International | From inflation to insurrection

Costly food and energy are fostering global unrest

Many governments are too indebted to cushion the blow to living standards

A protest against economic conditions in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, March 15, 2022. A debt crisis is disrupting life across the country, where food and fuel are suddenly either unavailable or exorbitantly priced, and protests are rising against a president with a reputation for brutality. (Atul Loke/The New York Times)Credit: New York Times / Redux / eyevineFor further information please contact eyevinetel: +44 (0) 20 8709 8709e-mail: info@eyevine.comwww.eyevine.com

Jun 23rd 2022|Almaty, Colombo, Istanbul, Kampala, Lima and Tunis

“Money no longer had any value in Istanbul,” laments the narrator of “My Name is Red”, a novel by Orhan Pamuk set in the 16th century. “[B]akeries that once sold large…loaves of bread for one silver coin now baked loaves half the size for the same price.” The royal mint was slyly reducing the amount of silver in each coin. When the Janissaries (an elite military force) found that their wages had been debased, “they rioted, besieging Our Sultan’s palace as if it were an enemy fortress.”

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “From inflation to insurrection”