List of Theory articles
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U.S. Marines, California National Guard, and police stand guard as protesters participate in a "No Kings" demonstration in Los Angeles on June 14. Has Trump Brought Authoritarianism to the U.S.?
Experts are alarmed by Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles.
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Rows of cadets in military uniforms march in a parade. A Brief History of Military Parades
Trump hopes to top the Bastille Day procession.
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Supporters display a poster depicting the jailed leader of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on Feb. 27. Don’t Trust Erdogan’s ‘Peace Process’ With the Kurds
Strongmen rarely resolve ethnic conflicts—they use them to tighten their grip on power.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, and Premier Li Qiang, right, applaud at the closing session of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. China’s Overlooked Premier Is Slowly Building up Power
Xi Jinping has turned over critical economic roles to Li Qiang.
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Tinubu gives a speech, standing beside two other men. The screen behind him shows a large "50." At 50, ECOWAS Must Reform
Nigeria’s president on the West African bloc’s greatest test yet.
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An illustration depicts Vladimir Putin holding up a hand of playing cards Putin Is a Gambler, not a Grand Master
The Russian president has abandoned real strategy for a single goal.
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An illustration shows two men seated at a table carving up the globe like a roast. A Return to Spheres of Influence?
What a major shift in strategic thought could mean for geopolitics.
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A statue of Karl Marx wearing a red scarf on a blue background. Karl Marx’s American Boom
A new book looks at the history of the communist thinker’s reception in the capitalist United States.
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Four women holding guns sit and stand in in a stone-walled shelter. The Secret Newspapers That Helped Defeat Fascism
The women behind Italy’s underground press during World War II offer important lessons for democracies today.
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A worker rests on top of stacks of food aid in a storage tent in Burundi. ‘Trade, Not Aid’ Rings More Hollow Than Ever
As global trade fractures, it’s time to retire one of development’s most persistent—and misleading—slogans.
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U.S. President Donald Trump attends the U.N. Climate Action Summit at U.N. headquarters in New York, on Sept. 23, 2019. The Realist Case for Global Rules
You don’t need to be an idealist to be worried about Donald Trump’s approach to global order.
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An illustration shows Trump from above and behind walking away with six views of the globe behind him. Spheres of Influence Are Not the Answer
Even if the great powers could carve up an interconnected world, Washington may not get the result it wants.
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A man in a uniform carries an American flag along a beach. How America Blew Its Unipolar Moment
An international order founded not on institutions but on hegemonic benevolence proved impossible to sustain.
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A photo portrait of a bearded man seen from behind with his head turned to the side so he's seen in profile. He wears a dark-colored suit jacket. How Much Power Does the Aga Khan Have, Really?
The billionaire Muslim leader is a religious figure—and a global powerbroker.
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Presidential candidate George Simion is shown on a screen addressing his supporters at the campaign headquarters of their candidate after polls closed on May 4, 2025 in Bucharest, Romania. Romania’s Far Right Is More Extreme Than You Think
The country’s conservative populists have a long—and radical—history.
