The Architecture of a Secular Iran
How the separation of religion and state could reshape citizenship, governance, and national life in a democratic Iran For more than four decades, Iran has lived under a political system in which religion and state power have been deeply intertwined. The Islamic Republic did not merely draw inspiration from religion; it transformed religious authority into […]
THE FUTURE OF AN ILLUSION
“WISH FULFILLMENT” IN WORLD POLITICS
“WISH FULFILLMENT” IN WORLD POLITICS
In his major work on religion, The Future of an Illusion (1927), Sigmund Freud offers a broad definition of “illusion.” According to Freud, “We call a belief an illusion when wish-fulfilment is a prominent factor in its motivation and in doing so we disregard its relation to reality.” Examined in terms of Israel and world […]
The New BDS Wears a Suit
An ideological boycott has been laundered into a “high controversy” risk score — and your pension is paying for it. For two decades the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement tried to make Israel a pariah on supermarket shelves and university quads. It largely failed. The grocery boycotts never bit; the student-government resolutions made headlines and […]
Is the Tide Turning?
Ukraine’s Deep Strikes, Russia’s Growing Economic Problems, and the Future of the Russo-Ukrainian War While the Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv on the night of July 1–2 was the largest such state terrorist attack to date against civilian infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital, this act by the Kremlin does little to change the […]
Israel Must Become a Provider of Power and Water
Recalibrating its strategy in the wake of the Iran war, a focus on the carrot as opposed to the stick would go far towards advancing Israel’s security aims The details of the emerging US-Iran deal, while taking shape in the MOU, are yet to be written, with a final text supposedly to be completed in […]
A New U.S.-Colombia Deal for Security, Growth, and Migration
After Abelardo De La Espriella’s victory this past weekend, the United States and Colombia have an opportunity to reset one of the most important relationships in the western hemisphere. For more than two decades, the U.S.-Colombia partnership has been anchored by security cooperation and counter-narcotics efforts. A De La Espriella administration presents an opportunity to […]
Gaza’s Fate Hangs in the Balance in a Crucial Three-Day Meeting in Cyprus
The fate of 2.1 million people in Gaza hangs in the balance this week as key officials working for the Board of Peace meet in Cyprus starting Tuesday for three days to decide how to jump-start President Trump’s stalled twenty-point plan. Despite pledges of $17 billion and behind-the-scenes planning done by a small team of […]
The Perils of a DSA Foreign Policy
An avalanche rocked American politics last week. Across New York City, candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) won closely-watched Democratic Party primary contests. Buoyed by the support of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, himself a DSA member, they romped to victory over mainstream Democrats. This is bad news for New York City and New […]
Trump’s Iran Deal is Built to Fail
Neither side can make a credible commitment to honor promises It’s almost too on the nose: last Wednesday, a militarily victorious president of the United States signed a peace “deal”—negotiated in a vacuum, without consulting Congress, and without making any attempt to generate support from the American people—at Versailles. On his return to the United […]
When U.S. Foreign Policy Loses Its Doctrine
Foreign policy is ultimately built on two foundations: power and credibility. Power allows a state to act. Credibility determines whether others believe its actions will be sustained long enough to matter. When policy becomes dominated by short-term transactions rather than strategic doctrine, trust erodes and credibility declines. The transactional trap undermines trust and creates a […]
The Liberal Case for Censorship
Free speech is a practice with preconditions, and our adversaries have learned to dismantle them. Defending those conditions is the most liberal thing a democracy can do. In the fall of 2023, Israeli television broadcast footage of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. The videos showed emaciated, desperate, terrorized captives speaking directly to camera, […]
China's Quiet Contribution to the US-Iran Ceasefire
When US President Donald Trump publicly thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping in an interview with The New York Times for helping create the conditions that led to a ceasefire between the US and Iran, many observers were surprised. China and Iran have developed increasingly close economic and strategic ties over the past decade. Beijing has become Tehran’s largest trading […]
