Today, June 4, marks the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre—a moment of both tragedy and hope. It was the bloody end to a nationwide democracy movement that brought together workers and students, the most promising push for political reform in the history of the People’s Republic of China. But despite the courage of…
The flurry of on-again, off-again tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has unleashed have thus far exempted the semiconductor chips that power much of the modern economy. That may be about to change. The Department of Commerce on Monday filed a so-called Section 232 investigation into semiconductors and their impact on national security, providing three weeks…
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at China’s response to the U.S. trade war, new European efforts to aid Ukraine militarily, and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s first court appearance. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday. Sign Up…
In the 1950s, social scientists popularized an idea that would go on to shape geopolitics: modernization theory, or the belief that economic development leads to the growth of liberal democracy. The theory was powerfully supported by the second and third waves of global democratization in regions such as Eastern Europe and Latin America, and it…
Over the past month, through a flurry of phone calls and flattery, Canada and Mexico have twice successfully fended off U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, at least earning temporary reprieves. Meanwhile, Chinese officials have taken a different tack. Like a seasoned boxer in the first round of a fight, rather than lunging in, China…