The Economist UK - 07.09.2019

The EconomistSeptember 7th 2019 5

1 Contents continues overleaf

Contents

The world this week

8 A summary of political

and business news

Leaders

11 Syria

Assad’s hollow victory

12 British politics

The Unconservative Party

12 The European Central

Bank

Parting gifts

14 Argentina

A superclassic crisis

16 AI and war

Mind control

Letters

18 On Hungary, the great

auk, Brexit, Hong Kong,

language, conservatism

Briefing

21 The Syrian civil war

The assault on Idlib

23 Refugees in Turkey

The migrant crisis,

revisited

Britain

25 The Tory transformation

26 Parliament and the PM

27 Scotland’s Conservatives

27 Brexit survivalism

28 Left-behind places

29 A baby boom grows up

30 BagehotStranger things

Europe

31 Putin’s brutality

32 Venice’s pickpockets

32 German elections

33 Poland’s coal capital

34 CharlemagneThe new

commission

United States

35 The federal bureaucracies

36 North Carolina’s election

37 Michael Bennet, wonk

37 Shootings and gun laws

38 Straight pride

40 Space Command

41 LexingtonAfghanistan

The Americas

42 The FARC’s return to war

43 Hurricane Dorian’s wrath

44 BelloWill the “pink tide”

return?

Middle East & Africa

45 The pope in Africa

46 Gambling in Ethiopia

47 Israeli Arabs’ votes

ChaguanGay Chinese

take a cautious first step

towards civil unions,

page 54

On the cover

Bashar al-Assad is on the verge
of vanquishing his enemies.
But Syria will poison the
region for years to come:
leader,page 11. In Idlib a near-
decade of war is grinding
towards a close: briefing,
page 21

• Britain’s political meltdown
  (cont’d)The Tories’ tightening
  embrace of radical populism
  sets Britain up for a dangerously
  polarised election: leader,
  page 12. A revolution in the
  Conservative Party leaves MPs
  uncomfortable, page 25. After a
  tumultuous week for Boris
  Johnson, what next? Page 26.
  A country that prides itself on its
  common sense and moderation
  is doing ever stranger things:
  Bagehot, page 30


• Who lost Argentina?
  Populists, not its reformers,
  deserve most of the blame for
  the latest fiasco: leader,page 14.
  In its death throes, Mauricio
  Macri’s government emulates its
  opponents, page 63


• Battle algorithm: AI and war
  As computers play a bigger role
  in warfare, the dangers to
  humans rise: leader,page 16.
  Artificial intelligence is
  transforming every aspect of
  warfare, page 69


• Why Americans pay more for
  lunchConsider the lobster roll,
  page 66