For much of the summer, a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers has been trying to convince colleagues to restrict or ban investments in China. To them, American investors, large and small, should not be funding Chinese military equipment makers, biotech labs or companies accused of using forced labor. We have no rival like China, they say. Why keep throwing money at them so they can surpass us in every way—be it in technological prowess or military might? The White House seems open to hearing them out: President Biden recently issued an executive order to restrict venture capital inv ..read more

It’s kind of amazing that America, a country of 330 million, effectively has just two political parties. There are plenty of structural and historical reasons for this diarchy, but it’s still rather absurd to think that a person’s entire array of political beliefs can be slotted into one of two categories: Democratic or Republican. In a raucous and divided country like America, there is far too much diversity of thought for a single descriptor to tell us all that much about a person’s set of beliefs. Even when we get a bit more granular and try to describe the types of Democrats and Republican ..read more

A few years back, New York Rep. Joe Crowley’s stock was on the rise. He was an established and experienced officeholder, having served 10 terms in the House—and some even speculated that Crowley might one day be the leader of the House Democrats, maybe even Speaker. Yet his political career was ended by the actions of one young party activist: In 2018, he was defeated in an upset by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who instantly became a progressive star, at least in the media and among other party activists. A new star. In 2018, progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s upset primary win against New Y ..read more

This Wednesday marks the unofficial launch of the 2024 Republican presidential primary. With the first debate scheduled for that night, the candidates (sans the current frontrunner) will have their first chance to stand beside their fellow would-be nominees to make their case to what could be tens of millions of Republican primary voters. With this milestone, it’s safe to say that most candidates who plan to enter the race have already done so, meaning that the field is pretty much set. Sure, there are hopeful dreams about white knight candidates riding in to disrupt the race, but that seems u ..read more

In May, the Senate lit up the AI policy conversation with two dueling artificial intelligence hearings: one on the use of AI in government and the other on AI oversight. Comparing the two, most have acknowledged their contrasts: The Sam Altman-led oversight hearing featured high drama (for the Senate, that is), while the relatively staid AI in Government hearing featured substantive policy proposals. These contrasts in substance, however, disguise a deeper thematic lockstep. During the oversight hearing, uncertain senators looked to a trio of computer scientists, hoping their technical underst ..read more

This is post 6 of 6 in the series “The Future of the World Order” Scholars, journalists and other contributors discuss the future of the U.S.-led, liberal-democratic world order, how it might change in the future and the various threats against it. What Does Russia’s War on Ukraine Mean for the International Order? Europe’s Westphalian Triumph China’s Global Influence Game Thinking Beyond the Taiwan Strait Europe Should Be More Worried About Energy Security American Alliance Building in the Indo-Pacific and the Calculus of Deterrence The United States and Australia just conducted a mas ..read more

This is post 5 of 7 in the series “Open Inquiry Initiative” A group of scholars discusses a wide range of topics relating to free speech, viewpoint diversity and academic freedom. Open Inquiry Initiative: The Intellectually Honest Case for Social and Emotional Learning Teaching Objective Values in an Age of Gurus The Case for Scientific Failure Conscience Over Consequences: Reassessing the Drive To End Philanthropy Donald Trump’s Attack on Academic Freedom “Studies Have Shown” Is Not Enough Is Gender Studies The Man? What will happen to higher education and intellectual freedom if Dona ..read more

No Labels is toying with a risky idea. The centrist political group is considering running a third-party presidential “unity ticket” in 2024 with one Republican and one Democrat. It’s an intriguing idea—one that would theoretically appeal to Americans who feel abandoned by both major parties—but depending on who you ask, the plan is either a necessary last resort to pull the country back from the brink or a doomed strategy that will guarantee another four years of President Donald Trump. So which is it? High Risk If you ask No Labels itself, the organization will clarify a few things about its ..read more

Evan Thomas’ new book about the end of WWII is fortuitously timed. The blockbuster film “Oppenheimer” has reawakened interest in the decision to use the atom bomb on Japan. And while Thomas has provided a well-researched, engaging synthesis of the events surrounding Japan’s surrender, the book falls a bit short. The principal problem is that it is definitive about a subject riddled with uncertainty. As a popular history, “The Road to Surrender” reads well. The author asserts his conclusions with conviction. Unfortunately, the more we learn about the questions involving surrender, the clearer i ..read more

Ideas of India is a podcast in which Mercatus Senior Research Fellow Shruti Rajagopalan examines the academic ideas that can propel India forward. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, Overcast, Stitcher or the podcast app of your choice. In this episode, Shruti speaks with Saurabh Kirpal about the constitutional roots of marriage equality, fundamental rights, the role of the state, problems and challenges of the Indian courts and much more. Kirpal is a senior advocate at the Delhi High Court, the author of “Fifteen Judgments: Cases Tha ..read more