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Peter Smith asks a fair question. In Trump and the Paradox of American Power, I wrote that I had long favoured taking out Iran’s nuclear facilities – but not like this. Read more

After five years of stagnation, falling living standards and a cost-of-living crisis that ground down households and businesses, New Zealanders wanted nothing more than a return to normality: a bit of growth, stable prices and the relief of things finally getting better. At the start of 2026, it looked like that might be happening. Read more

Donald Trump promised the Iranian people their hour of freedom had arrived. Ten days later, the dead Supreme Leader’s son sits in his father’s chair, the Revolutionary Guard is still fighting, the Strait of Hormuz is closed, oil spiked above $100 a barrel and seven Americans are dead. Read more

On 5 February 2026, Donald Trump stood before the National Prayer Breakfast. The room was full of the faithful – pastors, politicians, and conservative leaders who had long believed that America’s renewal required a strong hand. Read more

European integration has always been a tug of war. On one side stand the enthusiasts. Read more

Ask anyone in Australia’s competition law community what transformed the economy, and you will hear a familiar story. Australia was once a cartelised, complacent place where businesses divided up markets and consumers paid the price. Read more

Hungary is a landlocked nation of ten million people with an economy smaller than New Zealand’s. It has no significant military, no permanent seat on the Security Council and no history of shaping international affairs. Read more

For the first time since the Second World War, New Zealand is being asked to make major economic decisions under direct threat from an ally. New Zealand is negotiating a minerals deal with the United States. Read more