Latest posts
The flight paths of Britain and Poland diverge in a disunited Europe | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
Poland is eyeing a place in the group of leading EU nations just as Britain seems to be leavingLike two Spitfires tipping their wings in the sky, Britain and Poland are beginning to fly in different directions. The Polish pilot is heading for Berlin,...
We glimpse in Syria the ghost of wars to come | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
In the Balkans, outsiders stepped in to finally halt the misery. But this is a different kind of conflict'Never again!" we cry. After the second world war. After Rwanda. After Bosnia. Then it happens again. And again. According to the latest estimate...
The Panorama North Korea row is a storm in a British teacup | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
Neither the LSE nor the BBC's John Sweeney come well out of this affair. Still, academics and journalists need each otherIt's a good thing the BBC did not send its undercover reporter to North Korea with a group of students from Oxford University. Ot...
The euro survives, but where are the Europeans? | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
The downward spiral of mutual resentment is caused by the mismatch of one currency area and 17 democratic nations'We have made Italy, now we must make Italians" – thus the old saying. Today we have made the euro and the crisis of the euro is un...
Germany has one last chance to really save the eurozone | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
Europe's largest economy must try harder. It has far more to lose from a collapse than any other country in the union'The crisis of the euro is over. Crisis in the euro is strong." Thus a senior French politician. A looming collapse in Cyprus, w...
Is there a doctor in the house? | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
Have a laugh at Germany's fetish for doctorates – and the ministers tripped up by it. But is the British title cult any better?'Please tell me when I can call you Herr Doktor," said the white-haired waitress in the old-fashioned cafe on Gü...
Before Aung San Suu Kyi is crowned there are vital battles to be won | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
Burma faces years of transition politics, peacemaking over ethnic conflicts and dealing with its people's povertyBy the old Shwedagon pagoda, lookin' lazy at the tourists, there stands the tall whitewashed tomb of Queen Supayalat, immortalised by Rud...
Come on, India! Show us that freedom can outdo tyranny | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
How can such poverty, corruption and inequality endure in the world's largest, most diverse democracy?Why is the world's largest democracy apparently doing worse than the world's largest dictatorship? Hold on to that word "apparently", since there is...
From outside, it's clear why Britain has to stay in Europe | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
Cameron's speech could have been a lot worse, but five years of anxious uncertainty are bad news for Europe and the worldSo now we know: Europe will be roiled by internal turmoil for another five years. While Germany, France and others wrestle to bui...
A referendum on Europe? Bring it on, for all our sakes | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
Cameron, Clegg and Miliband all fear a public vote - but they should go for it nonetheless. Let the people decideAs we approach the 40th anniversary of Britain joining what was then just the European Economic Community, there is only one good way for...
A global battle for internet freedom puts Leveson in perspective | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
There's no reason ethical standards have to slip online. The real challenge for journalism is how to make the internet payAre you reading this column in an ethical vacuum? Or on virtuous paper? Lord Justice Leveson's description of the internet as an...
Britain is standing on a ledge, while Europe screams, 'Don't do it!' | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
The relationship between Britain and its EU partners has reached breaking point. Both must abandon their clichesBeyond the predictable tedious horror of this week's EU budget summit, which starts tomorrow, what is the best Europe we can hope for over...
两个新的超级大国领导人,两种制度,两个危机 | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
改革所面临的挑战在中国比在美国的更深层 。这将可能是一个是战争还是和平的问题• Read this article in English在同一个星期,我们揭示了谁将会成为下一个领导者两个超级大国的领导者: 奥...
Xi Jinping and Barack Obama: two leaders facing very different crises | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
Xi Jinping faces deeper challenges than Barack Obama. We must hope they are met: it could be a matter of war and peaceSo, in the same week, it is revealed to us who will be the next leaders of both superpowers: Barack Obama and Xi Jinping. The only d...
Britain needs a vote on Europe – but not now | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
The eurozone must first resolve what the EU is going to be – and Scotland what Britain will beAll Britain's political parties should make a commitment in their general election manifestos to hold a referendum on Britain's EU membersh...
The four lives of Aung San Suu Kyi | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
After 24 years, Europe is enthralled by her return. But her uniqueness lies in her synthesis of East and WestFor the last two days the corner of Oxford where I live and work has been touched by magic. The Lady, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been st...
The road to Damascus may well run through Moscow | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
The killing of civilians is horrendous, but direct military intervention is unlikely to succeed. Try carrots and sticks insteadI hope that one day ex-president Bashar al-Assad will stand before the international criminal court charged with crimes aga...
Britain needs more free speech. Change this law now | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
Intended to protect us from harassment, the public order act has become a licence for the harassment of ordinary citizens by the policeEarlier this week a man stood up in the centre of London and sang a song about a guy who murders his girlfriend in...
Cameron mustn't visit Ukraine while Tymoshenko remains imprisoned | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
Every EU leader must make up their own mind, but the aim should be to punish the president and not the peopleShould European leaders attend football matches in Ukraine, as part of the Euro 2012 championship that kicks off next week? Or should th...
The Greek people now face a stark choice: in or out? | Timothy Garton Ash
NEW
It's just another election in the birthplace of democracy, but the future of Europe may turn on this oneWhen Germany's chancellor Hannelore Kraft met France's president François Hollande in a sunny Berlin earlier this week, they agreed on a compelli...

