Make Sense of 2024

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Fair Observer Monthly is a chance for you to sit down, look back and think about the month past. A month lasts 28 to 31 days, a suitably appropriate time to take stock of the world. We publish daily on our website and we select some of our best articles every month in our e-magazine. We will give you context and multiple perspectives on issues that matter. We will inform and educate you. Fair Observer Monthly does what we promise: make sense of the world.


Fair Observer makes sense of the world every year by shining light through different prisms. As with previous yearbooks, Make Sense of 2024 publishes the best of authors from around the world weighing in on the issues of our times.

In this edition, we cover topics in geopolitics, economics, technology, culture and history. In a year of pivotal elections, breakthrough innovations in artificial intelligence and devastating wars being waged in the Middle East, this ebook brings together perspectives from many prisms and makes sense of our seemingly crazy world.

You can read this ebook on smartphone, tablet and desktop in PDF format.


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AFRICA

A Confident Africa Is Spreading Afrobeats to the World- LeAnn Glover

A New Political Order Is Dawning in South Africa’s Towns- Martin Plaut

A New Documentary Highlights China’s Expansion Into Ethiopia- Mehret Ayalew Mandefro

Disappointing Results for South Africa’s ANC May Unlock Historic Change- Jan Hofmeyr

Botswana Stares Down Trouble in the Economy and Competitive Politics- Ved Pant

Elections in Southern Africa: Which (Dis)continuity? South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia- Mario Zamponi


ASIA-PACIFIC 

Taiwan’s 2024 Election Between Chinese Disinformation and Democratic Survival- David Kuehn

Cultural Genocide? The Reality on the Ground in Xinjiang- Patrik Meyer

How New Technology Can Help Japan Cope With Aging Population- Maciej Bazela

Why Is Kazakhstan Making Forays in the Caucasus?- Harun Karčić

Japanese Rate Hikes Cause Colossal Losses in World Markets- Alex Gloy

Civil Liberties at Risk Under Vietnam’s Tô Lâm- Caleb Mills

Why Indonesia’s People Will Fail to Transition to Green Energy- M. Habib Pashya

Balancing India and China Is the Challenge for Sri Lanka’s Dissanayake- Asanga Abeyagoonasekera


EUROPE

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico Is the EU’s Latest Headache- Daniel Martinek

London: Inhaling 2,000 Years of History and Culture- Alan Waring

Will the France–Germany–Poland “Weimar Triangle” Be Europe’s New Powerhouse?- Romain Le Quiniou, Malwina Talik, Sebastian Schäffer

One Long Pratfall — Is Rish! Trying to Lose?- Pooka MacPhellimey

Keir Starmer – My Prime Minister, Member of Parliament and Friend- Martin Plaut

This Is Why the Russian People Chose Imperialism for Survival- Valery Engel

I Made Two Journeys to Artsakh in Response to Azerbaijan’s Invasion of Armenia’s Ancestral Homeland- Mark MacCarley

Political Fragmentation Poses a New Challenge for the EU- Christina Keßler

The Collapse of Germany’s Government: An Earthquake With Global Aftershocks- Alex Gloy

Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia Need New Alliances- Mikołaj Tomasz Słowański

 


LATIN AMERICA

Surging Violence and Corruption Poison the “Marvelous City” of Rio- Luiz Cesar Pimentel

Can Venezuela Suddenly Transition to Democracy? Its People Hope So.- Leonardo Vivas

Crime, Churches and Corruption: The Case Behind Rio’s Surging Violence- Karin Schmalz

Argentina’s New President Is Weird, Ultra-Right and Economically Ruthless- Lucía Converti

Failed Coup in Bolivia Reveals Emerging Social Weaknesses- Luiz Cesar Pimentel

Venezuela’s Rigged Elections: How to Achieve a Much-Awaited Democratic Transition?- Helder Ferreira do Vale

Mexico’s New President Claudia Sheinbaum Faces — and Fuels — Political Instability- Bernardo Sainz Martínez

Anti-Haitianism: A Hemispheric Rejection of Revolutionary Blackness- Bertin M. Louis, Jr.


MIDDLE EAST

Israel Faces Big Challenges After Three Months of War- Gary Grappo

A Sultan’s Shadow: The Truth About Neo-Ottomanism- Ali Omar Forozish, Halil Avni Güzelyurt

Latest Elections Show Turkish Democracy Is Alive and Kicking- Nathaniel Handy

Iran and Israel Shift From Proxy War to Direct Conflict- Josef Olmert

Contradictory Strategies for Achieving Sovereignty and Stability in Lebanon- Jean AbiNader

Post-Raisi Iran: A New Chapter in Iranian Politics- Reza Parchizadeh

Now It’s Clear, Osama bin Laden Won the War on Terror- Atul Singh

Shifting Sands in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia- Hassan Aslam Shad

Yemen’s Government Cannot Ignore Looming Unrest- Fernando Carvajal

Pakistan on the Brink as Protestors Descend on Islamabad- Hassan Aslam Shad

Egypt’s Policy Challenges and Deep Reforms for Lasting Financial Stability- Masaaki Yoshimori

For the US in Syria, Is It About Principle or Interest?- Peter Isackson

Ten Reasons Saudi Arabia Should Host the 2034 FIFA World Cup Finals- Ellis Cashmore


SOUTH ASIA

India’s South Has Wealth, but the North Has the Numbers- Subhashish Bhadra

India Now Faces a Scary Water Crisis- Yash Pratap Singh

Western Press Gets CAA Wrong: Here Is the Truth About the New Law- Rashmini Koparkar

An Open Letter From an IIT Graduate to Narendra Modi- Kartik Lalitkumar

Does India Oppress Muslims? Not Now, Not Ever. Here’s Why.- Prashant Sharma

The Truth About Why I Voted for Narendra Modi- Banarsi Babu

Sadly for Modi, His God Does Not Vote- Mauktik Kulkarni

How to View Independence Amidst Ferment, Rape and Dirty Toilets- Atul Singh

The Truth About Narendra Modi’s Unexpected Electoral Flop- Aniruddh Rajendran, Anton Schauble

Simple Lessons on Islam and Hindu Politics for Narendra Modi- Sushil Kaul

What Could a Trump 2.0 Presidency Mean for Imran Khan and US–Pakistan Relations?- Hassan Aslam Shad

Sagat Singh: The General Who Never Lost a Battle- Cherish Mathson

From Subordination to Supremacy: The Indian Supreme Court’s Rise in Governance- Allen David Simon


US & CANADA

Republican Governors’ Revolt Tests Biden’s Willpower Over Illegal Immigration- Andrew Morrow

Bono Goes to Las Vegas: Let There Be Light- India Nye Wenner

Student Protests in America Now: Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?- Christopher Roper Schell

Female Student Athletes Face Down Monumental Challenges in the Field- Vivien Ábrahám

My Vindication: A Tale of Blackness, Womanhood and Self-Advocacy- Alana James

Horrific Jobs Report Suggests That a US Recession Now Looms- Imran Khalid

Kamala’s New Tone on Gaza Won’t Energize Her Base Yet- Emma Johnson

Voters Want Politicians Like Trump and Harris to Be Celebrities- Ellis Cashmore

Chevron Overturn Signals Volatile Emerging Storm of Litigation- Atul Singh

How Much Longer Will Donald Trump and American Democracy Survive Political Violence?- Christopher Roper Schell

Scholars, Fascists Agree: Trump’s Not a Fascist, but an Opportunity- Matthew Feldman

If She Loses, Part 2: Kamala’s Campaign Didn’t Resonate- Christopher Roper Schell

No, Trump Is Not the End of US Democracy. It Never Existed.- Anton Schauble

Reshoring: Reality or Myth? US–China Trade and the Future of American Manufacturing- Masaaki Yoshimori

It’s Time for the US To Bid Farewell to NATO- Alexander Coward


WORLD

The Truth About Central Bank Digital Currency: It’s Indispensable- Alex Gloy

Is It Time to Rally Round the Flagged Items?- Peter Isackson

Fascism Is Back and With a New Weapon: Conspiracy Theory- Maciej Bazela, Cheyenne Torres, Tara Yarwais

Tribunals Challenge Climate Peril and Can Really Aid Activists- Nafees Ahmad

FO° Crucible: Money Matters in a Multipolar World, Part 5- Peter Isackson, Alex Gloy, Edward Quince

New AI Is Fun, Attractive and Hazardous for Women- Elizabeth Tate

Do Celebrity Endorsements Help or Hurt Politicians?- Ellis Cashmore

How to Make Social Media Fun Again- Elizabeth Tate

Reasons Behind Radicalization: The Erosion of Hope and Identity- Tara Yarwais

A Book’s Foreword Is Your Greatest Forgotten Resource- Ranjani Iyer Mohanty

The Colorful, Toxic Economics and Epidemiology of “Baby Media”- William Softky

Adults Are Now Pushing Teens Out of Teen Literature- Kaitlyn Diana

Central Bank Independence Is Unbelievably Valuable for the World Economy- Masaaki Yoshimori

Questioning the “One Person, One Vote” Principle in Western-Style Democracies- Patrik Meyer

Nobel Prize Winner John Hopfield Changed Neurophysics — and My Life- William Softky

Is Gambling Addiction Really an Addiction?- Ellis Cashmore

 

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