The Free World Teeters on the Edge of a Knife
The wildest dreams of Kim Jong-un and Ali Khamenei don’t go much beyond atom bombs and ballistic missiles: that is so 1945. Putin’s aspirations seem confined to rebuilding the old Soviet zone,
Yuval Noah Harari • Homo Deus
So now I want you to imagine what happens if the U.S. and its allies get in a major war with China — as analysts say is increasingly possible. In the first few weeks, much the two countries’ stores of munitions — including drones and the batteries that power drones — will be used up. After that, as in Ukraine, it will come down to who can produce m
... See moreNoah Smith • Manufacturing Is a War Now
One critical factor in determining the region’s future will be the role that the United States chooses to play going forward. As already noted, one reason for the region’s phenomenal success over the past seventy years is the presence of the United States. Yes, the United States badly overreached by trying to unite all of the Korean Peninsula by fo
... See moreRichard Haass • The World
The major alternatives to a modernized world order supported by the United States appear unlikely and unappealing. A Chinese-led order, for example, would be an illiberal one, characterized by authoritarian domestic political systems and statist economies that place a premium on maintaining domestic stability. There would be a return to spheres of
... See moreRichard Haass • The World
Today’s great-power competition is unfolding in the digital era, with the focus shifting to innovation in digital technology rather than ideological competition. The U.S. government has increasingly recognised that ideological intervention yields little practical value and does not substantively enhance its technological competitiveness. This under... See more