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.
We are living in a revolutionary age and the old order is being destroyed. Trouble is governments don’t know how to cope. But the likes of Hezbollah do. Joshua Ramo, author of ‘The Age of the Unthinkable’, reveals why the…
The financial spotlight has been shining bright on China’s big eastern cities, but as investors notice the wealth of opportunity and resources in the remote western region, the city of Urumqi is about to take centre stage…
You don’t have to do it all alone. Make sure you know who to call whether you are running for re-election, rebuilding your city or rethinking your retail business in 2013.
It’s a vital military outpost, dogged by organised crime. However, with huge Chinese, Korean and Japanese markets on its shores, Vladivostok could become Russia’s Far Eastern giant.
Palestinians and Israelis are among the first intake at the new Euro-Mediterranean University. Embodying the ideals of Nicolas Sarkozy’s Mediterranean Union, it’s an attempt to create a new generation of cooperative leaders…
The Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries is made up of eight countries spanning four continents, sharing only that common tongue. Monocle paid a visit to find out if they are all singing from the same hymn sheet.
Denmark, Sweden and Finland boast institutions devoted to seeking design-led solutions to societal problems. Are they guiding stars for the world to follow?
A hard-won peace, falling crime and growing foreign investment are reasons to be optimistic about Colombia – but the age-old problems of inequality, corruption and coca production refuse to go away.
Russia’s boom years raised the profiles of its ‘second cities’, nowhere more so than in Ekaterinburg. But even as the cranes fall silent, the city’s entrepreneurs say the good times are not over yet.
Is it time to pull down the shutters on the UN? In a highly personal commentary on the strife at the United Nations, a former special assistant to Kofi Annan says the 60-year-old institution is no longer fit to solve the…
With a shortage of workers and an ageing population, Germany is turning to migrants to fill the void. Monocle meets the keen Vietnamese students learning German as they prepare for a new career abroad.
Thanks to substantial foreign investment and its status as the home of the African Union, the Ethiopian capital is positioning itself as Africa’s diplomatic hub. As the AU divides over how to expand its mandate, Addis is…
Nothing represents the shifting sands of global politics better than the African Union’s gleaming new HQ in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A gift from the Chinese, it’s proof of the Asian giant’s growing clout. But the Germans are…
After decades of Greek-Turkish conflict and division, could the island of Cyprus be nearing a reunification settlement? Mehmet Ali Talat, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Turkey, is…
Soviet planning and modern speculators have left many Russian cities at crisis point. But senator and property billionaire Sergey Gordeev plans to turn impoverished Perm into a beacon of urban innovation. Is this the start…