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The Leading Realist Theorist Ignores Reality to Depict Putin as the Victim
John Mearsheimer’s analytic framework blinds him to the Russian dictator’s real motives for invading democratic Ukraine
 • Tom G. Palmer
Trump's Tariffs Liberated Americans From Their Wallets: A Video Roundup
Our early-April collection of clips
 • Landry Ayres
54:50
The UnPopulist Live: Andy Craig and Paul Gowder on Birthright Citizenship
Our April 2 conversation on the Supreme Court oral arguments
 • Andy Craig and Paul Gowder
Georgia Is Fighting Its Islamophobic Politicians
The Republican lieutenant governor candidate’s vile, AI-generated video is facing backlash
 • Andrew Lewis and Stephen Grand
Every Argument Against Birthright Citizenship Is Hollow
The Supreme Court's originalists should see that—and tomorrow's oral arguments will indicate whether they do
 • Paul Gowder

Recent posts

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Trump’s Executive Order Diverting Border Security Funds to TSA Is a Blatantly Criminal Act
Both the law and the Constitution expressely ban such diversions because they nullify Congress and turn the president into a king
 • Andy Craig
1:08:42
Not All Trump Voters Love Him but They Regard the Other Side as Out of Touch with Them: A Conversation with Jason Mangone
Identifying opportunities to win them over requires understanding them as they understand themselves
 • Thomas Shull
Trump’s Corruption Palooza Scales New Heights: An Executive Watch Roundup
Our late-March selection of the president's latest and greatest assaults on the rule of law
 • Executive Watch
Texas Republicans Are Moving From Demonizing Muslims to Stripping Away Their Rights
The ugly logic of bigotry is on vivid display in the Lone Star State
 • Steve Chapman
Democrats Should Own Free Trade, Not Just Oppose Trump's Protectionism
Their tactical opposition to the president's tariffs will cost them leadership on this issue
 • Tibita Kaneene
We Should Have Taken the Rise of the Extremist Right Seriously in Real Time
So many of its beliefs were so outlandish that liberals dismissed it and lost crucial time in tackling it
Trump Wants to Destroy Anthropic Because It Is Doing Congress’ Job of Preventing Him from Abusing AI
America will lose its competitive edge on this technology without legislation outlawing unconstitutional uses
 • Adam Conner
Progressive Jews Are Deeply Distressed by the Rising Antisemitism on Their Own Side
They distrust the right but are pained by the left
 • Jay Michaelson
The Constitution's Sweeping Pardon Power Is Its Achilles' Heel for Checking an Imperial President
Worse, there are no good fixes in our polarized times for stopping the abuse of this dangerous tool
 • Gabriel Schoenfeld
India Is Embracing China’s Authoritarian Tactics for Digital Surveillance and Control
The country’s undemocratic turn is dangerous not only for its own citizens but also the world as other populist rulers emulate its methods
 • Amal Chandra
55:02
Manosphere Men Want a Society That Loves Them For Their Vices: A Conversation With Toby Buckle
They have created narratives about true masculinity that have never existed
 • Aaron Ross Powell
Marco Rubio Gets Western Civilization’s Defining Feature All Wrong
Liberal Enlightenment principles, not Christian faith, became the West’s lasting identity
 • Francis Fukuyama
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The latest from
Landry Ayres
Trump's Tariffs Liberated Americans From Their Wallets: A Video Roundup
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Andy Craig
The UnPopulist Live: Andy Craig and Paul Gowder on Birthright Citizenship
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Berny Belvedere
Vance Puts MAGA Ideology Above All Else
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Shikha Dalmia
Will the Trump Administration's MAGA-Driven Foreign Policy Be America's Downfall? A Conversation with Anne Applebaum
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Birch Smith
Has the Trump Administration Crossed the Rubicon When Lawlessness Makes Lawful Transition Impossible?
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The UnPopulist Presents:

The UnPopulist
The UnPopulist
Defending liberal democracy against authoritarianism in the U.S. and around the world.

Reconstruction Agenda

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31:56
Americans Have Never Had Less Recourse for the US Government Violating Rights: A Conversation With Steve Vladeck
Accountability under both state and federal law faces high hurdles, but Congress could fix that
 • Andy Craig
Robust State Constitutionalism Can Protect Rights and Resist Authoritarianism
We need a movement to fully unlock the potential for resistance by states
 • Kathrina Szymborski Wolfkot
Americans Need Legal Remedies Restored Now to Protect Themselves Against Reckless ICE Agents
Congress, state legislatures, and courts can take steps to reopen avenues for litigation unduly closed off
 • Anya A. Bidwell and Marie Miller
All-Party Primaries Can Release Us From Our Partisan Doom-Loop Trap
Our republic is being destroyed by an electoral system that ignores the vast majority of the voting public
 • Danielle Allen
Trump’s Bogus Rationale for Invading Venezuela Is an Impeachable Offense
The Framers would have regarded this president as an out-of-control lunatic in desperate need of reining in by Congress
 • Andy Craig
50:39
What Tools Does Congress Still Retain to Control a Recalcitrant Executive? A Conversation with Josh Chafetz
Eventually, though, Congress needs to fix itself to effectively rein in the president
 • Andy Craig
If Soldiers Become Cops, Americans Will Have Even Less Legal Redress Against Abusive Law Enforcement
This is yet another reason why President Trump should not be allowed to call in the military for fighting crime
 • Anthony Sanders
Founders Would Be Horrified by Congress's Surrender of its Power of the Purse to POTUS
The shutdown is testimony to how a subservient legislature makes governance dysfunctional
 • Molly Reynolds

Podcasts

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1:08:42
Not All Trump Voters Love Him but They Regard the Other Side as Out of Touch with Them: A Conversation with Jason Mangone
Identifying opportunities to win them over requires understanding them as they understand themselves
 • Thomas Shull
55:02
Manosphere Men Want a Society That Loves Them For Their Vices: A Conversation With Toby Buckle
They have created narratives about true masculinity that have never existed
 • Aaron Ross Powell
31:56
Americans Have Never Had Less Recourse for the US Government Violating Rights: A Conversation With Steve Vladeck
Accountability under both state and federal law faces high hurdles, but Congress could fix that
 • Andy Craig
54:14
How the Right and the Left Converged Against Capitalism: A Conversation With John Cassidy
More people sour on this system with every technological disruption and economic crisis even though no one sees socialism as a viable alternative
 • Berny Belvedere
44:45
Will the Trump Administration's MAGA-Driven Foreign Policy Be America's Downfall? A Conversation with Anne Applebaum
The strong constituency for authoritarian politics in the US means that the world won't trust it even after this president departs from the scene
 • Shikha Dalmia
1:00:32
Does America Need a Deeper State to Save It? A Conversation with Tyler Cowen and Francis Fukuyama
Two of the foremost thinkers of our time debate whether America has enough 'state capacity' for effective governance
 • Shikha Dalmia
Podcasts
Logo for Zooming In at The UnPopulist
Zooming In at The UnPopulist
The UnPopulist Live: Andy Craig and Paul Gowder on Birthright Citizenship
Logo for Reconstruction Agenda
Reconstruction Agenda
Americans Have Never Had Less Recourse for the US Government Violating Rights: A Conversation With Steve Vladeck
Recommendations
View all 23
Slow Boring
Slow Boring
Matthew Yglesias
Arc Digital
Arc Digital
Arc Digital
Notes from the Middleground
Notes from the Middleground
Damon Linker
The Next Move
The Next Move
Garry Kasparov
The Argument
The Argument
Jerusalem Demsas
Top posts

Book Reviews

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The Constitution's Sweeping Pardon Power Is Its Achilles' Heel for Checking an Imperial President
Worse, there are no good fixes in our polarized times for stopping the abuse of this dangerous tool
 • Gabriel Schoenfeld
Dear Liberals: Don’t Forget to Brag About Liberalism
Critical self-appraisals are fine so long as they don’t validate bad-faith attacks on the liberal order
 • Jonathan Rauch
Let’s Not Grant the Postliberal Critique of Market Liberalism
Discontents with liberal modernity are perennial and a spiritual awakening won't cure them
 • Jonathan Rauch
Bernie Sanders Wants to Counter MAGA's Gains With the Working Class by Challenging the Oligarchy
He wants his party to offer a bold social democratic alternative to the neoliberal consensus just as Trump has done on the right
 • Matt McManus
The Neo Right's Multi-Front Revolt Against America
A political theorist traces the intellectual history of the various strains of a movement gone rogue
 • William Galston
Why Is the American Experiment in Trouble? Simple: A Demagogue Has Ignited the ‘Dark Passions’ of the People
Liberalism’s real failure is that it assumes far too sunny a view of human nature, three recent books suggest
 • Jonathan Rauch

World

View all
The Leading Realist Theorist Ignores Reality to Depict Putin as the Victim
John Mearsheimer’s analytic framework blinds him to the Russian dictator’s real motives for invading democratic Ukraine
 • Tom G. Palmer
Democrats Should Own Free Trade, Not Just Oppose Trump's Protectionism
Their tactical opposition to the president's tariffs will cost them leadership on this issue
 • Tibita Kaneene
Progressive Jews Are Deeply Distressed by the Rising Antisemitism on Their Own Side
They distrust the right but are pained by the left
 • Jay Michaelson
India Is Embracing China’s Authoritarian Tactics for Digital Surveillance and Control
The country’s undemocratic turn is dangerous not only for its own citizens but also the world as other populist rulers emulate its methods
 • Amal Chandra
Russia Resurrected and Exported a Fascist Ideology to the West
That the Trump administration is targeting ‘enemies within’ instead of Putin shows how much America has already succumbed to it
 • Tom G. Palmer
Iran's Youth Broke the Islamic Republic's Spell Before the Airstrikes
An Iranian exile on the generation of women and youth who did the real work of dismantling the theocracy
 • Pouya Nikmand
Trump's Unauthorized Strikes on Iran Take America's Imperial Presidency to New Heights
Khamenei's departure is nothing to mourn but regime change might require more than air strikes
 • Ilya Somin
Trump Can't Win on the Cheap in Iran
His saber rattling won't convince the mullahs to relinquish their nuclear quest
 • Nicholas Grossman
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