Analyses
Cuba’s Twin Embargoes
Donato Di Santo 2 September 2026
For decades, Latin America’s authoritarian regimes were seen as a right-wing phenomenon, with Cuba as the lone exception — a dictatorship born not from a betrayal of democracy, but of revolution. As Washington’s embargo returns to the headlines, this piece asks what that framing has long obscured: that Cuba has never had just one embargo, but two.
  • Modi’s Kashmir Narrative Collapses Amid India-Pakistan Crisis
    Maria Tavernini 8 May 2025
    India’s army launched “Operation Sindoor,” firing a series of missiles at nine locations described by New Delhi as “terrorist infrastructure” inside Pakistan territory and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The strikes – which killed 31 people, including women and children, and injured 46 others – triggered a swift response from Islamabad, which condemned the attack as an “act of war” and vowed a “befitting reply.” Pakistan claims the missiles targeted civilian sites, including two mosques, and says it downed five Indian planes in its counterattack. Indian sources report that at least 11 people were killed in Pakistan’s retaliation.
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    The “Regime Change” of Trump’s Second Presidency: Political Messianism vs. Rule of Law
    Massimo Faggioli 7 May 2025
    In the history of the United States, this is the era of Donald Trump. The transition from Joe Biden to Trump does not represent a normal transition of power, but rather a regime change. It marks the rise of charismatic leadership and, in the eyes of many, even a form of political messianism, often at odds with the constitutional rule of law. Trump’s second presidency steers America onto a path few – especially in Europe – had anticipated or even imagined, opening up unpredictable scenarios both domestically and internationally.
  • Ukraine Between Attrition and Diplomacy: The Human Cost of War
    Ilaria Romano 6 May 2025
    “The other night the sky turned completely red, something that hadn’t happened in a while. We were really scared,” says Tatiana, a former tour guide from Kyiv, who, for the umpteenth time in the past three years, was woken up by explosions. “We’re still lucky compared to those living near the front line, but since the beginning of this war, no one has been able to sleep,” she says. “Almost every night we are woken by the sound of sirens, even though we no longer go down to the subway to wait for it to end.”
  • Modi’s Waqf Bill and the Future of Muslim Endowments in India
    Maria Tavernini 30 April 2025
    Despite a reduced majority in Parliament, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has pushed through a contentious amendment that has dealt another blow to multireligious India and enraged the Muslim community. In early April, after a heated debate, lawmakers passed a controversial bill reshaping how Muslim-donated properties – known as waqf – are governed, triggering protests and fierce political opposition. After its introduction, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi tore up a copy of the bill in the Lok Sabha.
  • Myanmar’s Earthquake: A Disaster Made Worse by Blocked Aid
    Kristina Kironska 29 April 2025
    The earthquake hit at the worst possible time. Myanmar has been locked in civil war since the military coup of 2021, with resistance groups fighting for freedom. Even before the disaster, more than 3.5 million people were already displaced, and nearly a third of the population depended on humanitarian assistance. That aid was already tightly controlled by the junta, with many areas completely cut off due to military restrictions and ongoing violence.
  • Bergoglio a Populist? On the Contrary: A Pluralist and Enemy of Demagogues
    Giancarlo Bosetti 24 April 2025
    Pope Francis has been labeled by his critics as a populist, a claim that must be firmly rejected—unless we are willing to define as populist anyone who cares about the problem of poverty. Such an assumption would be absurd and repugnant. Populism is a broad concept with various meanings: in the North American context, in 19th-century Russia, and in Latin America during the 20th century. Today, especially in the West, the term refers to heterogeneous political groups that foster resentment toward political and economic elites, as well as hostility toward immigrants, refugees, and foreigners in general: a “we” versus “them” dynamic—against those in power on one hand, and against “others” and the “different” on the other, perceived as a threat to the interests of the native and resident population.
  • The Legacy of Pope Francis
    José Casanova 23 April 2025
    Nobody knows who is going to be Francis’s successor and what kind of new direction he will give to his pontificate. But after encountering the last five Popes, from John XXIII to Francis, all great Catholic Popes and great global leaders, each uniquely placing their emphases on different aspects of the pluralist Catholic tradition, we can be almost sure that the next Pope is likely to continue the Catholic legacy in his unique personal way, leading the global church as the Bishop of Rome, while also continue working, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, “for the advancement of humanity and of universal fraternity.”
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