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Are There Better Foreign Policy Alternatives to Liberal Internationalism?
Despite its internal contradictions and hypocrisy, ditching it will lead to a more cynical and grim world
1
Joe Biden Will Go Down as a Failed President
History will regard him as the man who lost America’s liberal democracy to an authoritarian
 • 
Shikha Dalmia
62
Will Syria Get Freedom or Sharia After Toppling its Savage Dictator?
There is reason to hope for a better future since the country engineered its own regime change
 • 
Mustafa Akyol
2
The Bogus Case Against Birthright Citizenship for the Children of Undocumented Immigrants
John Eastman, the legal brain behind the Big Lie, is paving the way for the next big assault on the Constitution
 • 
Paul Gowder
21
Trump’s Rhino Epidemic Is Growing
Eugène Ionesco's play still offers the best allegory for our times
 • 
Shikha Dalmia
20
Most Popular
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The War on the Woke Trumps the Truth for Many Heterodox Thinkers
 • Radley Balko
105
The Trump Administration Will Be the Government’s Evil Twin
 • Robert Tracinski
31
The Making of the MAGA Hoax About Pet-Eating Haitians
 • Cathy Young
78
A Party Led by the Poster Child of Affirmative Action for the Privileged Shouldn’t Slam Kamala Harris as a DEI Candidate
 • Steve Chapman
68
Yes, David, There Is Such a Thing As American Religious Exceptionalism
And it consists of separation of church and state
 • 
Virginia Postrel
4
The Grinch Didn't Steal Christmas, But Trump's Policies Will
The president-elect's anti-trade and anti-immigrant agenda will increase prices, inflict scarcity and stress, and trample over our values
 • 
Landry Ayres
3
The UnPopulist Staff’s 2024 Holiday Recommendations
Films, TV series, video games, new books and ancient texts that illuminate and inspire
 • 
Shikha Dalmia
, 
Berny Belvedere
, 
Landry Ayres
, 
Thomas Shull
, 
Aaron Ross Powell
, and 
Andy Craig
Right-Wing Radicals Are Drowning Out South Korea’s Institutional Conservatives, Creating a Political Crisis
The left in the country has its excesses but that does not justify the conservative president’s declaration of martial law
 • 
Wondong Lee
 and 
Joseph Yi
14
47:17
MAGA Evangelicals' Un-Christian Quest for Political Power: A Conversation with Russell Moore
A social model that values openness and supports diversity isn't merely compatible with Christianity but allows for its fullest realization
 • 
Berny Belvedere
2
Our Survey Finds that Kennedy’s Supporters Are More ‘Normal’ Than He Is and Even Than Trump and Harris Supporters
Populists in his cohort, however, are more inclined than any other group to endorse aggressive use of executive power to achieve political goals
 • 
Thomas Shull
4
Trump’s Budget Director Pick Would Restructure Government to Aggressively Push a Christian Nationalist Agenda
Russell Vought believes revolutionary statism, not conservatism, should define the right today
 • 
Thomas Zimmer
8
State Constitutions Are Far Better at Constraining Executive Power and Defending Rights than the Federal One
Committed liberals should look to them for guidance on structural reforms to stop Uncle Sam’s attacks on American liberties
 • 
Anthony Sanders
The Limits of Pluralism in a Tolerant Society: A Conversation with Jacob T. Levy
There is no one magic liberal solution to address the insecurities that change generates for homogeneous groups
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
5
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The latest from
Shikha Dalmia
Joe Biden Will Go Down as a Failed President
Landry Ayres
The Grinch Didn't Steal Christmas, But Trump's Policies Will
Thomas Shull
The UnPopulist Staff’s 2024 Holiday Recommendations
Aaron Ross Powell
The UnPopulist Staff’s 2024 Holiday Recommendations
Berny Belvedere
The UnPopulist Staff’s 2024 Holiday Recommendations

Video

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The Grinch Didn't Steal Christmas, But Trump's Policies Will
The president-elect's anti-trade and anti-immigrant agenda will increase prices, inflict scarcity and stress, and trample over our values
 • 
Landry Ayres
3
Donald Trump's Rogue Cabinet: A Round Up
Our new and recent coverage on the incoming administration
 • 
Landry Ayres
9
This Thanksgiving, Thank America: The Land of Immigrants
American presidents have historically understood that this country's commitment to openness was the source of its greatness
 • 
Landry Ayres
3
Trump: George Wallace Redux
The former president's Madison Square Garden rally shows that those voting for him will be going along with the intellectual scion of the segregationist…
 • 
Landry Ayres
8
JD Vance's Three Choices if Trump Loses
But only one is right
 • 
Landry Ayres
3
Promoting School Choice the Wrong Way
A prominent advocate of this worthy cause has done it a disservice by exploiting right-wing rage to advance it
 • 
Landry Ayres
34
The UnPopulist Celebrates its Third Birthday
Here is our 'origin story' and our plans to defend and revitalize liberalism no matter what happens this November
 • 
Shikha Dalmia
 and 
Landry Ayres
33
Elon Musk: The Phony Free Speech Absolutist
He censors on behalf of leaders he likes and stands up to those he doesn’t
 • 
Landry Ayres
19
Trump’s Tariffs Will Put America on the Road to War
America First’s anti-war and anti-trade positions can’t be reconciled
 • 
Matthew Downhour
1
Trump Will Drive His Dubious Appointments Through the Vacancies Act's Many Loopholes
Congress and courts can still plug some of them to prevent him from stacking the federal government with deep partisans and loyalists
 • 
Thomas A. Berry
3
Tariffs Are Trump's Tool to Consolidate His Hold on Power
They won't only be injurious to the U.S. economy but also to its liberal democracy because he will use them to reward friends and punish enemies
 • 
Steve Chapman
7
Donald Trump's Rogue Cabinet: A Round Up
Our new and recent coverage on the incoming administration
 • 
Landry Ayres
9
In Pete Hegseth’s Totalitarian Vision, Opponents of Christian Nationalism Are Commies and Political Enemies
Trump’s defense pick will help him pave the way to an authoritarian America
 • 
Cathy Young
12

Liberalism & Religion

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The Faithless Are the More Reliable Liberals
Enlightenment rationalists who rejected revealed dogma in favor of scientific inquiry paved the way for open, tolerant societies
 • 
Robert Tracinski
40
Contrary to Western Understanding, Islam Is a Liberal Faith
No religion can be properly understood based on its most extreme proponents
 • 
Hassan Abbas
 and 
Zahra Hassan
38
An Illiberal Hinduism Is a Contradiction in Terms
Hindu fundamentalists are destroying everything that makes their faith unique and profound
 • 
Shashi Tharoor
11
Liberalism and Catholicism: Friends Not Foes
Both traditions are rooted in a belief in universal human dignity
 • 
James M. Patterson
10
Buddhism and Liberalism Are Mutually Reinforcing
The faith’s emphasis on accepting impermanence offers an ethical framework for a dynamic, open society
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
9
Liberal Individualism Has Deep Roots in Protestantism
Illiberalism cannot be reconciled with the core tenets of the faith
 • 
Rachel Ferguson
3
Liberal Ideals Can Strengthen, Not Weaken, Judaism
And the Jewish faith’s emphasis on mitzvah is an antidote to self-absorbed individualism
 • 
Elliott Malamet
1

Podcast

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47:17
MAGA Evangelicals' Un-Christian Quest for Political Power: A Conversation with Russell Moore
A social model that values openness and supports diversity isn't merely compatible with Christianity but allows for its fullest realization
 • 
Berny Belvedere
2
51:35
Are America's Reactionary and Democratic Spirits in a Global Duel? A Conversation with Zack Beauchamp
This country's political contradictions are bedeviling other liberal democracies too
 • 
Shikha Dalmia
2
On Libertarianism, Populism, and Progressivism: A Conversation Between Yascha Mounk and Shikha Dalmia
Why we need a recaliberation of the liberty movement
 • 
Yascha Mounk
9
47:05
Zooming In: The UnPopulist Staff Parses Trump's Victory
The election was a repudiation of Biden, not a mandate for Trumpism, yet could give illiberal politics a new staying power
 • 
Shikha Dalmia
, 
Berny Belvedere
, and 
Andy Craig
18
45:30
Tracking Populist Attitudes Among Americans Going Into the Presidential Election: A Conversation with Tom Shull
Our survey director discusses what ISMA's in-depth new national poll revealed about voters’ feelings toward elites and minorities such as immigrants and…
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
6
36:52
Free Speech Means Allowing Full-Throated Condemnations of Odious Views: A Conversation with Popehat
Heterodox free speech advocates can’t stand criticism
 • 
Aaron Ross Powell
14
Recommendations
View all 23
If you can keep it
If you can keep it
Protect Democracy
Infinite Scroll
Infinite Scroll
Jeremiah Johnson
Dog Shirt Daily
Dog Shirt Daily
Benjamin Wittes
The Bulwark
The Bulwark
The Bulwark
The India Cable
The India Cable
The India Cable

Fireproofing the Presidency

View all
State Constitutions Are Far Better at Constraining Executive Power and Defending Rights than the Federal One
Committed liberals should look to them for guidance on structural reforms to stop Uncle Sam’s attacks on American liberties
 • 
Anthony Sanders
Trump Will Drive His Dubious Appointments Through the Vacancies Act's Many Loopholes
Congress and courts can still plug some of them to prevent him from stacking the federal government with deep partisans and loyalists
 • 
Thomas A. Berry
3
How to Stop President-Elect Trump’s Potentially Abusive Domestic Deployments of the Military
Current law unfortunately allows him wide latitude to call in soldiers but they can’t run roughshod over the rights of Americans
 • 
Scott R. Anderson
14
Congress Should Curb the Illicit Use of Pardon Powers by a Rogue President
Reforming lobbying laws and FOIA can check the worst abuses despite the Supreme Court’s ill-considered immunity ruling
 • 
Kim Wehle
10
Act Now to Prevent Trump From Weaponizing the FCC Against Political Opponents
If reelected, Trump will be even more dangerous because previous presidents have left a bad precedent of regulatory abuses that he'll turbocharge
 • 
Paul Matzko