Section: Institute for Policy Studies (USA)
FAQ: Why Is the U.S. Attacking Iran? And What Happens Next?
Why is the U.S. attacking Iran? President Trump has not given a single, clear purpose for the war. After initially calling for “regime change,” Trump administration officials are mostly downplaying that goal and offering others. On March 2, Pete Hegseth outlined three goals: the destruction of Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal, the...
It’s Already a World War
World War III will not start with an exchange of nuclear weapons. It won’t ignite from the jostling of great empires. Nor will it result from a single madman (or two) bent on taking over the world. It won’t be any of those things because World War III has already begun. The current global conflagration began not with the joint...
Europe Has to Choose: Maintain an Abusive Relationship or Break with America
Donald Trump has always presented himself as a master builder, a successful real estate developer who erected office buildings and resorts and curated golf courses all around the world. In reality, Trump was never a good businessman, declaring bankruptcy six times over his career and producing a string of failed enterprises from Trump Airlines to...
Trump to Gaza: We Will Replace You
“They are coming to replace us.” It sounds like the tagline of a horror movie. And indeed, what the far right whispers into ears, chants at hate-filled rallies, and translates into odious legislation in white-majority countries is very much a horror movie in that it is both scary and untrue. In country after country, the far right has been...
Trump’s Big, Bad, Destructive, and Unpeaceful Imperialism
Even as Donald Trump and his MAGA movement have seized virtually complete control of the Republican Party, there remain at least two factions competing for dominance of foreign policy: an isolationist gang and a warmongering interventionist cabal. The strains between them seemingly remain unresolved, and there are real strategic debates and...
Trump’s Scare Tactics
Going into 2025, the world was already pretty scary. Take your pick: climate change, nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence, pandemic, Elon Musk. But in two short weeks, the current occupant of the White House has made life scarier still for specific communities of people. The Trump administration has already taken into custody thousands of...
America’s Homegrown Superstorm
A storm system is gathering off the coast of Maryland and is set to make landfall on January 20. Those of a more optimistic bent predict that the storm, puffed up by hot air, will dissipate considerably when it hits the shore. The rest of us are in full disaster preparation mode. Past experience, after all, suggests that Hurricane Donald will...
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...
