Tag: economic crisis

Ancient Egypt: A pyramid scheme that worked

January 5, 2021 • 0 Comments

By Khaled Diab Spanning some three millennia of recorded history, Ancient Egyptians built a state to last. What was behind this success and what can we learn from it? Quite a few surprising lessons, in fact. Image: Gaurav D Lathiya,…

Belgium’s endless identity crisis

September 25, 2020 • 0 Comments

As it stumbles from one political crisis to the next, Belgium faces a profound existential threat. But can the slow disintegration of the Belgian state be reversed and, if so, how? Friday 25 September 2020 Back in 2011, Belgium…

Robust health systems are society’s first line of defence against pandemics

May 5, 2020 • 0 Comments

Belgium has long been written off as a dysfunctional and failing state, yet its response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been surprisingly functional and successful. This highlights how effective healthcare acts as society’s immune system. Wednesday 6 May 2020 With its chronic, record-breaking inability to…

Tunisia: Freedom and the pursuit of unhappiness

November 6, 2018 • 4 Comments

With greater freedom has come greater unhappiness in Tunisia. Behind this apparent paradox is economic hardship and nostalgia for a past that never was.

Egypt’s dollar woes

April 11, 2016 • 0 Comments

Hopes are devaluation will resolve Egypt’s dollar crisis, but the situation could spin out of control without a global currency for international trade