foreign policy
How the U.S. reinvented the notion of empire
Preferring "bases not places," the U.S. does not really resemble the empires of old.
Why the U.S. is trapped in “endless war”
Instead of just Afghanistan, the U.S. military ought to withdraw from the entire Middle East and much of the rest of the world.
How the CIA used LSD to fight communism
Before it fueled Woodstock and the Summer of Love, LSD was brought to America to make spying easier.
American imperialism: fat-shaming Uncle Sam
Opponents of 19th-century American imperialism were not above body-shaming the personification of the U.S. government.
Can foreign intervention lead to peaceful solutions?
Despite potential good intentions, interventionist policies are often viewed by classical liberals as violations of individual freedoms.
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Does drone warfare reduce harm? Maybe not.
Proponents of drones in foreign conflicts argue that it reduces harm for civilians and U.S. military personnel alike. Here's why that might be wrong.
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Why Trump’s Palestine map is important
Trump's Middle East peace plan contains the first map of a Palestinian state that 'Israel can live with'.
Tyranny comes home: How the ‘boomerang effect’ impacts civilian life in the U.S.
When it comes to foreign intervention, we often overlook the practices that creep into life back home.
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War is an ecological catastrophe
Researchers believe that war exacerbates climate change, threatening the environment and making future wars more likely.
#8: Technology doesn’t win wars. Why the US pretends it does. | Top 10 2019
Big Think's eighth most popular video of the year reveals what the real future of war could look like.
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Did Trump demand a quid pro quo? Harvard cognitive psychologist weighs in.
Cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker reminds us that innuendo and euphemism yield better quid pro quo results than an "or else" ultimatum.
How did a 100-year-old vision of global politics shape our future?
In 1919, Woodrow Wilson attempted to rally the U.S. behind the League of Nations. His failure suggested the way forward.
This WWII map taught Americans to sympathize with the Soviets
By transplanting Operation Barbarossa on a map of the US, it showed the devastating effects of the Nazi invasion
The information arms race can’t be won, but we have to keep fighting
The tactics that work now won't work for long.
Which country is the best? is the wrong question
Policy advisor Simon Anholt believes the question we should ask is, which country is the "goodest"?
Why Blackwater cannot be the future of U.S. warfare
Can 6,500 mercenaries "fix" Afghanistan? The U.S. is resurrecting privatized warfare.
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A map of Kim Jong-un’s slow train trip to Vietnam
North Korea's Great Leader would rather not fly for his second summit with Trump – but the trip is also a political message to China.
Canada wants to take in more than 1 million new immigrants in the next 3 years
...and hopes for big benefits.
Top 5 KGB operations on U.S. soil
Russia's famed intelligence agency was often successful in getting American secrets.
Here’s how the world picks sides in the Venezuela crisis
Worryingly, these are not just two random collections of countries, but two blocs with a lot of pre-existing enmity.
Technology doesn’t win wars. Why the US pretends it does.
Hollywood's notions of future wars may be nothing like the real ones.
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Kosovo land swap could end conflict – or restart war
Best case: Redrawing borders leads to peace, prosperity and EU membership. But there's also a worst case.
How President Woodrow Wilson tried to end all wars once and for all
Following World War I, President Woodrow Wilson nearly died trying to ensure world peace.
Experiments by China and Russia to heat up the atmosphere cause concern
Superpowers team up to heat up the ionosphere by over 200 degrees.
Why this 2015 NASA study is beloved by climate change skeptics
The findings of the controversial study flew in the face of past research on ice gains in Antarctica.
“Hi-tech” Russian robot turns out to be a man in a suit
The Russian robot named "Boris", promoted as hi-tech by state tv, was revealed to be an actor.
The silent Chinese propaganda in Hollywood films
China's rise has necessitated a global PR push. It includes influencing how the movies you watch depict China.
Russia threatens ‘retaliation’ after U.S. declares plan to withdraw from arms treaty
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. will withdraw from the 1987 agreement unless Russia falls back into compliance.
David Attenborough: Extinction of the natural world is ‘on the horizon’
Attenborough told the audience at COP24 that climate change is "our greatest threat in thousands of years."
When America polices the world, everybody loses
America treats the world like a board game. That's a problem.
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