European Union

(Informed Comment) – After only six weeks in office, Johnson’s grand plan to leave the European Union with or without a deal by 31 October has collapsed like a pack of cards and, instead, he may have the shortest term as prime minister in British history. So, unlike the United States, the cause of right […]

European Union

Will Boris Johnson taking Britain to New Elections Result in an Even More Ideological Government?

The Conversation

By Matthew Cole | – Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, has confirmed that he will call a vote on holding a general election if MPs legislate to block a no-deal Brexit. His pledge came after he lost a key vote to the so-called rebel alliance of MPs, which included numerous members of his own […]

European Union

To preserve democracy, the UK needs a mass movement both inside and outside Parliament

Waging Nonviolence

By Symon Hill ( Waging Nonviolence) – Thousands of people poured onto the streets of the United Kingdom . . . to challenge Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to suspend Parliament. Activists are used to calling on politicians to make decisions, not to take direct action. But that’s precisely what’s needed to stop Boris Johnson’s […]

European Union

Brexit: After PM Boris Johnson’s Coup, what’s left of the British constitution?

British Policy and Politics

The contemptuous ease with which the Johnson-Cummings regime has attempted to cripple parliamentary consideration of alternatives to a no-deal Brexit by proroguing Parliament raises further serious issues about the remaining value of the UK’s ‘unfixed constitution’. This controversy comes after a prolonged period in which the executive under May used every micro-institutional weapon to blackmail […]

Featured

France Upstages Trump at G7 by Inviting Iran to Salvage Nuclear Deal

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a surprise development, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif suddenly flew to Biarritz on Sunday for meetings on the sidelines of the G7 summit. He clearly was invited at the instance of French President Emannuel Macron, who is still attempting to salvage what he can of the 2015 Iran nuclear […]

Donald Trump

Iran: Germany and France Refuse to be Inducted into Trump’s Gulf Naval Operation against Tehran

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The government of Angela Merkel in Germany has rejected participation in the the Trump administration’s naval mission, “Operation Sentinel,” aimed at securing the Straits of Hormuz from Iranian interference in shipping. German foreign minister Heiko Maas of the Social Democratic Party said that Berlin opposes the Trump policy of “maximum […]

Climate Change

In Just the Past Year, German CO2 Emissions fell by 33%, as Gas Replaced Coal

Clean Energy Wire

The end for German Coal could come Sooner than anyone Expects

European Union

180 Gigs of Offshore Wind: Europe May Build 10 Artificial North Sea “Energy Islands”

Clean Energy Wire

By Kennedy Nyavaya | – Several European grid operators have proposed to build at least ten artificial “energy islands” as wind power hubs in the North Sea to make use of large-scale offshore wind energy in meeting the continent’s climate targets. According to the North Sea Wind Power Hub (NSWPH) consortium – which includes TenneT, […]

Climate Change

Ruining the Planet: Not only are the German Far Right Scary Racists, they’re Climate Denialists to Boot

Clean Energy Wire

Right-wing parties poised to bring climate scepticism to European parliament, with Germany’s AfD leading the way