Public opinion has always been one of the battlefields in power struggles. Now, though, thanks to a combination of geopolitical uncertainty and the "infobesity" (information overload) of what Joseph Nye called the Information Age, the role of public opinion is strategically more important. Who gets to decide who the enemy is? Governments or public opinion? The Global North or the Global South? Who will...

Faced with high inflation and severe monetary tightening, advanced economies have shown unexpected resilience thanks to a range of shock absorbers, including savings, sound private balance sheets, lower sensitivity to the interest rate shock, a tight labour market and investment spurred by public policy. These economies are gearing down, each at their own speed – slowly but surely. And while they have...