Essay On the tactics of modern strongmen April 27, 2023 Dictators have been changing. They did not loosen their grip over the population鈥攆ar from it, they worked to design more effective instruments of control. But they did so while acting the part of democrats. Read More
Podcast 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
Essay Why democracy belongs in artificial intelligence February 21, 2023 Most of the real harms AI systems can cause鈥攂ut also the opportunities they can afford鈥攁re 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
Podcast 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.聽 Read More
Essay 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 鈥渞eelected鈥� as the party鈥檚 chairman, paving his way for a third term as China鈥檚 top political leader. Read More
Video PUP Speaks: Karen Greenberg on the long legacy from 9/11 to 1/6 January 05, 2023 The events of both September 11, 2001 and January 6, 2021 were unprecedented in our nation鈥檚 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
Interview 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鈥檚 population in the coming century. Read More
Interview 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.聽 Read More
Essay How Americans鈥� priorities explain abortion politics October 28, 2022 In only a few months, the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health Organization鈥攊n which the Court majority invalidated the constitutional right to an abortion established almost 50 years ago鈥攈as scrambled the political landscape. Read More
Interview Jonathan Kirshner on An Unwritten Future October 16, 2022 An Unwritten Future聽offers a fresh reassessment of classical realism, an enduring approach to understanding crucial events in the international political arena. Read More
Essay 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
Essay 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. 颅Eager supporters of President Donald Trump 颅were holding signs, wearing 鈥淢ake Amer颅i颅ca 颅Great Again鈥� hats, and sporting T-颅shirts with expressions ranging from 鈥淕uns, God, and Trump鈥� to 鈥淢ake Liberals Cry Again.鈥� Read More
Interview Making democracy with autocrats: East Asia鈥檚 past, China鈥檚 future? September 15, 2022 Democracy is not just Western; it is Eastern as well. In a time when democracies globally鈥攊ncluding the United States鈥攁re endangered, three Asian democracies stand out for their quality and stability: Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Read More
Essay 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
Interview Evan Lieberman on Until We Have Won Our Liberty July 14, 2022 At a time when many democracies are under strain around the world,聽Until We Have Won Our Liberty聽shines new light on the signal achievements of one of the contemporary era鈥檚 most closely watched transitions away from minority rule. Read More
