A deflated inflatable globe sits on a blue carpeted floor in an empty room, with some blurred green furniture in the distant background.
Image: The Spinoff

Politicsabout 5 hours ago

The world in 2025, in one sentence

A bunch of people
A deflated inflatable globe sits on a blue carpeted floor in an empty room, with some blurred green furniture in the distant background.
Image: The Spinoff

As 2025 draws to a close, we asked our pantheon of politics watchers to describe the world this year in one sentence, or even a single word.

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (politics reporter, The Spinoff)

Write-off.

Andrew Geddis (law professor, University of Otago)

“The world had taken a deep breath and was having doubts about continuing to revolve.”

Veronica Schmidt (editor, The Spinoff)

A roiling river, churning with war horrors, authoritarianism, economic hardship and culture wars.

Mihingarangi Forbes (host, RNZ’s Mata, co-host, RNZ’s Saturday Morning)

 “Don’t let them fool ya, or even try to school ya, oh na, we’ve got a mind of our own so go to hell if what you’re thinking isn’t right, love would never leave us alone, out in the darkness there must come out to light” – Bob Marley.

Duncan Greive (founder, The Spinoff)

We’re letting go of the rope.

Lara Greaves (associate politics professor, Victoria University of Wellington)

I was going to go with “tiring”, but Claude said “tense”, ChatGPT said “interconnected”, Gemini “transformative”, and Grok “turbulent”.

Toby Manhire (editor-at-large, The Spinoff)

I thought it was a mojo.

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    Hayden Donnell (senior writer, The Spinoff)

    Not so good.

    Annabelle Lee-Mather (producer, RNZ’s Mata, co-host, Gone by Lunchtime)

    Hē te manawa.

    Alice Neville (deputy editor, The Spinoff)

    Like a dancing meatball hurtling down a trapdoor hydroslide into an enormous code brown (or maybe that was just December?)

    Got a word or sentence to describe the year? Comment below.

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