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Decommissioning History
Remembering the Past in Northern Ireland

Twenty years after the Good Friday Agreement, the guns are off the street, but history and memory continue to be weaponized.

Better Angels
The Top 14 Causes of Political Polarization

Why we can’t stand each other, explained.

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Identity Politics
Getting Tribes: A Corrective

What Americans misunderstand about tribal cultures, and how it hurts U.S. foreign policy.

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The Middle East
Has the Assad Regime “Won” Syria’s Civil War?

Not only is Syria’s civil war far from over, but the Assad regime’s victories over rebel forces have sparked a series of “wars after the war” that could undermine its recent gains—and create opportunities for the United States.

Superpower Without a Cause
America the Erratic

Trump quitting the Iran Deal illustrates how foreign policy decision-making fundamentally changed after 2008.

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The View from Tokyo
Japan’s North Korean Anxieties

Amid a flurry of summitry on the Korean peninsula, Japan is concerned that its own interests might fall by the wayside.

Capitalism—Past and Future
Beyond the Factory

The factory embodies a vision of technology and society that holds utopian promise but breeds dystopian disenchantment.

The Deed Is Done
The Meaning of Withdrawal

Seven key questions to ask about Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran Deal.

Fairness
Social Justice as Distributive Justice

It’s messy and open ended, like politics, where even well justified policies often involve some moral arbitrariness.

Raising the Red Flag
The Curious Case of Mr. Wang and the United Front

How a recent think tank controversy reveals America’s own vulnerability to Chinese influence operations—and the need for a serious public debate on the issue.

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