Section: Institute for Policy Studies (USA)
Why Liberals Will Give Two Cheers for Trump
Liberals hate Trump, no question about it. He’s the definition of illiberal: authoritarian, racist, sexist, and downright nasty. Not only that, he’s a living repudiation of the liberal delusion that America runs on meritocracy. But you want to know a dirty, little secret? In back alleys, encrypted group chats, and off-the-record...
Assad Gone, Trump Coming: What’s Ukraine’s Future?
Wars can end practically overnight. Just look at Syria, which was locked in a civil war for a dozen years. Having survived a succession of uprisings, Bashar al-Assad seemed on track to become a tyrant for life. Then, in the space of a couple weeks, his allies effectively deserted him, his army melted away, and he and his family had to decamp to...
Surviving the New Trump Era
Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election was surprising in a number of ways. He won every swing state as well as the popular vote, which a Republican candidate hadn’t done in two decades. He led his party to a congressional sweep, with the Republicans maintaining control of the House of Representatives and seizing a...
In Baku, at the Latest Global Confab on Climate, Hand-Wringing Abounds
The world desperately needs to pull the plug on fossil fuels. So agree most of the official delegates from nearly 200 nations who have gathered this month by the Caspian Sea for the 29th annual global “Conference of the Parties” on climate change — COP29 for short — in Azerbaijan’s capital city Baku. But not all the estimated 70,000...
Planet of the Bullies
Donald Trump’s presidential win is a vivid refutation of two adages: cheaters never prosper, and might doesn’t make right. These are not just comforting words that parents say to their bullied children. They are, or at least ought to be, the letter of the law. From community ordinances all the way up to international agreements, the...
The Plot Against Democracy
In Philadelphia this past weekend, I met a number of people who’d given up on democracy. They railed about politicians who make promises they don’t keep. They spun conspiracy theories about the government. A number of those who answered the door told me that they weren’t going to vote. Then there were the grim young men who...
Billionaires vs Democracy
The richest man in the world is trying to buy the U.S. presidential election in order to bestow it, like a burnt offering, upon his preferred candidate. Multi-billionaire Elon Musk is not only pouring $75 million of his own money into Donald Trump’s campaign. He is now offering payments to voters in swing states in the form of a “lottery”...
The Weaponization of Immigrants
The immigrants were arriving on children’s bicycles and sometimes even in wheelchairs. According to Norwegian law, immigrants couldn’t cross the border by foot. So, in 2015, they were traveling from Russia to the far north of Norway on any conveyance they could find. It was an odd choice of a place to cross into the West. Norway and...
Why Ukraine Invaded Russia
Russia has more arms and more soldiers. It is spending more than twice as much as Ukraine on the military. It has managed to survive the world’s economic sanctions. It has plenty of energy, compared with Ukraine, which is facing a very cold winter as a result of Russian attacks on critical energy infrastructure. And Russian leader Vladimir...
The Double Crisis of U.S. Foreign Policy
Approaching the consequential elections of 2024, the United States faces a stark debate over the role of the country in international affairs. The media has generally presented the two positions as the internationalism of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris versus the isolationism of Donald Trump. The current team in the White House touts the importance...
