Argument
A Hero With Nothing To Say
In March this year, Lionel Messi met Donald Trump at the White House, in a moment that showed the soccer icon’s apparent indifference to the current political climate and the president’s threats to Latin American countries’ sovereignty. For Argentines, the implication was clear: Messi is no Maradona.
Christian Zionism in Retreat
The rise of Christian nationalism and isolationism poses a direct challenge to Christian Zionism. As the Iran war alienates much of the MAGA-verse and pushes many young conservatives into more extreme orbits, a breaking point is coming in a GOP already fractured over the Trump administration’s “Israel-first” foreign policy.
The Neoconservatives Pushing for Regime Change in Cuba See Their Chance Under Trump
A group of elected officials in South Florida, fixated on regime change in Cuba and beyond, exerts influence in Washington by advancing a binary worldview dividing friends and foes of the U.S. Ironically, they share the Manichaean outlook of the socialist regimes they seek to topple.
Does Israel Prefer Weak Neighbors?
Why does Israel so often seem to be pursuing tactics aimed at weakening states in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon, Syria and now Iran? Israel might not have a consistent weak-state doctrine, but its actions give the appearance that it does — with far-reaching negative consequences.
The Last Temptation of Trump at the End of a Failed War
Trump has backed himself into a corner with Iran. Any deal risks appearing, in his eyes, like a humiliating failure, one his opponents will mock. He knows this. His opponents know this. The weight of that constraint presents a dangerous equation as the president threatens escalation.
From ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ to ‘Anyone Is Better Than These’
In December and January, the Islamic Republic faced the largest popular uprising in its history, which it crushed violently. In an open letter to an imprisoned Iranian sociologist, the prominent scholar Asef Bayat meditates on the significance of those protests and the future of Iran.
The Iran War Is What ‘America First’ Actually Looks Like
Segments of the MAGA base, the Western left, Global South solidarity networks and the Iranian regime itself have converged, improbably, on the same talking point: This is not America First. They are all wrong. The Iran war is actually the purest expression of America First, its direct consequence.