How Cynical Empire Destroys the Conditions for Political Progress From time to time, the imperial temptation returns wearing the mask of necessity. Haiti (among many other countries and regions at risk of political dissolution, from Mali to Sudan to Venezuela to Iran) has brought it back again. As gang violence has engulfed Port-au-Prince and the…
When the Trump administration speaks of “peace” in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it does so with a striking bluntness. There is little pretense of multilateralism, international law, or the slow political work of reconciliation. Peace is framed instead as a transaction: stabilize the region enough to secure access to strategic minerals, guarantee supply chains,…
In early April, the Trump administration announced a sweeping new round of tariffs, targeting imports across a wide array of sectors. These measures, which build on his earlier trade war during his first term, have been roundly described by economists as a mistake. They will likely raise prices for American consumers, disrupt global supply chains,…
I was honored, gratified, and in all other ways delighted to have GaiaWakes as the main topic of conversation on Will Engels’ hyper-smart History of Philosophy podcast. Such a fun and wide-ranging conversation!
Humanitarianism, if you hadn’t noticed, is in crisis. As expected, the “stop work” notices issued in the US by the Trump administration have now turned into termination notices for most humanitarian and aid work. It’s important to understand that the engineered collapse of the US and possibly wider humanitarian systems is not a standalone event.…
In the wake of the Trump Administration’s dismantlement of USAID, I find myself struggling to hold (without necessarily seeking to resolve) various tensions. On the one hand, the utter contempt with which the administration has treated the decades of hard work, the dedication, and impressive depth of knowledge of so many tens of thousands of…
The Kind and his Champion Marvel Arthurianism, CEO assassination, and populist resistance in the age of techno-oligarchic feudalism On January 20th, a would-be king strode onto the inauguration / coronation stage and declared the dawn of America’s “Golden Age”. No miracle, no heavenly sword pulled from a stone, had graced his rule with a divine…
This is an op-ed I originally wrote for the Kroc School of Peace Studies’ Innovating Peace blog in October 2024, reposted here as a kind of “told you so” 🙂 As Americans enter the final two weeks before Election Day, we once again find ourselves – unbelievably, for those of us who cling, even halfheartedly, to…