The Rise and Fall of Great-Power Competition: Trump’s New Spheres of Influence (Stacie E. Goddard)

“After being dismissed as a phenomenon of an earlier century, great power competition returned.” So declared the National Security Strategy that President Donald Trump released in 2017, capturing in a single line the story that American foreign policymakers have spent the last decade telling themselves and the world. In the post–Cold War era, the United …

Read More

Global Futures Project: Third Annual Intelligence And Defense Analysts Conference (Hoover History Lab)

“American Power and Influence: Assessments and Directions,” the third annual conference of the Hoover History Lab (HHL) on power, took place January 16-18, 2025, at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, on the eve of the presidential inauguration. “American Power and Influence: Assessments and Directions,” the third annual conference of the Hoover History Lab (HHL) …

Read More

How Was the Earth Made? (Sharmila Kuthunur)

Here is the origin story of Earth—the only place we know life to exist. NASA Published: April 16, 2025 Last Updated: April 16, 2025 The Big Bang brought the universe into existence more than 13 billion years ago. But it wasn’t until much later—around 4.54 billion years ago—that planet Earth came into being.  Earth was born in …

Read More

Trump’s 100 Days of Failure in Ukraine (Carl Bildt)

Vladimir Putin and his negotiators have obviously succeeded in leading their US counterparts on, cynically voicing support for a peace process in Ukraine that they have no intention of pursuing. After many weeks of this, even the most dimwitted of negotiators should have realized what was going on. STOCKHOLM – It has been nearly 100 …

Read More

Trump’s War on the Dark Matter that Powers America (Ricardo Hausmann)

For decades, the foundation of America’s economic and geopolitical strength has been its ability to export intangible assets like ideas, technologies, and expertise. But now, President Donald Trump’s trade policies risk unraveling the very system that has underpinned a century of American prosperity. CAMBRIDGE – There were no witches in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692-93, yet …

Read More

America Self-Destructs (Shlomo Ben-Ami)

For years, commentators have been fretting about the so-called Thucydides Trap: when an established power (the United States) fears a rising challenger (China), war becomes inevitable. But Donald Trump has now turned the concept of its head: instead of fighting to uphold the US-led international order, he is fighting to tear it down. TEL AVIV …

Read More

Resisting American Techno-Fascism (Courtney C. Radsch)

The world’s most powerful tech firms have aligned themselves with US President Donald Trump, marking a dangerous new phase in the concentration of their power. But other countries can take steps – namely, regulating digital services and protecting intellectual property – to avert a global slide into techno-fascism. WASHINGTON, DC – Big Tech’s massive encroachment …

Read More