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Pseudo-democratitis

July 13, 2025

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The Observer

By the people, but not for them

The world's liberal democracies are in a fight for trade and influence with militarised autocracies. Yet they are also in a fight with illiberal democracies in their midst - countries whose power is in many cases softer than the autocrats' but more insidious and more divisive - and harder to confront.

Consider Slovakia. Not for the first time this Eastern European country is holding to ransom the EU's efforts to wean itself off Russian oil and gas in order to stop funding the war in Ukraine. Last week its prime minister, Robert Fico, named his price for suspending his de facto support for Russia: energy subsidies to meet 100% of Slovakia's costs in switching to alternative suppliers and losing the $500m in transit fees it earns each year for Russian fossil fuels being piped across its territory.

المزيد من القصص من The Observer

The Observer

Battle to become the global leader in defence tech gets heated

In a world riven by conflict, Germany's Helsing and US-based Anduril are piling on value as order books bulge.

time to read

4 mins

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The lion

We lions are philosophers. We get a lot of time for thinking; it’s in our nature.

time to read

2 mins

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The Observer

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How Syria's stolen children were used to break the hearts and minds of their parents

A campaign of child abduction carried out in collusion with a western charity was used by the Assad regime as a weapon of war against the families that opposed him.

time to read

13 mins

September 14, 2025

The Observer

Britain can become one of the world's top tech economies - if it takes the risks

It's time to change the subject. A programme of mass deportations and leaving the European Convention on Human Rights is not going to deliver either growth or prosperity.

time to read

9 mins

September 14, 2025

The Observer

The Observer

Misinformation and myth: the UK's phoney war over human rights

The debate over the future of the European Convention on Human Rights will shape conference season and beyond, writes political editor Rachel Sylvester

time to read

6 mins

September 14, 2025

The Observer

The Observer

Assassination of Charlie Kirk strips Maga of the man who brought the youth vote to Trump

The first family mourns the White House insider whose extremist views reflected the Republican party's major shift to the right

time to read

5 mins

September 14, 2025

The Observer

Mandelson saga and Epstein links cast shadow over Trump's UK trip

When Donald Trump touches down on UK soil in Air Force One on Tuesday, a two-day period of peril for the US president and British prime minister Keir Starmer will begin.

time to read

3 mins

September 14, 2025

The Observer

The Observer

The UN must get back in the ring and fight Mark Malloch-Brown

A recent Reuters headline noted: “UN report finds United Nations reports are not widely read”.

time to read

5 mins

September 14, 2025

The Observer

The Observer

Prepare for revolution now, Elon Musk tells London rally as police come under attack

US tech billionaire calls for downfall of Labour government in speech to 110,000 marchers at Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest

time to read

4 mins

September 14, 2025

The Observer

Big pharma's cash pull-out lands blow on UK economy

Slowly, then all at once. That's how the government's “vision” for life sciences came to the brink of disaster in the space of a week.

time to read

1 min

September 14, 2025

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