north america: all articles

Tuesday 13th October

Barack Obama’s poisoned shirt

Godfrey Hodgson, 13 October 2009

A Nobel peace prize intended to encourage the US president may do him more harm than good

Monday 28th September

Will Medvedev meet Obama halfway?

Dmitri Travin, 28 September 2009

Russia has good reasons to respond positively to Obama's move away from missile defence. But realpolitik suggests they will not prevail

Monday 21st September

Rid Europe of ‘tac nukes’

Wayne Merry, 21 September 2009

After dropping the missile defence system in Eastern Europe, remaining American weapons in Europe should come next

Monday 29th June

New Orleans's sub-heavenly host

Jim Gabour, 29 June 2009

The tentacles of political power and corruption are recoiling themselves around a divided city

Friday 19th June

Letter from Motor City

Ross Perlin, 19 June 2009

In the shadow of bankruptcy, Detroit is a city of ruins and endless decay

Tuesday 5th May

The plague spin of New Orleans

Jim Gabour, 5 May 2009

The "swine flu" epidemic has a special resonance in a city of ghosts and catastrophes

Sunday 19th April

Kettling: another special relationship

19 April 2009

An eye-witness account in the US of the practise recently deployed during the G-20 summit

Thursday 12th February

Obama's Bush-like foreign policy

George Friedman, 12 February 2009

Biden's speech in Munich suggests Obama's foreign policy is as imprisoned by its circumstances as Bush's

Tuesday 10th February

US neo-cons jump the conservative ship

Jim Sleeper, 10 February 2009

Conservatism's current failings stem from its own tragic nature

Friday 6th February

Barack Obama: don’t waste the crisis

6 February 2009

"You only have one year". The clock is already ticking for Barack Obama

Monday 2nd February

Bolivia: after the vote

John Crabtree, 2 February 2009

A further decisive win for Evo Morales - but his Andean revolution still faces a bumpy ride

Friday 30th January

John Updike: singing America

James Schiff, 30 January 2009

The death of a writer whose generous yet exacting eye mapped an era is a profound loss

Tuesday 20th January

What will Obama do with Churchill's bust?

Srdjan Vucetic, 20 January 2009

The task of redecorating the Oval Office includes remembering and re-imagining trans-Atlantic relations

Monday 19th January

Rejuvenating public service in the Obama era

Neri Zilber, 19 January 2009

Among the many challenges awaiting the new Obama administration is the feeble state of US public service, which is failing to attract the best new talent

Sunday 18th January

The missing element of Obama's economic plan

Steven Hill, 18 January 2009

Investing in physical infrastructure is not enough if an opportunity to build real "social infrastructure" in the country is squandered

Thursday 8th January

Three regular guys

Jim Gabour, 8 January 2009

Where will the Republican Party go in the age of Barack Obama? Watch Louisiana's political swamps

Monday 15th December

Chicago: tale of two cities

Charles Shaw, 15 December 2008

Obama's success and Blagojevich's shame flow from the two wrestling motifs of Chicago's history. Plus: Big Think discusses the possibility of urban renewal in a time of recession.

Friday 28th November

Realigning US relations with Russia

Ryan Koslosky, 28 November 2008

Obama's policy towards Russia should be rooted in an understanding of the relationship between Russia's energy strength and the war with Georgia, argues Ryan Koslosky. The key to a successful US-Russia policy today is renewed transatlantic relationships.

Monday 24th November