Ideas

Report

Trump’s Grassroots Supporters Will Likely Pay the Price of His Economic Surge

A market upswing signals the president-elect may be good for the economy after all — but mostly for the already wealthy.

David Francis
2 Shares

Dispatch

Zimbabwe’s Currency Hail Mary

Faced with a crippling cash crisis, the southern African country has designed a solution that nobody thinks will work.

Simon Allison
45 Shares

Argument

Donald Trump Is Declaring Bankruptcy on the Post-War World Order

The global system of peace and prosperity was already on life support before the U.S. president-elect decided to pull the plug.

Jeremy Adelman
701 Shares

Argument

Fool Nigeria Once, Shame on You. Fool Nigeria Twice …

Muhammadu Buhari promised to embrace democracy as president, but turned out to be the same autocrat who failed the country 30 years ago.

Ameto Akpe
1154 Shares

Report

Trump’s Team Could Bring 9/11 Mindset Back to the White House

From restoring torture to expanding surveillance, the president-elect’s picks for national security advisor, CIA director, and attorney general favor a no-holds-barred approach to Islamist extremists at home and abroad.

Dan De Luce
656 Shares

Report

Newt Gingrich Carves Out Powerful New Position Under Trump: ‘Chief Planner’

The former House speaker won’t serve in the cabinet — and says the president elect shouldn’t tap other Washington insiders, either. (Too late.)

Molly O’Toole
315 Shares

Argument

Facebooking Ourselves to Death

Americans are awash in a sea of disinformation. We've got to fight back.

Ilya Lozovsky
5180 Shares

Argument

A Chance for Change in the New Thailand

Now that the king is gone, can Thailand’s opposition come together to challenge the ruling military junta?

Raphael Mimoun
244 Shares

Argument

East Asia Will Take Trump’s Nuclear Talk Literally and Seriously

Washington has always managed to keep Tokyo and Seoul from pursuing nuclear ambitions, but a blustering U.S. president could change that in months.

Sharon Squassoni
264 Shares

Argument

Shiite Militias Are Crashing the Mosul Offensive

Pro-Iran militias are looking to settle an old grudge in one of the Islamic State's strongholds in northern Iraq.

Michael Knights
737 Shares

Argument

Everyone in Europe Needs to Take a Deep, Calming Breath

We don't yet know how the president-elect will behave in office. Meanwhile, the present state of hysteria could make things worse.

Toomas Hendrik Ilves
777 Shares

Argument

How Romanian People Power Took On Mining and Corruption

The controversial mining project seemed like a done deal — but the Romanian people weren't going down without a fight.

Shaazka Beyerle
1813 Shares

Dispatch

Kabila’s Trump Card

The U.S. president-elect probably can’t find Congo on a map. For embattled President Joseph Kabila, that’s tremendous news.

William Clowes
356 Shares

Argument

Indonesia’s Murder Melodrama Has The Whole Country Watching

The country's elite think a young woman convicted of poisoning her friend is a victim, but ordinary Indonesians have cast her as a villain.

Johannes Nugroho
133 Shares

Argument

Trump’s Syria Strategy Would Be a Disaster

The president-elect wants to ally with Assad and Russia to fight the Islamic State – but he’s going to end up empowering extremists and causing chaos across the Middle East.

Charles Lister
4496 Shares

Argument

Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Isn’t Reckless or Radical

Despite the hand-wringing of the Trumpophobes, there’s a lot of rationality and realism behind the president-elect’s evolving strategy.

Edward Luttwak
2578 Shares

Exclusive

In Private Meeting, Euro Diplomats Beseech Trump Team to Uphold Transatlantic Pacts

A political chasm over the Iran nuclear deal and Russia could put the United States and its European allies on a collision course reminiscent of the run-up to the Iraq War.

Colum Lynch
237 Shares

Argument

How President Trump Might Radically Rethink U.S. Nuclear Policy

Worried about Donald Trump having his finger on the nuclear button? Don’t be, yet. His penchant for upsetting the status quo could be just what we need.

Tom Z. Collina
198 Shares

Argument

Barack and Angela’s Tragic Romance

The American president and the German chancellor will share a legacy as long-term thinkers, advocates of openness — and, perhaps, as the last of their kind.

Joerg Forbrig
4513 Shares

Argument

How Social Media Helps Dictators

It's been hailed as "liberation technology." But it has a darker side.

Erica Chenoweth
3637 Shares

Report

GOP Foreign-Policy Power Brokers in Congress Could Foil Trump

On Russia, Syria, and other top security issues, Trump may find his campaign priorities hamstrung by Republican leaders in Congress.

Molly O’Toole
380 Shares

Feature

Iraq’s ‘Good Sunni’

Yazan al-Jabouri, with help from Iranian weapons and U.S. airstrikes, built a Sunni faction of Iraq's Shiite militias. But the fight against ISIS won't be his last.

Nour Samaha
1383 Shares

Argument

The End of the End of History

Donald Trump has restored American politics to its default setting — a fight over identity, morality, and religion.

Shadi Hamid
3976 Shares

Argument

Will Donald Trump Kill the Two-State Solution?

Right-wingers are euphoric, hoping the president-elect will preside over the death of the two-state solution. But Netanyahu seems to know better.

Amos Harel
359 Shares

Argument

Attention, U.S. Allies: This Is Not a Drill

America's traditional partners have to start thinking of ways to bargain with, and appease, a potentially hostile U.S. president.

Lawrence Freedman
349 Shares

Argument

South Korea’s Nostalgia for Dictatorship Has (Mostly) Predictable Results

How fond memories of authoritarianism fueled the democratic rise of a deluded and corrupt president.

S. Nathan Park
515 Shares

Argument

If Anyone Can Bankrupt the United States, Trump Can

The president-elect’s economic plan is a ticket to debtor’s prison.

Daniel Altman
3067 Shares

Argument

Democracy Lab Weekly Brief, November 14, 2016

To keep up with Democracy Lab in real time, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Christian Caryl calls for an urgent conversation about how to ...

Ilya Lozovsky
3 Shares

Exclusive

Trump Should Tread Carefully With Russia: Top Republican lawmaker

House Intel Chair Nunes says U.S. spy agencies have been blindsided by Putin and the next president will need to be wary of Moscow.

Dan De Luce
463 Shares

Argument

The Dawn of Pax Germanica

Like it or not, Angela Merkel is now the main guardian of the norms, values, and institutions that make up the Atlantic alliance.

Paul Hockenos
13437 Shares

Argument

Watch Out Vladimir: There’s a New Putin in Town

The Russian president has gotten a lot of mileage out of his “craziest man on the world stage” shtick. In a Trump White House, he may have met his match.

Mark Galeotti
1539 Shares

Argument

The Trump Explosion and the Fallout in Mexico

Will President-elect Trump shatter America’s most important bilateral relationship?

Michael Shifter
306 Shares

Argument

The People of Hong Kong vs. The People’s Republic of China

A Hong Kong court could soon decide on the future legal relationship between the city and the mainland.

Suzanne Sataline
1426 Shares

Argument

Donald Trump Will Dramatically Realign America’s Political Parties

The GOP has become the party of populism. Now the Democrats have to build a new party of multicultural cosmopolitanism.

Lee Drutman
2492 Shares

Report

U.S. Scraps Plan to Punish Syria for Using Chemical Weapons

With an assist from Moscow, Damascus could dodge sanctions for gassing its own people.

Colum Lynch
461 Shares

Argument

When Corruption Can’t Be Fixed

In countries like Afghanistan, there is no government without patronage. It’s time for Washington to face up to this reality.

M.A. Thomas
284 Shares

Argument

Trump Can Make Iran Policy Great Again

Here's how the next president can transform Obama's Iran deal into something worthy of the name.

Ray Takeyh
222 Shares

Argument

Trump Hasn’t Mastered the Art of Killing the Iran Deal

The presidency-elect can’t kill the agreement directly – but he could undermine it from within.

Trita Parsi
397 Shares

Argument

Donald Trump Is the End of Global Politics as We Know It

What it means to live without a leader of the free world.

Yascha Mounk
5440 Shares

Report

When Trump Takes Control of the Justice Department, Be Afraid

America’s litigious president-elect is about to run the world’s most fearsome legal agency.

Elias Groll
1308 Shares

Argument

For Muslim Americans, Fear and Shock at a Trump Presidency

A imperiled minority fears that latent demons of intolerance and violence have been released into the wild.

Lawrence Pintak
916 Shares

Argument

Trump Won Because Voters Are Ignorant, Literally

Democracy is supposed to enact the will of the people. But what if the people have no clue what they’re doing?

Jason Brennan
69875 Shares

Dispatch

The Public Loves Myanmar’s New War on Muslims

One year after a historic election put a civilian government in charge, the country's army is using brutal methods to regain its popularity.

Poppy McPherson
3396 Shares

Report

Is a Trump Presidency Really a Big Win for Putin?

The Russian leader now has a sympathetic president in Washington, but he should be wary of the problems Donald Trump could bring to Moscow.

Reid Standish
757 Shares

Report

The Top Contenders for Donald Trump’s Foreign-Policy Cabinet

Get ready for a mix of outside-the-box iconoclasts and old guard Republicans.

John Hudson
843 Shares

Argument

Why a Trump Presidency Might Not Be as Awful as We Fear

Can he be reined in from the rhetoric of his campaign?

Max Boot
2045 Shares

Report

Trump’s Impact on the Economy: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

A Trump presidency carries a lot of economic risk. But in some sectors, there's also quite a bit of opportunity.

David Francis
122 Shares

Report

‘The World as We Know It Is Crumbling Before Our Eyes’

While Russia rejoices and right-wingers cheer, America’s allies are trying to come to grips with the implications of Donald Trump’s victory.

Colum Lynch
1110 Shares

Argument

China Just Won The U.S. Election

China’s leaders are looking forward to a President Trump who offers less resistance and more hypocrisy. But Beijing's triumph may cost it in the end.

James Palmer
13962 Shares

Report

After Trump’s Upset, White House Shifts to Damage Control

Obama will try to protect his policies in his final months in office, but much of his legacy will be at the mercy of Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress.

Dan De Luce
2455 Shares