Simon Tisdall is the Observer's foreign affairs commentator
August 2024
New wars, old wars, famine, panic everywhere. So much for a quiet August
Simon Tisdall
Hamas’s leader is dead, Iran vows revenge: can anything stop all-out war in the Middle East?
July 2024
Israel has all but declared war in the Middle East – a conflict it cannot hope to win
Simon Tisdall
The killing of Hamas’s political leader has raised tensions yet again. Only a ceasefire in Gaza offers any prospect of peace, says the Observer’s foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdall
Last Tango in Washington: how sad, sidelined Joe Biden may yet have the last laugh
Simon Tisdall
Far from being a lame duck, the president can use his time in office to champion US democracy and tackle unfinished business abroad
The post-Biden era may be uncertain for the Democrats, but for Trump it will be utterly dismaying
Simon Tisdall
Pity US voters their choice of leaders. Surely democracy is better than this?
Simon Tisdall
Nato should stop seeking new foes and face its main enemy – Moscow
Simon Tisdall
June 2024
America’s big problem is not Biden, it’s the menace to democracy posed by Trump
Simon Tisdall
The Middle East is drifting leaderless to catastrophe. War is just an airstrike away
Simon Tisdall
Putin and Kim are the odd couple with a dual mission – cementing a new world order
Simon Tisdall
Rising violence against politicians is an attack on democracy itself
Simon Tisdall
The panel
Does Labour’s manifesto deliver what the country needs? Our panel’s verdict
George Monbiot, Polly Toynbee, Devi Sridhar, Jonn Elledge, Peter Apps, Frances Ryan, Kojo Koram, Zoe Gardner, Simon Tisdall, Larry Elliott and Charlotte Higgins
In thrall to Viktor Orbán and the hard right, Europe is facing its moment of truth
Simon Tisdall
Whatever happens next, the Donald Trump effect will continue to stain politics the world over
Simon Tisdall
May 2024
By attacking and undermining the ICC, Israel has proved again it is a state gone rogue
Simon Tisdall
Call to prosecute Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes exposes the west’s moral doublethink
Simon Tisdall
Nato’s failure to save Ukraine raises an existential question: what on earth is it for?
Simon Tisdall
The ANC has left South Africa a land of broken dreams. Its time seems over
Simon Tisdall
There’s one thing standing in the way of a ceasefire: Netanyahu’s refusal to compromise
Simon Tisdall
Giorgia Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen, the double act that is steering the EU ever rightwards