The Foreign Desk

The presence of US warships in the Taiwan Strait has buoyed leaders in Taipei. Monocle 24’s Rhys James asks if the self-ruled island can rely on Washington?

The church’s influence on politics has been in decline in countries around the world for years. But as populism continues to rise, so does the chance for religious organisations to push their own agenda. Andrew Mueller is joined by Antonio Sampaio, Marat Shterin and Siobhan Garrigan to discuss the changing role of Christianity in society and politics.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was in Moscow this week to discuss an island dispute that arose in the aftermath of the Second World War. But after meeting 25 times, what real progress will be made this time around?

It is nearly four years since the start of Yemen’s civil war, which has turned into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. It is also a complex conflict that seems to have reached a military stalemate. But is there an end in sight? Andrew Mueller is joined by Iona Craig, Osama Al-Rawhani and Bill Law.

As France’s president Emmanuel Macron sets off on a countrywide tour of debates with protesters, Andrew Mueller asks if even the yellow vests themselves know what they want.

We wave them at sporting events, we paint them on our faces at national celebrations, we fly them from our tanks when we go to war. To some they are merely a useful way to distinguish between countries; to others they’re a symbol worth dying for. Why are they taken so seriously? And whose is the best?

After the so-called blue wave in November’s midterm elections, Democrats now control the House of Representatives. But will they be able to hold President Trump and his administration to account or will the new, progressive Congressional legislators rub the old order in the Democratic party up the wrong way?

Once traded among small pockets of people on society’s fringes, conspiracy theories (and those who believe in them) have become a powerful political force. How have they infected the mainstream?

With 100 days until the UK is set to leave the EU, campaigners are resorting to a variety of tactics to ensure the British public have the final say on the withdrawal agreement. Stephanie Sy-Quia asks if they will be successful and speaks to those leading the campaign.

Russia’s increasing presence is being felt across the Middle East. Not just in Syria, where it has been fighting alongside the Assad regime for almost three years, but also with business, arms and oil deals and numerous diplomatic trips to and from Moscow. Why is Putin so keen to fill the void left by an ever less-interested US? And do the people of the Middle East want him there? Andrew Mueller is joined by Sami Hamdi, Anna Borshchevskaya and Tom Nichols.