York, are self-identified as fascists. And yet, it’s easy to miss or even downplay WRT’s fascist origins and its current manifestations. It’s not surprising that this resurgence of WRT comes a

When the plane touched down in Chicago, I sighed with relief. After meticulous planning, we were returning from a two-week trip to Lima, Peru. We hadn’t seen my partner’s sister -- soon to turn 91 years old -- for five years and felt that with thorough precautions, we could keep ourselves and our loved ones safe while in Peru during the pandemic. That sigh of relief soon turned to alarm as we deplaned and saw virtually no one masked or practicing social distancing in the terminal. I

The US dollar is up 12 percent against the euro over the past year and, at 0.93 euros, is approaching parity. If prices of oil and other commodities now seem high in dollar terms, they look even higher in euros. With the greenback surging, and inflation in many countries currently at multi-decade highs, we may be entering so-called “reverse currency wars” -- in which countries compete to strengthen their currencies’ foreign-exchange values. The term “currency wars”