‘Trump’s undisguised imperialism reveals the weakness of the Europeans, who jump when he says jump.’ So writes Benoît Bréville in our February edition. This should come as no surprise, Bréville argues: ‘The EU was historically designed to serve the interests of the US, which has always actively sought to block the emergence of an autonomous counter-force.’ As Dominique Vidal noted in 2008, already in 1966 Charles De Gaulle — no anti-American — withdrew France from NATO’s military command: ‘What motivated him was the defence of French sovereignty and self-determination against anything which might undermine them, including the US.’ This concern — from a leader who had fended off Anglo-Saxon attempts to turn France into a protectorate after the second world war — seems all the more prescient today.

Elsewhere, Japan’s new prime minister Sanae Takaichi has said that a Chinese intervention in Taiwan, or against US forces trying to break a blockade of the island, would justify the overseas deployment of Japan’s Self-Defence Forces. Over the years the country has abandoned its old strategy of pacifism, adopted in 1945.

Iran is in the eye of the storm; world leaders are keen to move on from Gaza; war is on the horizon. To dive into the stories behind this month’s news, and understand the complicated forces at play, read ‘the longer view’ each month. Our entire archive is available, online, to subscribers.