Leaders
The centre can hold
The Economist’s country of the year for 2023
It is possible to enact painful economic reforms and still get re-elected
A dismal year for the dismal science
Economists had a dreadful 2023
Mistaken recession calls were just part of it
Santa tech
Technology is helping Santa Claus come to town more efficiently
A letter to shareholders of Father Christmas Global Inc
Cooler heads, calmer words
How to detoxify the politics of migration
Doom-mongers on both the left and the right are wrong
Maritime mayhem
The US Navy confronts a new Suez crisis
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping threaten global trade
Land of confusion
Why Congo’s chaotic election matters
The country is a vortex of instability at the heart of Africa
Wobbly in Tehran
Iran’s regime is weaker than it looks, and therefore more pliable
America should deter it from escalating the Gaza war, but also engage with it
Metropolished
London’s resilience is a lesson to policymakers everywhere
The virtues of services, scale and immigration are on full display
Adrift
Rishi Sunak’s strategic genius
The Rwanda policy is bad. But the Conservatives are the real problem
The media and the message
Can you have a healthy democracy without a common set of facts?
America’s presidential election is a test of that proposition
The Powell pivot
The Fed gives in to the clamour for looser money
Its doveish policymaking looks premature—and leaves Europe’s central banks in an awkward spot
Green shoots
In a first, COP28 targets the root cause of climate change
Now to turn diplomacy into action