Foreign and security policyThe art of playing giants Xi Jinping headed to North Korea to secure China’s influence. But the real winner of the summit is Kim Jong Un By Eric Ballbach
Foreign and security policyStar wars redux As space is set to become a central arena of geopolitical rivalry, Europe once again risks relegating itself to the role of a moralising bystander By K.-P. Ludwig
Foreign and security policyDownfall of a superstar Germany’s humiliating defeat in the race for a UN Security Council seat reveals the price of a foreign policy increasingly seen as hypocritical abroad By Marcus Schneider
Foreign and security policySteppe manoeuvre Kazakhstan and Mongolia are reshaping Central Asia — reducing their dependence on China and Russia By Rassul Kospanov, Vlad Paddak
Foreign and security policyMore ships, more missiles, more power? The US failure in Iran exposes the limits of power. But it also shows a deeper loss of moral and leadership capital that may be harder to recover By Dan Smith
Foreign and security policyTwilight of the hegemon Trump’s war with Iran was intended to weaken Tehran. Instead, it has ended in a geopolitical debacle for Washington By Marcus Schneider
Foreign and security policyA negotiating table built on illusions As long as the Kremlin sticks to its maximum demands, Ukraine does not need mediators — but strong allies By Denis Trubetskoy
Foreign and security policyPulling up a chair With Putin signalling a willingness to talk about his war in Ukraine, Europe cannot outsource its interests. It needs its own negotiator at the table By Adis Ahmetovic, Christos Katsioulis
Foreign and security policyThe rise of the in-between In a polarised world, Europe and Latin America risk being sidelined unless they turn shared interests into concrete cooperation By Ingrid Ross, Sebastian Sperling
Foreign and security policyThe return of Dr Strangelove Trump’s troop withdrawal and missile U-turn in Germany are symptoms of a far bigger danger: the revival of nuclear confrontation politics By Rolf Mützenich
Stacked atlas Trump is having constituencies redrawn to preserve his majority. Yet it is highly doubtful whether his plan will succeed
The art of playing giants Xi Jinping headed to North Korea to secure China’s influence. But the real winner of the summit is Kim Jong Un
Eco-friendly xenophobia With its upcoming referendum, the Swiss far right is rebranding exclusion as sustainability. If it succeeds, expect copycats across Europe