Central Banks: The Power Behind Money

Central Banks: The Power Behind Money

They do not vote on budgets, generally do not levy taxes, and do not govern countries. Yet a handful of institutions wield enormous influence over the functioning of modern economies. By changing interest rates, creating or withdrawing liquidity, purchasing trillions in assets, o

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 19, 202613 min read
Analysis
Nigeria: Demographics, Oil and the Ambitions of Power

Nigeria: Demographics, Oil and the Ambitions of Power

With more than 230 million people, vast hydrocarbon reserves, one of the continent’s largest metropolitan areas and a cultural influence that extends far beyond its borders, Nigeria possesses almost all the attributes of a major African power. Yet since independence in 1960, the

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 19, 202611 min read
Analysis
Naval Ravikant: Wealth, Freedom and Power in the Age of Digital Leverage

Naval Ravikant: Wealth, Freedom and Power in the Age of Digital Leverage

Naval Ravikant has never built an industrial empire, controlled a global social network or become the public face of a technological conglomerate. His influence is more difficult to measure than market capitalization or political authority. It lies in the circulation of ideas. En

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 18, 202617 min read
Analysis
Indonesia: The Quiet Giant of the Indo-Pacific

Indonesia: The Quiet Giant of the Indo-Pacific

With more than 285 million people, some 17,000 islands, Southeast Asia’s largest economy and a geographic position at the heart of the maritime routes connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Indonesia possesses nearly all the attributes of a major power. Yet it remains relative

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 18, 202611 min read
Analysis
The BIS: the central bank of central banks?

The BIS: the central bank of central banks?

In Basel, an institution largely unknown to the general public regularly brings together those responsible for the world’s major monetary systems. Yet the Bank for International Settlements sets no policy rate, does not lend to governments in crisis and does not command any centr

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 18, 20269 min read
Analysis
The Arms Industry: An Engine of Developed Economies?

The Arms Industry: An Engine of Developed Economies?

Long regarded as a peculiar sector — essential to sovereignty but peripheral to the ordinary economy — the defense industry is returning to the center of industrial policy. European rearmament, the war in Ukraine, tensions in Asia and the modernization of military arsenals are tu

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 18, 202613 min read
Analysis
Peter Thiel: Power, Technology and the Revolt of Silicon Valley’s Elites

Peter Thiel: Power, Technology and the Revolt of Silicon Valley’s Elites

Peter Thiel is difficult to fit into a single category. Entrepreneur, investor, billionaire, libertarian intellectual, political donor, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, Facebook’s first major outside investor and a central figure at Founders Fund, he simultaneously belongs to t

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 17, 202616 min read
Analysis
Spain–Morocco: The Indispensable Relationship

Spain–Morocco: The Indispensable Relationship

Fourteen kilometres apart at their closest point, Spain and Morocco have long maintained a relationship shaped by geographic proximity, historical mistrust and periodic crises. Yet beneath territorial, migration and diplomatic disputes, a much deeper interdependence has gradually

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 17, 202612 min read
Analysis
Brazil: the Power That Refuses to Choose Sides

Brazil: the Power That Refuses to Choose Sides

With more than 210 million people, a near-continental territory, vast natural resources and an economy worth more than $2 trillion, Brazil possesses many of the material attributes of power. But its importance may lie even more in what it refuses to become: a simple satellite of

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 17, 202613 min read
Analysis
The World Bank: Financing Development, Shaping States

The World Bank: Financing Development, Shaping States

The IMF intervenes when a state risks running out of financial oxygen. The World Bank acts on what that state may become ten, twenty or thirty years from now. Behind loans to build roads, modernize power grids, finance schools or reform public administrations stands one of the most influential institutions in the international economic order.

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 17, 202610 min read
Analysis
Democracy Without Readers: Information, Attention and Public Life in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Democracy Without Readers: Information, Attention and Public Life in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Never before has humanity had access to so much information. Never has it been so easy to learn the result of an election on the other side of the world, consult a company’s accounts, read the text of a law, follow a war almost in real time, or access the publications of an inter

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 16, 202615 min read
Analysis
Donald J. Trump: America Redefined

Donald J. Trump: America Redefined

Donald Trump represents more than a presidency: he embodies a lasting transformation of political language, institutions and America’s relationship with the world.

by Atlas Limits Research DeskAugust 15, 202615 min read
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