Europeans’ Hopes and Fears for the Future of Ukraine
Experts and policymakers make the case for Ukraine in a series of RDI talks in Prague and Berlin What can civil society leaders and public officials do to bring about a Ukrainian victory? That was the topic of conversation in a series of roundtable discussions in Prague and Berlin that RDI hosted in partnership with […]
The Turning Point in Ukraine
One year on, Putin is desperate for a victory and Ukraine has to avoid stalemate. Next Friday, February 24, is the one year anniversary of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It concludes a year measured in tragedies: tens of thousands of war crimes, hundreds of thousands of casualties, millions of refugees, and billions of dollars lost […]
The National Debt is Dangerous; So Is Fixing It
Cuts to welfare spending fuel populist extremism Congress is once again facing the age-old dilemma of either raising the arbitrary limit on our borrowing or tanking the economy and causing irreparable harm to the dollar’s position as the reserve currency of the world. This isn’t a piece about the debt ceiling because, God willing, Congress […]
If It Looks Like a Conspiracy and Talks Like a Conspiracy…
It’s probably just the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at Davos It’s that time of year again where the global political and business elites meet in a Bond villain’s Swiss mountain lair to decide the future of humanity. I’m kidding, but only barely. According to the World Economic Forum’s official mission, they convene 3,000 or […]
Germany’s Incomplete Revolution
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine remade German policy––sort of The German government would like you to know it’s changed. On February 27, three days after Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared it a Zeitenwende––a watershed moment––for German policy. No more Russian oil pipelines. No more believing that lucrative deals could turn rivals into […]
Sinema Won’t Find it Easy to Disrupt American Politics
Changing the two-party system takes new legislation, not lectures Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced this past Friday that she is no longer a Democrat, “declaring [her] independence from the broken partisan system.” She explained that “Americans are told that we have only two choices – Democrat or Republican – and that we must subscribe wholesale to policy […]
DeSantis Isn’t Trump. That Matters
The Florida governor does not pose the same threat to democracy as the former president One glass of wine. A salad. A second glass of wine and here it comes: “It’s that DeSantis down in Florida. Forget about Trump––he’s the greatest threat. He’s Trump but smart. He’d actually get things done.” If dinner parties are […]
Echo Chambers Are a Myth
Engaging more with the other side can actually make us more partisan, not less. As dust from the midterm elections still settles, one thing remains clear: it seems as if Americans live in different realities. Election deniers made up a majority of GOP candidates, and events like the attack on Paul Pelosi by a wild conspiracy […]
Emperor Xi Celebrates Chinese Democracy
Why the world’s largest dictatorship keeps calling itself a model democracy The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is underway in Beijing this week, broadcasting China’s ambitions for the future. The congress meets every five years and coincides with presidential terms, so Xi Jinping, having served his two five-year stints, should be welcoming […]
A Logical Plan for Ukrainian Defeat
Elon Musk’s plan for peace in Ukraine is pragmatic, popular, and wrong. On Monday, Twitter was abuzz after Elon Musk announced his plan for peace in Ukraine: there should be new referendums on whether eastern Ukrainian oblasts would join Russia, Ukraine should formally cede Crimea and guarantee its water supply, and Ukraine should remain neutral, aligning with […]
