23 essays

Democracy & Institutions

Whether people can still act together and finish what they start, in a township or a country. Local competence and national credibility are the same problem at different scales.

Every essay filed under Democracy & Institutions, newest first.

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Oct 12, 2026The World Is Not Waiting for America6 min Sep 23, 2026When Congress Stops Protecting the Public10 min Sep 11, 2026Two Blocks from the White House6 min Sep 7, 2026The Next American Settlement11 min Aug 31, 2026The Post-Cold War Interregnum9 min Jul 3, 2026We the People at 2507 min Jun 4, 2026America at 2504 min Apr 11, 2026What Did America Actually Win in Iran?5 min Apr 8, 2026Trump’s Iran Gamble Is Weakening America5 min Jan 21, 2026The Unraveling of the American Order4 min Nov 21, 2025The Oath Is the Point6 min Jul 25, 2025America Was Built to Reach Outward5 min Jul 23, 2025Authoritarians Don’t Wear Uniforms Anymore3 min Jul 5, 2025Toward Repairing the Republic8 min Jun 12, 2025The Spirit of the Whiskey Rebellion Lives On: In Defense of the First Amendment2 min Apr 7, 2025The Toll of Tariffs: How Economic Nationalism Courts Conflict and Saps Growth4 min Mar 9, 2025Globalization’s Winners and Losers: Why Tariffs Are Gaining Ground in America6 min Mar 5, 2025Trump, Putin, and Xi: The Grand Bargain That Could Reshape the World and Break the U.S.-Led Economic Order6 min Feb 20, 2025The Perils of Trump’s Foreign Policy5 min Feb 17, 2025The Importance of NATO in Preserving U.S. Security5 min Feb 13, 2025The Promise and Fragility of Republican Ideals3 min Feb 9, 2025Why Institutions Matter in a Democracy That Feels on the Brink3 min Jan 6, 2022A recommitment to democracy2 min

The ledger · 2021–2026

This topic, month by month.

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Elsewhere in the archive

Effective Government

Whether a public organization can actually do what it says it will, and what it takes to get it there.

Fiscal Stewardship

Long-term obligations, capital planning, and the discipline to pay for the public systems we choose to use.

Strong Communities

Safety, mobility, housing, schools, and public space: the ordinary conditions that decide whether people can build a life in a place.