While US President Joe Biden is heavily focused on the dangerous Russia stand-off in Ukraine, his attention was diverted last week by a summit with new Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. 

One of soccer’s biggest cliches is that it is a “game of two halves.” This sporting platitude also provides a good characterization of the first year of Joe Biden’s presidency.

The World Economic Forum has long been seen by its detractors as an elite global club, so its critics will find itironic that the topic of this week’s WEF conference is “working together, restoring trust.”

A major new defense pact signed last week between Japan and Australia highlights  Tokyo’s growing strategic importance as a partner in an emerging international, anti-China alliance.

Last year’s Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill are widely seen as the nadir of US democracy in modern times, yet there is growing speculation of worse to come if a populist such as Donald Trump wins the presidency again.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been largely absent from the global limelight in recent months, but his domestic power and ability to cause trouble abroad appear stronger than ever. 

Last December’s historic UK-EU trade deal was heralded by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as “getting Brexit done.” Yet a year later, the wide-ranging processes unleashed by the result of the UK’s 2016 referendum on leaving the EU are just beginning to play out, rather than ending.

After a year of significant elections in which long-serving leaders left power in Germany and Israel, the election landscape is even bigger in 2022. Eye-catching votes in every continent will shape not just domestic politics and economics, but also international relations well in the 2020s.

Late December is traditionally a time to look forward to the hope of a new year, especially in the midst of the worst pandemic for a century. Yet, at a time of growing geopolitical disorder, this month is also a key historical moment to look in the rear-view mirror.