South Korea’s Ministry of Unification is adamant that not only would the reunification of the Korean peninsula be a positive step but that it’s also a realistic goal. Monocle paid a visit to try and establish the source of…
South Korea has announced that next year it will pick several universities to begin educating students about the country's plans for a unified Korean Peninsula. The government's Unification Ministry says it has set aside…
Once the recipient of foreign financial handouts, the Republic of Korea has transformed itself into a manufacturing powerhouse and an aid donor. As the G20 summit opens in Seoul, Monocle asks whether it is giving enough and…
In a year characterised by a chest-beating world leader with land-grabbing tendencies, what lessons can be taken from the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s collapse?
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…
Its role in Darfur is seen as a failure. It has almost no role in the Middle East. The UN has a colourful history of international diplomacy, but now, as its officials turn on the secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, the confl…
From a state-of-the-art concert hall to an international court and the murkiest waters of diplomacy, we meet the leaders who trust their instincts in tricky times.