Listen in: Algorithms for the People March 15, 2023 Artificial intelligence and machine learning are reshaping our world. Police forces use them to decide where to send police officers, judges to decide whom to release on bail, welfare agencies to decide which children are at risk of abuse, and Facebook and Google to rank content and distribute ads. Read More
Why democracy belongs in artificial intelligence February 21, 2023 Most of the real harms AI systems can cause—but also the opportunities they can afford—are nothing to do with robots taking over the world or self-generating AI systems. They are to do with what, how, when, and why we should use powerful predictive tools in the decision-making systems of our political, social, and economic organizations. Read More
Pandemic Politics February 20, 2023 COVID-19 has killed more people than any war or public health crisis in American history, but the scale and grim human toll of the pandemic were not inevitable. Read More
The curse of long-ruling autocrats January 18, 2023 In October 2022, during the 20th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping was “reelected” as the party’s chairman, paving his way for a third term as China’s top political leader. Read More
From 9/11 to 1/6: The long legacy that led to the attack on the Capitol January 05, 2023 The events of both September 11, 2001 and January 6, 2021 were unprecedented in our nation’s history. In this video from Karen Greenberg, we can see how increased secrecy and decreased accountability within American politics post 9/11 fostered a political climate in which Trumpism was able to thrive. Read More
In dialogue: Perspectives on migration December 14, 2022 Few phenomena sway global politics today as does migration. Economic volatility, violence-laden crises, and climate change produce millions of migrants annually and collectively threaten to displace much of the world’s population in the coming century. Read More
Alex Zakaras on The Roots of American Individualism November 04, 2022 Individualism is a defining feature of American public life. Its influence is pervasive today, with liberals and conservatives alike promising to expand personal freedom and defend individual rights against unwanted intrusion, be it from big government, big corporations, or intolerant majorities. Read More
How Americans’ priorities explain abortion politics October 28, 2022 In only a few months, the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization—in which the Court majority invalidated the constitutional right to an abortion established almost 50 years ago—has scrambled the political landscape. Read More
Jonathan Kirshner on An Unwritten Future October 16, 2022 An Unwritten Future offers a fresh reassessment of classical realism, an enduring approach to understanding crucial events in the international political arena. Read More
Capitalism: The word and the thing October 12, 2022 Capitalism is a word used variously to describe an economic and social system, a modern form of political power, a dynamic mode of production, a stage in a world-historical process running from feudalism to communism, a western object of ideological allegiance, a durable form of inequality or, more simply, a thing. Read More
A look inside Pandemic Politics October 11, 2022 The floor of the Bank of Oklahoma Center in Tulsa was awash in red, white, and blue. Eager supporters of President Donald Trump were holding signs, wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, and sporting T-shirts with expressions ranging from “Guns, God, and Trump” to “Make Liberals Cry Again.” Read More
Making democracy with autocrats: East Asia’s past, China’s future? September 15, 2022 Democracy is not just Western; it is Eastern as well. In a time when democracies globally—including the United States—are endangered, three Asian democracies stand out for their quality and stability: Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Read More
The bold experiment July 18, 2022 On May 9, 1994 the Parliament convened, governed by the new Speaker, an Indian woman and human rights lawyer named Frene Ginwala. Their one order of business was to elect the new state president, Nelson Mandela, and they did so without dissent. Read More
Evan Lieberman on Until We Have Won Our Liberty July 14, 2022 At a time when many democracies are under strain around the world, Until We Have Won Our Liberty shines new light on the signal achievements of one of the contemporary era’s most closely watched transitions away from minority rule. Read More
Conservatism as a political practice July 13, 2022 Before the story goes on, some ground needs to be cleared. What is conservatism? What is this a story of? There are no knockdown facts here. Read More