What We Cover in This ePublication

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The February Fair Observer Monthly brings together diverse perspectives on politics, economics and culture, highlighting the turbulence shaping today’s international order. In Europe, Chief Strategy Officer Peter Isackson reflects on the continent’s intellectual and political disorientation, while eminent Venezuelan diplomat and scholar Alfredo Toro Hardy explores how US President Donald Trump’s policies and Germany’s renewed militarization could reshape European power dynamics. Further east, Assistant Editor Zahra Zaman examines Pakistan’s delicate balancing act between the US and China, and journalist and human rights activist Swapnarka Arnan analyzes the concept of conditional solidarity within Western activist circles, specifically regarding Iran and Gaza.

Social and cultural tensions within Western societies also came to the forefront this month. Professor Elliot Neaman investigates the sensationalism surrounding high-profile scandals and the darker undercurrents of elite power, including discussions of the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and the intersection of wealth, philanthropy and moral hypocrisy. Neaman also explores the role of spectacle in high-profile kidnappings, focusing on the recent case of TV’s Today show cohost Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie. Our resident sociologist, Ellis Cashmore, analyzes cultural conflicts in media and sport, from Trump’s disputes with the BBC to debates over whether FIFA should reconsider hosting the World Cup in the US. Biophysicist William Softky raises concerns about vulnerabilities in the US legal system, arguing that institutional weaknesses can be exploited to threaten democratic governance.

Economic challenges and global influences

Economic uncertainty and financial power struggles were also in focus. Japanese economist Masaaki Yoshimori evaluates winter global price signals for 2026 as well as Japan’s fiscal challenges, linking domestic policies to broader monetary shifts and the fragility of the yen. German economist Alex Gloy revisits the “Dollar Milkshake Theory,” arguing that the global dominance of the US dollar continues to shape financial flows and economic power for now. In Fair Observer’s flagship podcast, The Dialectic, Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh and retired CIA officer Glenn Carle critique India’s economic trajectory under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggesting that political ideology and economic policy have combined to undermine growth in what Atul calls “Vegetarian Stalinism.” Meanwhile, researcher and writer Kurniawan Arif Maspul highlights the unexpected role of coffee diplomacy in Southeast Asia, demonstrating how even cultural commodities can influence international relations.

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Content of Publication

Should FIFA Pull the World Cup Out of the US? – Ellis Cashmore

The Politics of Cheapness: Japan’s Consumption-Tax Truce, the Yen’s Fragility and the Long Shadow of a Weaker Dollar – Masaaki Yoshimori

Dollar Milkshake Theory Is Still Useful – Alex Gloy

Arms (Nuclear) and the Man (Epstein) – Peter Isackson

The US Legal System Is Being Hacked – William Softky

Why Coffee Is Becoming Southeast Asia’s Quiet Foreign Policy Tool – Kurniawan Arif Maspul

Iran, Gaza and the Politics of Conditional Solidarity Within Western Activist Circles – Swapnarka Arnan

The Dialectic: Narendra Modi’s Vegetarian Stalinism Has Ruined the Indian Economy – Glenn Carle, Atul Singh

Epstein/Sade: The Philanthropist as Libertine and the Secret Life of the American Elite – Elliot Neaman

TRUMP vs. the BBC – Ellis Cashmore

The Nancy Guthrie Kidnapping Spectacle – Elliot Neaman

Pakistan’s Tightrope: Between America’s Embrace and China’s Shadow – Zahra Zaman

The Warm Illusion of Winter Prices — Signal or Mirage? – Masaaki Yoshimori

Trump and German Rearmament: Sowing the Seeds of Upheaval in Europe – Alfredo Toro Hardy

Is Europe a Possessed Continent? – Peter Isackson