MUNICH -- The liberal international order that has helped stabilize the world since the end of the Cold War is under strain. A revanchist Russia, chaos in the Middle East and simmering tensions in the South China Sea are all symptoms of a system that is beginning to fray.　The drivers of instability are many. They include a shift in economic power from the West to the East, the weakening of formal institutions and widespread disaffection in Western democracies. But, above all, two key development

If one considers some of today’s main challenges – including climate change, pensions, public debt, and the labor market – an obvious conclusion emerges: It is relatively much worse to be young today than it was a quarter-century ago. Yet in most countries, the generational dimension is remarkably absent from the political debate. Fifty years ago, people spoke often, and loudly, of a “generation gap.” Today, that gap has become invisible. This is bad for the young, for democracy, and for social

For the past 15 years, the mere mention of the word “China” has brought smiles to the faces of global business executives who gather annually for the World Economic Forum. This year, with Chinese stock and currency markets in turmoil, it brings a chill. 　China, so long described as an economic miracle, has become a contagion, setting off negative shocks in markets around the world. A correction in perceptions of China was overdue, but financial markets this month have probably been overreacting

What’s at stake this election year? Let me put as directly as I can.　America has succumbed to a vicious circle in which great wealth translates into political power, which generates even more wealth, and even more power.　This spiral is most apparent in declining tax rates on corporations and on top personal incomes (often in the form of wider tax loopholes), along with a profusion of government bailouts and subsidies (to Wall Street bankers, hedge-fund partners, oil companies, casino tycoons and

In Europe, 2015 began with the far-left Syriza party’s election victory in Greece. It ended with another three elections that attested to increasing political polarization. In Portugal, the Socialist Party formed an alliance with its former archenemy, the Communists. In Poland, the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party won enough support to govern on its own. And in Spain, the emergence of Podemos, another new left-wing party, has ended the traditional hegemony of the Spanish Socialist Workers

Walking around downtown Moscow at Christmastime in the wake of a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, I was struck by a distinct feeling of deja vu from my Canadian childhood. Not since then had I heard so much English-language Christmas music infusing the cold, crisp air, or seen so many decorations everywhere that include crosses and religious symbols as well as secular reminders of the season. There is no “war on Christmas” here.　Russia is moving in the opposite direction f

Just like that, Pfizer has decided it’s no longer American. It plans to link up with Ireland’s Allergan and move its corporate headquarters from New York to Ireland.That way it will pay less in taxes. Ireland’s tax rate is less than half that of United States. Ian Read, Pfizer’s chief executive, told the Wall Street Journal the higher tax rate in the United States caused Pfizer to compete “with one hand tied behind our back.”Read said he’d tried to lobby the U.S. Congress to reduce the corporate