Leaders
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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
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A dismal year for the dismal science
Economists had a dreadful 2023
Mistaken recession calls were just part of it
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Santa tech
Technology is helping Santa Claus come to town more efficiently
A letter to shareholders of Father Christmas Global Inc
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Cooler heads, calmer words
How to detoxify the politics of migration
Doom-mongers on both the left and the right are wrong
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Maritime mayhem
The US Navy confronts a new Suez crisis
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping threaten global trade
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Land of confusion
Why Congo’s chaotic election matters
The country is a vortex of instability at the heart of Africa
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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
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Metropolished
London’s resilience is a lesson to policymakers everywhere
The virtues of services, scale and immigration are on full display
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Adrift
Rishi Sunak’s strategic genius
The Rwanda policy is bad. But the Conservatives are the real problem
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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
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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
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Green shoots
In a first, COP28 targets the root cause of climate change
Now to turn diplomacy into action