The second round of Brazil's polarizing presidential campaign kicked off after Sunday’s vote, where President Bolsonaro outperformed polling and will face former President Lula in an Oct. 30 run-off. We closely observe this race, widely seen as a major test for Latin America’s largest democracy. We turn to a country where a stable democracy may be an elusive prospect: Afghanistan. The war in Ukraine should not divert international attention away from the equally dire situation there, one year after the Taliban’s return to power.

Welcome back to our handpicked specials! Putin met Xi last week, in their first in-person meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine, and as Xi traveled overseas for the first time in two and a half years. We dissect the significance of this highly-anticipated meeting on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. While we keep a watchful eye on Xi, our series Ukraine Shifting the World Order continues, with three new contributions. We examine how the EU has acted decisively and unitedly all the while evaluating risks of divisions between Member States.

As some of you are soaking up the final rays of summer, it’s a busy rentrée here at Institut Montaigne. We are pleased to welcome you back to our selection of handpicked specials, which will now be shared with you bi-monthly. We just launched a new series, Ukraine Shifting the World Order, a collection of essays gathering mostly non-Western authors to discuss new geopolitical power plays.

The Observatory of Populism is celebrating its first birthday! Created in the summer of 2021, this ongoing research project aims to decipher, debate and analyze the various facets (and faces!) of populism. 

It is almost time for the summer break. But before diving head first into the holidays we handpicked our weekly specials. We kick off by unpacking the recently-concluded NATO Summit in Madrid where leaders grappled with new threats and challenges. After 48 hours of conferences, sideline talks, closed-door meetings and pledges to keep a united front against Russia, the summit ended with far-reaching decisions to strengthen the Alliance. We are also delighted to share a brand new segment of Seeing Double on Germany’s Green duo, Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck.

It’s already the penultimate newsletter before the summer break. We have a special announcement for you: our most anticipated Seeing Double series on political pairs is out! Dive into the specificities of power-sharing, the challenge of personal rivalries, and the unforgiving pressure of domestic politics during the time in office. The anglosphere serves as our starting point, with an all-inclusive examination of British and American power couples. Queen-side, we take you inside one rocky political love story between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

This week brings grim economic projections. The Ukraine war coupled with a supply shock from China’s zero-Covid policy add to pervasive global economic stresses. We push for a long-term strategy to fight a looming recession. In other economic news, the Asia program’s newest policy paper assesses the Chinese development model’s sustainability. Zooming in on France, our latest French Brief provides a peek into low-income neighborhoods and pushes past preconceived ideas and biases.

This week we are pleased to introduce our brand new issue of China Trends. As 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between China and Japan, we take this opportunity to dive into how China considers Japan’s foreign and security policy developments. Over to South America, where agriculture giant Brazil nervously eyes Ukraine. The second installment of our Beyond the West series focuses on Brazil’s notable neutrality after the Russian invasion. It all boils down to a crucial Russian-exported commodity: fertilizers.

This week we are pleased to introduce our brand new issue of China Trends. As 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between China and Japan, we take this opportunity to dive into how China considers Japan’s foreign and security policy developments. Over to South America, where agriculture giant Brazil nervously eyes Ukraine. The second installment of our Beyond the West series focuses on Brazil’s notable neutrality after the Russian invasion. It all boils down to a crucial Russian-exported commodity: fertilizers.

We open this week by diving into French foreign policy. France’s approach towards Ukraine stood out among Western allies. What lies ahead for Macron? Our fresh take on France’s policy options amidst a changing world order. While France is at a crossroad, Germany has already proclaimed a new foreign policy era. Three month after Chancellor Scholz’s historic U-turn, Berlin is still erring on the side of caution. The complexity and multifacetedness of the ‘Zeitenwende’ should not be overlooked - which precisely is why we decode it for you.