May 2026
Is Trump heading to a Pyrrhic victory in Iran?
Pyrrhus was said to have remarked that one more victory would leave his kingdom ‘utterly ruined.’ Some see echoes in US interventions in the Middle East.
Russia’s drone pipeline: How Iran helps Moscow produce an ever‑evolving unmanned fleet
Ukraine has warned that Russia could soon be pumping out 1,000 drones a day. Iranian technology has driven that growth.
Trump’s framing of Nigeria insurgency as a war on Christians risks undermining interfaith peacebuilding
President Donald Trump described a Dec. 25 airstrike on suspected insurgent camps as a ‘Christmas present’ from the US. Many in Nigeria are not viewing it as such.
From youth bulges to graying societies: The demographic dynamics that are upending the world
Population ebbs and flows are having geopolitical consequences.
The US has long used economic coercion to achieve foreign policy goals — the war in Iran shows how that power has declined
US sanctions on foreign nations have lost some of their power to influence the behavior of other nations – with increasing costs for the US to boot.
What a Chinese crackdown on corruption meant for Beijing’s high‑end restaurant market
In 2012, the Chinese Communist Party introduced new rules on officials’ spending – and the local restaurant trade suffered.
When a president settles his own lawsuit to create a fund for allies, fundamental questions about justice arise
Donald Trump’s suit against the IRS and the settlement creating a $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund to compensate his allies raise important moral and constitutional issues.
How debate about gender identity could undermine global efforts to protect victims of violence
The US and some voices at the UN are calling for a narrow interpretation of gender to align with sex assigned at birth. That could leave vulnerable groups at risk.
Seeing women govern encourages support for women in politics – with no apparent backlash among men
After the main Namibian party started alternating candidates between men and women, female representation in the National Assembly nearly doubled.
Donkeys are a symbol of endurance for Palestinians – they are also a target of settler violence and care
From violence to rescue, settler practices involving donkeys are increasingly entangled with Palestinian dispossession.