In the end, Trump was everything his haters feared—a chaos candidate, in the prescient words of one of his 2016 rivals, who became a chaos President. An American demagogue, he embraced division and racial discord, railed against a “deep state” within his own government, praised autocrats and attacked allies, politicized the administration of justice, monetized the Presidency for himself and his children…
Rea Here | The New Yorker
Big Tech’s post-insurrection backlash against U.S. President Donald Trump and the right-wing online incitement machine were unprecedented… There are three conclusions to draw about this whiplash reaction. First, Big Tech’s raw power to redirect online discourse. Second, the opacity, capriciousness and inconstancy with which they wield that power. Third, that Big Tech companies—some of the world’s most astute political actors—are nervous that the rules governing internet capitalism are about to drastically change.
Read Here | Foreign Policy
Two emerging phenomena have worsened the situation enormously: new communications technologies have contributed to the disappearance of a common factual basis for democratic deliberation, and what were once policy differences between “blue” and “red” factions have hardened into divisions over cultural identity.
Read Here | Foreign Affairs
Donald Trump’s presidency has largely been defined by his disregard for political norms and his historic two impeachments.Trump purposefully sought to upend conventional domestic and foreign policy, fundamentally altering America’s role in the world. And he disrupted the status quo in Washington, recalibrating the federal government’s role in everyday American life in ways both temporary and for a longer term effect.
Read Here | CNN
Big Tech companies do own their respective platforms. They have the right to devise terms of service and standards. Those are decided unilaterally, even if some companies undertake an elaborate exercise of consulting affected stakeholders. But their actions do not follow due process, and they rarely explain their decisions clearly.
Read Here | Foreign Policy
Some of the American mystique has gone, even if the raw power remains. That is what makes the scenes in Washington more than simply pathetic—but important too.
Read Here | The Atlantic
For the first time in his tweet-driven presidency, Trump wasn’t able to employ his preferred method of communication to stoke or incite supporters. He wasn’t able to launch at leaders of his party his usual mob-boss loyalty tests. And he wasn’t able to distract and divert and defend himself in the telltale ways to which Americans have grown so accustomed.
Read Here | Politico
The events in the United States demonstrated that democracies are self-correcting and resilient because they vest power in institutions, not in rulers. Rather than yield to the political violence of a fringe minority, representative institutions upheld the will of a majority of American voters.
Read Here |Foreign Affairs
If the Biden administration were to attempt a complete reboot of American strategy towards China, it could chart a new path while picking up concrete benefits for the American economy and chipping away at Trump’s political base.
Read Here | The National Interest
The sense of optimism with which the West rang in the new century 20 years ago has long since been replaced by the shock of terrorist attacks, financial crashes, pandemics, and other crises. But if we broaden our perspective, we will see that none of the challenges facing us is insurmountable.
Read Here | Project Syndicate
