All The Monitor's View
- Why youth are leading climate strikes
The Sept. 20 protests over global heating reflect a rise in youth-led activism and the particular perspectives of young people, starting with their innocence.
- Trudeau’s ultimate test in making apologies
After apologizing often for official misdeeds of past governments, the prime minister faces voters over a racist-tinged misdeed and their judgment on his contrition.
- Why global health emergencies first need a dose of trust
A new world body set up to track preparedness for pandemics finds a key missing piece is trust in basic institutions. One cure: more community engagement.
- The 'cry' in El Salvador to clean house
A new president with an anti-corruption mandate starts to set up an international investigative body that might help curb violence and reduce emigration.
- Patience as a tool of statecraft
At least one world leader, Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, sees the virtue of asking for patience to solve such problems as ethnic violence.
- Elections that shape identity, not just shift power
Civic unity keeps rising in two Arab democracies, Iraq and Tunisia, that only recently were riven by religious divides. Just look at Tunisia’s presidential election with 26 candidates.
- Mood lift for climate action
A report from a prestigious group looks at ways that adaptation to global warming can counter hopelessness about slow progress in preventing warming.
- A continental model for gender parity
Two of Europe’s most powerful executive bodies are slated to be run by women, a result of a more inclusive view of every person’s capabilities.
- Why curbs on youth vaping can succeed
The latest U.S. campaign on teen use of e-cigarettes is an example of global efforts to safeguard the innocence of children.
- The Afghan way to a deal with the Taliban
President Trump’s scuttled talks with the militant group can now lead to a focus on an election that will further show the source of power in Afghanistan.
- Africa rises for immigrant rights
In a surprising grassroots unity, much of Africa decried the violence against immigrants in South Africa. This unity may reflect a continent finding shared values and purpose.
- In Colombia, peacemakers rally to save a peace deal
After a few former guerrillas declared a return to armed conflict, the response showed the depth of the desire to save a 2016 peace pact.
- Hong Kong busts a myth of foreign ‘black hands’
Beijing’s claim that the West was behind the territory’s protests was shattered by Hong Kong’s leader, who now admits the people’s grievances.
- A fully rooted peace in Afghanistan
An agreement “in principle” between the U.S. and Taliban must be only the first step toward building a viable peace among Afghans.
- In Britain’s Brexit brawl, time for restraint, consent
In suspending Parliament, a prime minister plays hardball while Brexit’s opponents play for time after losing a referendum. Both need a change of course to save their democracy.
- Philippines challenges China’s mischief on the seas
Like the protesters in Hong Kong, the Philippines demands that Beijing obey the law in the South China Sea.
- One reason not to be a cynic about the Mideast
An unlikely group of nations has helped launch Sudan on a path toward democracy, breaking a prevalent pessimism about the Middle East and North Africa.
- Dousing the political fire over the Amazon
In the feud between Brazil and France over the future of the Amazon, one solution lies in defining sovereignty down to those living in the rainforest.
- The road back to trusted institutions
Gatherings of global leaders, such as the G-7 or central bankers, show a desire to reverse declining trust in government and other institutions.
- Encircling the interrupters with civility
Candidates who interrupt each other in debates may be on the losing end of citizen campaigns to restore civility in politics.