Russian President Vladimir Putin has rolled back history.
Europe is on a war footing for the first time in three-quarters of a century. Every day, we are confronted by images of devastation and barbarism – levelled neighbourhoods, mass graves, railway stations choked with refugees fleeing with whatever worldly possessions they can carry – that we associate with history books devoted to wars fought by generations who will never grow old.
The Cold War, thought to have ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, is back and more bitter than ever. While Mark 2 might appear to be less of a winner-takes-all ideological struggle – pluralistic capitalism versus totalitarian communism – it, too, is a face-off-between incompatible world views: democracy versus authoritarianism, globalism versus hypernationalism, a rules-based international order versus might is right.
Those differentiations illustrate why elements of former US president Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (Maga) movement are pro-Putin and/or indifferent to Ukraine’s fate. They also raise the troubling question: which side will America be on if the Maga movement succeeds in its hostile takeover of the Republican Party and Trump is re-elected in 2024?
While the first Cold War condemned humankind to four and a half decades beneath a nuclear sword of Damocles, the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (Mad) imposed restraint and reticence on the leaders of the US and USSR.
Denne historien er fra June 4 - 10, 2022-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 4 - 10, 2022-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.