


Was globalisation ever a meritocracy?
The Trumpian assault on globalism, as seen from Singapore
WHEN a schoolyard is taken over by bullies, what are model pupils to do? Something like that quandary is now playing out in the global economy. Since returning to power in January, President Donald Trump has treated trade partners with the swaggering cruelty of a sixth-form tyrant. This marks a change from his first presidency when American officials acted as harsh disciplinarians. Back then, Trump aides called countries cheats for running trade surpluses with America. They demanded structural reforms from countries like China, accused of stealing American jobs and technologies by abusing world trade rules.
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The end of the second world war
How The Economist reported on the war, week by week

America’s new plan to fight a war with China
Readying for a rumble in the jungle

The War Room newsletter: Seven of the best books on the Pacific war
Richard Cockett, a news editor, recommends seven books about the defeat of Japan in the second world war
How to write laws of war for a wicked world
The post-1945 order is crumbling. History offers a glimpse of alternatives that might work
Why the laws of war are widely ignored
Global courts struggle to cope with power politics
The War Room newsletter: How receiving aid became fatal in Gaza
Oliver Jones, our news editor, on the perils of seeking aid in Gaza