Podcast
The Briefing: a sample episode
Our daily conversation about the stories shaping the world economy. This is a demonstration episode.
Elena Varga
Demonstration profile. Elena Varga writes about diplomacy, international institutions and regional security.
Articles by Elena Varga
Analysis
The quiet mechanics of multilateral diplomacy, and why agreements take so long
Most of the work behind international agreements happens far from the cameras, in drafting rooms where single words can take days to settle.
Analysis
How economic sanctions are designed, and why they so often leak
Sanctions are meant to impose costs without firing a shot. Their effect depends less on the headline measures than on the plumbing of trade and finance beneath them.
Podcast
The Briefing: the quiet work of trade negotiators
What happens in the rooms where trade agreements are drafted. This is a demonstration episode.
Explainer
How international disputes are settled when there is no world government
States cannot be hauled before a judge the way citizens can. Yet a patchwork of courts, tribunals and arbitration panels resolves a surprising number of quarrels.
Investigation
Inside the slow, careful world of fact-checking
Before a story is published, someone has to ask of every sentence: how do we know this? A look at a discipline readers rarely see.
Analysis
How coalition governments are negotiated, and why some last longer than others
When no party wins outright, the real contest begins after polling day. Coalition talks turn election results into governing programmes through bargaining over posts and policies.
Special Reports
Counting every vote: a guide to how elections are administered
Behind every result is a vast logistical operation run largely by civil servants and volunteers. Its credibility rests on procedures designed so that anyone can check the work.
