Human Rights

Ranking of Countries by Quality of Democracy: Complete Ranking: Total Value Index 2020 (Context Measurement) (Dataset of the Democracy Matrix V.4)

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The German Research Foundation (DFG) funds the democracy matrix and has been operating since 2016. It is being conducted by the Chair of Comparative Politics and the German Government at the University of Würzburg. Researchers established it as an alternative to the Democracy Indices of Freedom House and Polity. The Matrix groups countries based on their rankings into …

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The History of Socialism and Capitalism (Nial Ferguson and Victor David Hanson)

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With this issue, scholars at the Hoover Institution are launching aprogram designed to evaluate free-market capitalism, socialism, andhybrid systems to determine how well the various governmental andeconomic forms promote general well-being and prosperity. Theproject is particularly important and timely, given recent interest inpolicies that are radical from a US historical perspective, some ofwhich are advocated …

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Unlocking Biotech’s Potential (Martin Gyles)

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In this episode of The Interconnect, Stanford University Professor of Bioengineering Drew Endy and CFR Senior Fellow for Global Health Luciana Borio discuss the future of U.S. biomanufacturing and how biotechnology innovations—including bioluminescent plants and next-gen vaccines—are becoming more a part of daily life. Transcript Martin GILES: Welcome to The Interconnect, a new podcast series from the …

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The Prospects for Peace in Ukraine (Barry Strauss)

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As of this writing, the United States government is trying to negotiate a peace settlement in Ukraine, three years after Russia invaded. Although some progress has been made, it’s been a rocky road, marked by verbal tussles and continued bloodshed. As of this writing, the United States government is trying to negotiate a peace settlement …

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Artificial Intelligence: Supercharging Science

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Scientists, policy makers, and ordinary people prepare for profound change amid countless unknowns. This excerpt from the new issue of the Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR) focuses on artificial intelligence, one of ten key technologies studied in this continuing educational initiative. SETR, a project of the Hoover Institution and the Stanford School of Engineering, harnesses the expertise of Stanford University’s leading …

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The Shape of AI to Come! Yann LeCun at AI Action Summit 2025 (

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At the AI Action Summit in Paris, Yann LeCun underscored a fundamental shift in artificial intelligence—one that moves beyond the brute-force approach of large language models (LLMs). Instead of systems that merely predict the next token, the future of AI hinges on *world models*—structured, adaptive representations that can infer, reason, and plan. This vision holds …

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Trump targets another large DC law firm where Robert Mueller used to work with executive order (Katelyn Polantz and Clay Voytek)

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing agencies to suspend the security clearances and access to federal buildings of lawyers for the law firm Wilmer Hale, the former firm to one time-special counsel Robert Mueller. The order also directs agencies to “refrain from hiring employees” of the firm without a waiver from an …

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