america-is-like-the-middle-east-excerpt
During the Arab Spring, I would come back to the United States and share my impressions with American audiences. The Middle East was confusing, after all, even to those who lived there. I wanted to draw a contrast, because the contrast—at least then—seemed quite real. Living in the
is-america-a-shitty-country-excerpt
Since I'm on the road today, I'm going to try something a little bit different—a more fractious accounting of what has been on my mind. I love this country, but I am clear-eyed enough to know that it also kinda sucks. What do they say about families? "Every unhappy
Excerpt Author
October 08, 2021
polarization-at-home-and-the-fight-abroad-excerpt
Are new alliances among populists on the left and right possible after Trump—and after January 6? Is a realignment looming, or are we doomed to repeat the foreign policy fights of the past? And why does Carl Schmitt keep coming up so often? Shadi and Damir continue their conversation
Excerpt Author
October 08, 2021
a-democracy-if-you-can-keep-it-excerpt
What is a democratic state? There are two ways to talk about it. In one telling it is a set of institutions that, through the mechanism of regular elections, manages the task of governing a polity with its consent. It is legitimate because its citizenry consent to be governed while
Excerpt Author
October 01, 2021
snap-out-of-it-excerpt
Shadi and Damir continue discussing today's solipsistic politics, and talk about how a focus on first principles can help strip away the kinds of received wisdom that lead to complacency.
Excerpt Author
September 30, 2021
the-missionary-position-excerpt
In 1995, Christopher Hitchens published a provocatively-titled book called The Missionary Position, training his acid prose on none other than Mother Teresa. The vivid unpleasantness of the title is owed not only to the fact that it juxtaposes a revered celibate woman with the sex act, but that it associates
Excerpt Author
September 17, 2021
when-we-were-young-excerpt
I've been in a reflective mood lately. Or maybe I always think I'm in a reflective mood. It could have been so much better. The counterfactual world where the United States never invaded Iraq is one I would have preferred to live in, for instance. But to have had such
Excerpt Author
September 10, 2021