Recent high-profile security lapses and safety concerns have damaged the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency’s standing. Aware of its PR failings, the body has launched a hunt to find the nuclear industry’s most beautiful…

Global forecasting requires an expert view, so we called on four leading thinkers for a considered analysis of the future: Michael Axworthy, former head of the Iran section at the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office,…

If you’re Germany, you have no option but to assert yourself globally with a softly, softly approach. Since the fall of the Wall, Germany’s foreign office has become master of gently promoting ‘Brand Germany’, with Berlin…

The former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency has refused to sink quietly into retirement and is battling to bring democracy to his home country of Egypt.

The British Queen's motorcade, a European space ship, the first direct flights between Russia and Brazil and the Turkish prime minister's branding potential

From making life a misery for passengers at airports to making war with their neighbours, Monocle takes a look at the organisations, countries and people who are destined to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in…

The Copenhagen Climate Conference, upcoming elections in rogue states and expert opinion on a new presidency in South Africa.

The sheer breadth of countries covered by the defence-themed analyses in this issue illustrates the dizzying scale of modern-day conflicts. Some are in full flow, others are receding and many are threatened; all require our…

Cambodia keeps politics in the family, South Korea get equal, and Japan gets green vending machines

In the world of politics, September is the start of a new term in many countries, so we’ve compiled our report cards for 15 leaders. Who has gone to the top of the class and who should be doing extra homework? We give marks…

In the third part of our circumpolar tour, we visit Murmansk. Following the break-up of the USSR, the city and its strategic naval base went into decline. But the promise of Arctic riches is reviving the city once again.

The importance of pipelines, crunch time for the US in Afghanistan, and an interview with Pakistan's representative to the UN.

The world’s third biggest oil producer is also blessed with vast reserves of gas, fresh water and fish. Norway is Europe’s Saudi Arabia: a country so wealthy that despite having a population of just 4.5 million, it is a…