The World Today

The World Today has paused publication to consider changes to the magazine. Please bear in mind that whilst your subscription will give you access to the archive, there will be no new issues until publication is resumed later this year.

The World Today, founded in 1945, has now been published monthly for over sixty years. Throughout this period it has offered the best and brightest insights on current affairs — from the fallout of the Second World War, through the Cold War, into the information age and the ‘war’ on terror.

In an increasingly unpredictable world, The World Today presents authoritative analysis from Chatham House on a variety of current topics. It provides vital background for experts, business planners, academics and those curious about the world we live in.

The World Today goes to subscribers in more than eighty different countries; in governments, business, the media, schools and universities. Many hundreds of libraries also find it essential.

In the free trial issue, read about Sapphire Mining in Madagascar, Somalia and Ethiopia caught in a quagmire, The Kurdish Question, Private Security Companies in Iraq, the ANC Leadership issue in South Africa, and The Bali Climate Conference and Forests. 

Welcome to the winter issue of The World Today. Europe is under threat, from within and beyond: as Ukraine struggles to repel Russia, security imperatives loom ever larger; populist nationalists are making more electoral gains; and European economies continue to lose out to China and the US. And here comes Donald Trump to sharpen all three crises – but, as José Manuel Barroso writes, Trump 2.0 may be the shock Europe needs. Elsewhere in our lead package, it seems the European Union can no longer rely on its estranged power couple, France and Germany – John Lichfield reports on why Paris and Berlin need to patch things up. Finally, argues Armida van Rij, Europe must wake up to the combined threat of the Crinks, aka China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Martin Griffiths, the UN’s former humanitarian chief, tells us that aid cannot be a substitute for principled conflict mediation. In Afghanistan, meanwhile, some women are resisting their ever-worsening conditions under the Taliban – Zahra Joya reports on small but important moments of protest. With Trump 2.0 in mind, Gabriel Gatehouse and Matthew Sweet discuss the implications for US power now that conspiracy theorists may soon be in the White House. Immigration was a big issue in the presidential election – but Christopher Sabatini says that the weaponization of migrants by the failing states of Latin America isn’t only a US problem.
Finally, it’s year’s end, so why not dip into our quiz of 2024? The World Today team hopes you get an enjoyable break over the holiday period and wishes you all the best for 2025.