A difficult year yields excellent writing.

We are saddened to learn that David S. Landes, economic historian and author of canonical works such as The Wealth and Poverty of Nations and A Revolution In Time passed away on August 17. If you by chance are not acquainted with his work, we encourage you to start by reading Chapter 1 of his Prometheus Unbound, excerpted […]

The American Interest notes with deep sorrow and regret the passing of James Q. Wilson (May 27, 1931–March 2, 2012), eminent American public policy scholar and a member of the AI’s editorial board. He was 80.Update:Francis Fukuyama on James Q. Wilson.Wilson in the AI:The Sources of American Conduct, Autumn 2005A Quarter Century of Broken Windows […]

We received the following letter from the State Secretary for Government Communication, Dr. Zoltán Kovács, on February 10, responding to Francis Fukuyama’s February 6 post, “What’s Wrong with Hungary?“The text of the letter follows: Budapest, 10 February, 2012 Dear Professor Fukuyama, Thank you for your response; your admission of the factual mistakes in your original post […]

We received the following letter from the State Secretary for Government Communication, Dr. Zoltán Kovács, on February 2nd, responding to Francis Fukuyama’s post of January 23, “Do Institutions Really Matter?“The text of the letter follows:Budapest, 2 February 2012.Dear Sir,Last week you published an article by Francis Fukuyama on your website (“Do Institutions Really Matter?” January 23, […]

Tensions flared Friday at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen as China’s Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei, using unusually blunt language, described U.S. Chief Negotiator Todd Stern as “irresponsible”, according to an AP report. The Chinese official was responding to comments Stern made at the conference yesterday regarding the possibility of Western aid to […]

Since the AI‘s inception, we’ve had the privilege of publishing some of the best minds in policy. With a new Administration taking over the White House in January, it’s not surprising that a number of these minds have found jobs in government. Now that they’ve had a chance to settle in at their new posts, […]