The danger zone between two presidents
The world’s bad actors will relish any power vacuum
JUST HOURS after polling stations closed in California on November 5th, a Minuteman III missile thundered out of the Vandenberg military base on the Pacific coast. Half an hour later and 4,200 miles away, three mock warheads struck Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands. The timing of the test—announced to both Russia and China—was probably no coincidence: America was sending a message. Whoever was elected, its armed forces were ready to respond to any threat.
Explore more
This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Lost in transition”
From the November 16th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
The 19th century is a terrible guide to modern statecraft
A world carved up between Presidents Trump, Xi and Putin would be unstable and unsafe
Putin’s radioactive chokehold on the world
The Kremlin dominates the cross-border business of nuclear fuel and technology
How South Africa could harness Donald Trump’s wrath
Talk of “white genocide” is baseless. But some American pressure could be helpful
Sex work in the gig economy
Sweden is banning OnlyFans content as the lines around sex work blur
Feckless Europe accepts Trump’s Lone Ranger diplomacy
It is meekly welcoming the new sheriff’s vigilante justice