Gideon Rachman

“A date that will live in infamy” was how Franklin Delano Roosevelt described December 7 1941 — the day that Japan attacked America at Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 US personnel, including 68 civilians. In response, the US launched an all-out war on Japan that culminated in the use of the atomic bomb. It is widely estimated that about 70,000 people were killed in Hiroshima alone. For Israel, October 7 2023 is a date that will live in infamy. The Hamas terror attacks killed about 1,200 people, mo…

This is an audio transcript of the Rachman Review podcast episode: ‘How united are Arab and Muslim leaders on Gaza?’ [MUSIC PLAYING] Gideon RachmanHello and welcome to the Rachman Review. I’m Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator of the Financial Times. This week’s podcast is about the Arab and Islamic world and the war in Gaza. My guest is Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East Programme at Chatham House here in London. The Arab and Islamic worlds are united in their denunciatio…

Success has been a long time coming for Geert Wilders. I met the Dutch politician in 2004 as he prepared to launch his own political party. Wilders’ denunciations of Islam and immigrants had already made him a target and he was getting used to a life living in safe houses and surrounded by bodyguards. “I feel like I’m trapped in a B movie,” he told me. Now, almost two decades later, Wilders has moved from being a bit player to the role of leading man. His Freedom party topped the polls in last…

How many international conflicts can one superpower handle at the same time? The Biden administration is currently trying to deal with wars in the Middle East and Europe, while preparing for a surge in tensions between China and Taiwan. All this is taking place under the lengthening shadow of Donald Trump. His possible return to the White House poses profound questions about the future of US democracy and the country’s role in the world. The combination of all these events is creating a palpab…

Israel and Hamas are bitter enemies. But they also agree on some things. Neither the government of Israel nor Hamas has any real interest in a “two-state solution” to the Israel-Palestine conflict. And neither side wants to stop fighting in Gaza — even as the territory is devastated around them. Nonetheless, at some point, the fighting will stop. The day afterwards, the world will face a series of urgent questions. Who will rebuild the territory, who will govern it, how will it be supplied? Ev…

Ukraine goes into the new year short of ammunition, money and diplomatic support. Underlying these critical shortages, there is another important deficiency. The country and its western backers no longer have a convincing theory of victory. Unless they can come up with one, western support for Ukraine will continue to waver. The current situation is a stark contrast to the optimism at the beginning of this year. Back then, Kyiv and its supporters had a clear view of how victory might be achieve…

This is an audio transcript of the Rachman Review podcast episode: ‘The world in 2024’ [MUSIC PLAYING] Gideon RachmanHello and welcome to the Rachman Review. I’m Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator of the Financial Times. This week’s podcast is our last of 2023. To look forward to next year, I’m joined by a panel of experts. In London, we have the FT’s Martin Wolf and Karin von Hippel, who’s director-general of the Royal United Services Institute. And from New York, Ian Bremmer,…

This is an audio transcript of the Rachman Review podcast episode: ‘The future of Europe’ [MUSIC PLAYING] Gideon RachmanHello and welcome to the Rachman Review. I’m Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator of the Financial Times. Welcome to this, our first podcast of 2024. We’re starting the year by looking at the future of the European Union, which is facing crucial parliamentary elections in June. The EU ended 2023 in a reflective mood after the death of Jacques Delors, the man wide…

“I believe in America.” That phrase has rattled around my head, throughout the rise, fall and rise again of Donald Trump. Only belatedly did I recall that this comforting sentiment is the opening line of The Godfather. The words are uttered by Amerigo Bonasera: a man who has actually lost faith in America, and who is turning to a mafia don in search of vengeance. Trump is now telling American voters that “I am your retribution” — appealing to all those who have been “wronged and betrayed” by t…

Xi Jinping thinks that history is moving his way. Visiting Vladimir Putin in Moscow last March, China’s leader told the Russian president: “Right now, we’re seeing a change unseen in 100 years and we’re driving this change together.” That exchange was heard around the world. Xi’s words were seen as a clear endorsement of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and a suggestion that China, too, will soon play its part in “driving this change”. The implications for Taiwan were chilling, given China’s long…

“As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood . . . ” Enoch Powell’s warning about the danger of mass immigration into Britain was made in 1968. Those who regard the late Tory politician as a prophet will be feeling vindicated right now. A backlash against immigration is increasingly central to western politics. The past weekend saw demonstrations across Germany against the far-right Alternative for Germany, which is riding…

There are still many months to go before the US presidential election. But Donald Trump is already having a deeply malign effect on American foreign policy. At Trump’s behest, Republicans in Congress are blocking military aid for Ukraine. Although the US Senate may agree an aid package this week, Republicans in the House of Representatives remain completely intransigent. As a result, it seems increasingly unlikely that military aid for Ukraine will get through Congress in the coming months — or…

A century has now passed since the death of Lenin in January 1924. But “useful idiots” — the term usually attributed to Lenin — are still making the trek to the Kremlin to broadcast Russia’s message back to the west. The latest in this long line of credulous foreigners is Tucker Carlson, a self-styled journalist, whose interview with Vladimir Putin was broadcast earlier this week. A key characteristic of the useful idiot is insularity. Typically, they are obsessed by domestic political vendetta…

China’s property crisis and slowing growth rate have raised questions about its future as an economic and military power. Gideon discusses whether it’s time to call ‘peak China’ with Richard McGregor, senior fellow at the Lowy Institute in Sydney. Clip: Bloomberg Free links to read more on this topic: China’s consumers tighten belts even as prices fall China’s growth enigma The looming trade tensions over China’s subsidies We shouldn’t call ‘peak China’ just yet Subscribe to The Rachman Re…

Aukus continues to make waves across the Pacific. Unveiled in 2021, the tripartite pact centres around Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines from the US and the UK. For the Biden administration, Aukus has rapidly become a centrepiece of its efforts to contain Chinese power. For Australia, it is a far-reaching choice to tighten its military ties with the US. For the UK, it is a symbol of the country’s renewed global ambitions. China has repeatedly attacked Aukus as dangerous and…

“Who’s the fucking superpower here,” said Bill Clinton, after his first meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in 1996. The former US President was outraged by the new Israeli prime minister’s hectoring arrogance. Almost 30 years later, Netanyahu is once again leader of Israel — and Joe Biden must be tempted to echo Clinton’s words. Ever since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year, the US president has provided the Netanyahu government with military support and diplomatic cover for its fer…

Early in the Gaza conflict, a TikTok video of John Kirby went viral. In the first frames, the White House spokesman is composed as he describes civilian casualties in Gaza as part of the “brutal, ugly” reality of war. In the second part, he chokes up as he describes his horror at civilian deaths in Ukraine. For the Biden administration’s critics, that video summed up America’s double standards. But the whole debate about the relative treatment of Ukraine and Gaza misses a wider point about sele…

Gideon talks to Bastian Giegerich, chief executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, about the state of Europe’s defences. The scramble to come to the aid of Ukraine and doubts about future US willingness to contribute have exposed significant vulnerabilities. How quickly can Europe’s armed forces be upgraded to meet the Russian threat? Clips: CBS News; France 24; Daily Telegraph Free links to read more on this topic: Europe’s leaders have woken up to hard power EU looks t…

Vladimir Putin was in East Germany, working for the KGB, when the Berlin Wall fell. In his memoir First Person, published in 2000, Putin recalls asking a nearby Red Army unit to protect the KGB headquarters in Dresden. The answer he received shocked him: “We cannot do anything without orders from Moscow. And Moscow is silent.” Putin later said: “I got the feeling then that the country no longer existed. That it had disappeared.” Searing experiences like that are formative. The lesson that Puti…

Fumio Kishida lacks charisma and is unpopular at home. But when the Japanese prime minister visits Washington this week, he will receive a hero’s welcome. The popularity of Kishida with the Biden administration goes well beyond routine backslapping for a close ally. Under him, Japan has made some of the most important changes in its foreign and security policies since the second world war. These shifts are driven by Japan’s determination to prevent an authoritarian China from dominating the Ind…