Intercontinental ballistic missiles are massively expensive, environmentally hazardous, and dubiously successful as a deterrent—even Donald Trump recognizes the madness of modernizing strategic nuclear weapons.
China
Posted inAmerica and the World
Beyond America First
Countries in the Global South increasingly view President Trump’s “America First” foreign economic policies as both a coercive force and a catalyst for greater economic autonomy.
Posted inTAP
Dance of the Dictators
To the extent that he thinks strategically all, Trump’s strategy is all about what grift he can grab for himself and his family from foreign policy deals.
Posted inEducation in America
The High Cost of Targeting International Students in Texas
The Trump administration’s bans and airport detentions are derailing the academic dreams of students who carry out important research—and sometimes pay hefty tuition—to attend Texas institutions.
Posted inPolitics
Rule by Deal
Donald Trump engages in ad hoc agreements with individual companies and governments to expand his power. Some observers have described these actions as a new “economic nationalism”—but that term fails to explain what makes this administration’s decision-making unique.
Posted inPolitics
Can Trump Turn TikTok MAGA?
After making the case that TikTok was a national-security threat, Trump did a 180 in the weeks leading up to his re-election. The president has since admitted that he would like to see the platform become “100 percent MAGA.”
Posted inTAP
China: The Art of Xi’s Deal
In classic form, President Trump concluded his hollow trade deal with Xi Jinping Thursday—and then changed the subject and the headlines. With no clear plan or rationale, he announced that the U.S. could resume nuclear testing.
Posted inAmerica and the World
Trump’s Feeble Made-for-TV Diplomacy
President Trump left town last weekend for a six-day Asia trip, partly to change the subject and partly to score some cheap symbolic victories. As always, his goal was short-run successes, with foreign leaders fawning in his presence.
Posted inAmerica and the World
Why China Can Collapse the U.S. With One Decree
America has made an unusually directional economic bet that is at this moment totally dependent on Chinese rare earth exports.
Posted inEconomic Policy
The Socialist Case for Antitrust
The modern antitrust movement, sometimes called the neo-Brandeisians after the former Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis, had a major influence on the Biden administration. Now that Donald Trump has returned to power, what’s next? Over at the new publication The Argument, Matt Bruenig has a critical review of what he calls the urtext of the modern antitrust […]
