PATRICK LAWRENCE: Pedro Sánchez’s ‘No a la Guerra’
Spain’s leader, with his government and his people, is signaling that the time has come to challenge the trans–Atlantic status quo and ultimately the world order altogether. I saw a video the other day that reminded me: Images often lie, which…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Germany Learns From the IDF
The Israelis are to teach Germans how to use artificial intelligence based on the I.D.F.’s experience in Gaza, where, among other things, it used A.I. to identify targets, guide drones, and conduct remote assassinations. A year ago this month — St….
WATCH: The World This Week, Episode 2
We break down Davos after Trump’s Greenland retreat, Mark Carney’s speech, Zelenksy berating the Europeans and Sy Hersh channeling Ukraine War myths. Meanwhile, Australia outlaws criticism of Israel. 8 pm EST tonight, Saturday. Joe Lauria and Patrick Lawrence analyze it for you at…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: All Unquiet on the Ukrainian Front
The Europeans have run out of postures and gestures in the way of performative statecraft, and the Russians see no point in indulging them any further. Sometimes wars have occasions that can be read — immediately, soon or in time…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: New Year’s Notes on Purported Leaders
It is no use hoping for any alteration in the collective West’s course so long as today’s “purported leaders” remain in office. “Heaven is high and the emperor is far away.” So did Chinese peasants celebrate their distance from the…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: What? Peace in Our Time in Ukraine?
The Trump regime’s 28–point Ukraine peace plan accepts Moscow’s core concerns as legitimate. That’s essential for any possible settlement of the war, or the broader crisis between Russia and the West. There are any number of reasons you may not like, or may even…
Patrick Lawrence: War in Our Time
BERLIN—Friedrich Merz has been in office as Germany’s new chancellor a matter of weeks, and already he has the German capital aflutter with worry about the increasing danger of a third world war. More to the point, while Germans are…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Diplomatic Chess, Ukraine the Pawn
In Istanbul, a door was pried open after a soap opera’s worth of chicanery in London, Paris, Berlin and Kiev. Now the question is what Trump can do to address Russia’s concerns. As was universally expected, little came out of Istanbul…
Patrick Lawrence: Germany in Crisis Part 4: Wanderers and Seekers
Editor’s note: Earlier versions of this story reported Germany’s shock when Friedrich Merz initially failed to win sufficient Bundestag votes to assume office. After intense negotiations, he won back the six votes needed to declare victory. Berlin, in the meantime,…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: A German Journalist’s ‘Civil Death’
Hüseyin Dogru is the first E.U. citizen to be sanctioned by the union and the first journalist to land on the list because of his work. What is Dogru’s crime? Don’t ask: He has not committed one. The following note…