Two new books about what’s wrong with the CIA get it (mostly) right.

I traveled around Papua New Guinea for two weeks earlier this summer. My interest in coming here was related to my interest in state-building. PNG did not have a state when it was first colonized by Britain and Germany late in the 19th century. The Australians, who took over the colonial mandate from after World […]

There are two great experiments in authoritarian development going on in the world today, those represented by Russia and by China. The common Western theory, which I have argued in favor of in the past, is that liberal democracy and market economies are mutually complementary; even though countries can develop rapidly under authoritarian governments, eventually […]

Some witnesses in front of Congressional committees seem determined to rescue defeat from the jaws of victory, whether through their demeanor, their preparation or their sheer refusal to go along with the gag, even when the facts are on their side. The last post detailed the recent testimony of Maura Harty, Assistant Secretary of State […]

On misreading On War.

Why the West’s best armies are struggling against Hizballah, al-Qaeda in Iraq and other jihadists-at-large.

Does history teach or tease U.S. statesmen looking to create a world order?

A Conversation with former Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman.

Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. Music by Harold Arlen. Performance by Judy Garland. How the “Song of the Century” was born.

As Adrienne Rich said, poetry isn’t “a mass-market product”, but when you need a good poem, nothing else will do.