The World Today Essay: It has become almost impossible to explain American or British policy in a region where conspiracy theories always abound, says Rosemary Hollis.
The World Today Essay: The economic costs of not recreating the western alliance could be enormous - but Europe risks making its case in the wrong way, says William Wallace.
The World Today Essay: The North Korean regime is almost certainly on the road to collapse, but scenarios for the future look deeply unappealing - or worse, says David Wall
The World Today Essay: Former British High Commissioner Peter Penfold asks whether Sierra Leone's truth and reconciliation tribunals could endanger peace in a deeply damaged nation.
The World Today Essay: The US right will keep up the pressure for war bcause they want regional change as much as regime change in Iraq, says Rosemary Hollis.
The World Today Essay: Denmark takes over the European Union Presidency having done much to put the protection of Europe's borders at the top of the agenda. Now they are charged with the historic challenge of overseeing Europe's enlargement to the east, says Charlotte Lindberg Warakaulle.
The World Today Essay: James Hamill previews this month's G8 summit which will be dominated by discussion of the much heralded New Partnership for Africa's Development. Is this a new era for Africa or simply yet another grandiose initiative that will entirely fail to transform political and economic conditions on the ground?
Afghanistan is likely to retain a central role in the global drugs trade, argues Mark Galeotti in this World Today essay. But even a miracle of western statecraft would only lead to Afghanistan's impoverished neighbours seizing a greater share of this lucrative trade.
Noreena Hertz's agenda-setting book on corporate power is sparking intense debate on both sides of the Atlantic. In this Observer essay, she argues that governments' surrender to big business is the deadliest threat facing democracy today