The US and Israel’s war on Iran and regional instability threatens to disrupt critical global migration patterns. These serve as vital pressure release valves for overcrowded and socio-economically stagnant mega cities in the global south. Their disruption may cut off...
And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said;"For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men! Thanks for reading The Duck of Minerva! Subscribe...
On November 1, 2025, President Donald Trump threatened to end all U.S. assistance to Nigeria and — if he deemed it necessary — launch a military attack against insurgents in the country. As National...
After years of calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, a ceasefire was recently announced and…those calling for the ceasefire are upset about it. There are some valid reasons to hold off on celebrating, but...
Debates about Israel and Palestine have, as one scholar remarked to me, become the “third rail” in British academia. That needs to change. The terror attack in Manchester makes clear that UK academics must engage in a public, thoughtful, and careful discussion about Jews, Israel and Palestine. On October 2nd, 2025 — on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur — a Synagogue in Manchester was attacked in what has been officially labelled a terrorist incident. Subsequent reporting indicates that some in the UK Jewish community were not surprised; as the Chief Rabbi put it, such an...
The Republic as we knew it is over. The fight now is whether the new one will be a fascistic, competitive authoritarian regime or a pluralist democracy that, one hopes, is better than what came before.
The UN General Assembly meeting has seen a growing number of states recognizing a state of Palestine, including Western powers like France, the United Kingdom and Canada. Debate has swirled over why they are doing this: is it a principled stand, an attempt to gain international or domestic clout, etc.? But there's a bigger question over whether this matters and when it may matter: that is, at what point does the informal recognition of an entity as a state lead to actual changes in international relations? A few scenarios are possible. Maybe there is a tipping point, where enough countries...
Drew Hogan answers 6+1 questions about how the United States does, and does not, support its overseas citizens.
I've had four potential posts on Israel, anti-Israel actions and antisemitism this week. As new events occur, the old post falls to the wayside. I was stuck on whether I should pick one, or try to weave the events together into some kind of narrative and draw conclusions. I've decided I can't, or don't want to, do either. And I wonder how much of the morass Israel-Palestine discourse feels stuck in is due to our compulsion to create such a narrative. A horrifying terrorist attack The first, and most recent, incident, was the tragic murder of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky by an...
I published an article yesterday in Real Clear Defense. The title is “The Road to Securing European Cooperation on China Runs Through Ukraine”, but I suppose I could have called this piece, “How to Screw Up on Multiple Fronts at the Same Time.” That might have been harder to get past an editor. I spent a fair amount of time this past fall talking to people working in the EU institutions about China. The short version is that they are concerned about the PRC’s actions to the point that most of the people you talk to candidly at the European External Action Service (EEAS) or elsewhere in...
With the news avalanche that is Trump, it’s hard to keep track of all the outrageous things he says and does. With his recent very vocal attempts at land grabs (that we are not entirely sure will stay rhetorical) that are already being normalized in both right-wing and mainstream media, it’s important to look back at what is at the heart of Trump’s political philosophy that he himself doesn't realize. Breaking Point Carnival is hardly the term that comes up often in foreign policy, but Mikhail Bakhtin has helped understand the mechanism of populism. Carnival is about norm-breaking and...
Things have been rough for Canada. It's engulfed in political turmoil, as Justin Trudeau steps down from leadership and the country braces for a contentious election. Incoming US President Donald Trump has decided to pick on the country, threatening ruinous (to both sides) tariffs and either claiming Canada is the 51st state or that he will make it so. The best that US liberals can do, however, is make jokes about wanting to be part of Canada. As a Canadophile living just south of the border, this has always been a frustration for me; many Americans see Canada as only an extension of their...