http://www.ft.com/comment/columnists/gideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/rss/comment/columnists/gideonrachmanFT.com - Gideon Rachmanen© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. See http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/terms#legal1 for the terms and conditions of reuse.client.support@ft.com (Client Support)Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:29:49 +0000Mon, 9 Nov 2009 20:53:20 +0000Newspapers60http://news.ft.com/cms/d1f3ce1a-6bbe-11da-bb53-0000779e2340.gifhttp://www.ft.com/comment/columnists/gideonrachman(PICS-1.1 "http://www.classify.org/safesurf/" L gen true for "http://www.ft.com/" r (SS~~000 1))http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/2259ccee-c262-11de-be3a-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2259ccee-c262-11de-be3a-00144feab49a.htmlThere are two problems with nominating an EU president. First is the job's shaky legitimacy. Second is a lack of unity that bedevils efforts to create a European foreign policy. Both issues would be made worse by appointing Tony Blair, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:29:49 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/e2da4314-bcda-11de-a7ec-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e2da4314-bcda-11de-a7ec-00144feab49a.htmlAfter the Great Recession, the economic and political tide has turned against small nations. It is the smalls that have fared worst – Iceland, Ireland, the three Baltic states. Iceland has not only suffered a catastrophic economic and banking collapse. It is also being bullied by Britain and the Netherlands into paying back billions lost by their citizens when Icelandic banks collapsed, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:11:14 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/940c78c8-b763-11de-9812-00144feab49a,dwp_uuid=267df978-234b-11de-996a-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/940c78c8-b763-11de-9812-00144feab49a.htmlThe notion that Mr Obama is a weak leader is spreading in ways that are dangerous to his presidency, writes Gideon Rachman. The Nobel Peace Prize will not help. Peace is all very well. But Mr Obama now needs to pick a fight in public, and win it quickly.Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:11:15 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/c8dd07ae-b504-11de-8b17-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c8dd07ae-b504-11de-8b17-00144feab49a.htmlIt will take more than a few months of his presidency to judge if it is worthy of a Nobel prize, writes Gideon Rachman Fri, 9 Oct 2009 20:01:17 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/a47079b2-b1e6-11de-a271-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a47079b2-b1e6-11de-a271-00144feab49a.htmlThe realisation that the G20 is Europe's Trojan horse struck me at the G20's last summit in Pittsburgh. The surroundings and atmosphere were strangely familiar. And then I understood; this was just a global version of a European Union summit, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 5 Oct 2009 21:48:32 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/7ed07920-aee2-11de-96d7-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7ed07920-aee2-11de-96d7-00144feabdc0.htmlAn economist with a black belt in karate, the president of Lithuania tells Gideon Rachman how she plans to get the country out of the economic doldrumsFri, 2 Oct 2009 22:57:01 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/0b3243b2-ac59-11de-a754-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0b3243b2-ac59-11de-a754-00144feabdc0.htmlFor those western leaders who are hoping the UN will tackle the frightening global challenges identified in New York last week by Barack Obama, it is all very depressing. But if the UN is blocked or ineffective, then the search will be on for new forums and methods, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:29:50 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/110307c8-a6e0-11de-bd14-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/110307c8-a6e0-11de-bd14-00144feabdc0.htmlBarring a huge upset, Sunday's elections will see Angel Merkel returned as chancellor, at the head of yet another coalition government. So no change in Germany, then? It would be a mistake to believe that. The tenor of the campaign suggests that the country is changing – in ways that its partners around the table in Pittsburgh may not find very comfortable, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:55:04 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/d7824222-a15b-11de-a88d-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d7824222-a15b-11de-a88d-00144feabdc0.htmlIn the year since the financial crisis broke, the Chinese government has become more assertive in how it talks to America, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:49:52 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/45d46f78-9bdc-11de-b214-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/45d46f78-9bdc-11de-b214-00144feabdc0.htmlPoliticians know that voters will punish them if fuel prices soar, or if there are electricity shortages. But they also know that if they openly put the search for oil at the heart of their foreign policies, they are liable to be denounced as cynical and immoral, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 7 Sep 2009 19:32:25 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/fca464c0-9659-11de-84d1-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fca464c0-9659-11de-84d1-00144feabdc0.htmlThe new narrative is that the electoral triumph of the DPJ is Japan's big chance to break with the years of stagnation. But the story of Japan over the past 20 years is by no means as dismal as much western commentary would have it, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:32:36 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/b497f5b6-8060-11de-bf04-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b497f5b6-8060-11de-bf04-00144feabdc0.htmlThe intensifying crisis in the Baltics cannot be treated as a freakish local squall of little concern to outsiders. Bank failures or plunging currencies in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia could threaten the fragile prospect of recovery in the rest of Europe, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 3 Aug 2009 20:22:29 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/37c9c748-7adf-11de-8c34-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/37c9c748-7adf-11de-8c34-00144feabdc0.html Most activists believe a failure to achieve an agreement in Copenhagen would be catastrophic. But they also know that, even if a deal is reached, it is likely to be ineffective. If they admit this publicly, they risk creating a climate of despair and inaction. But if they press ahead, they are putting all their energy into an approach that is unlikely to deliver, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:26:20 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/325b3c42-7558-11de-9ed5-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/325b3c42-7558-11de-9ed5-00144feabdc0.htmlThe disjointed pirate hunting operation off Somalia and the inadequate forces inside the country show the UN needs to be able to deploy peacekeepers quickly, and that means keeping a force on permanent standby. It is time finally to bite the bullet and give the UN a permanent military capacity, writes Gideon Rachman Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:12:10 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/2/3223a57e-7261-11de-ba94-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fcomment%2Fcolumnists%2Fgideonrachmanhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/3223a57e-7261-11de-ba94-00144feabdc0.htmlAmerican foreign policy is at a crossroads. Which route should it follow? Three authors representing rival challenges help define the choices that face the Obama administration, writes Gideon Rachman The Great ExperimentPower RulesCome Home America Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:36:42 +0100