Bipartisan commissions and select committees have played an important role in establishing the facts after traumatic events and political scandals. Why do Republicans oppose a 1/6 commission? Published June 28, 2021
If today's Republican Party is known for fighting the left in the Congress, courts and culture, the Republican Party of the 1850s rose to prominence by building on "the foundational left-wing social movement of the modern era." Published June 23, 2021
The largest invasion ever began 80 years ago today, and its outcome shaped the modern world. Published June 21, 2021
Thirty years of missteps and miscalculations, to say nothing of nefarious meddling, will take time to resolve, but recent history shows us that summits can lay the groundwork for progress. Published June 16, 2021
The liberation of France was more complicated than popular memory acknowledges. Published June 14, 2021
More than 100 prominent Republicans are threatening to form a third party to rescue the GOP from Donald Trump. Published June 9, 2021
In the past week Americans marked the anniversaries of two major events that hold different places in the common memory. One evoked feelings of honor and pride, the other shame and revulsion. Published June 7, 2021
American presidents try to shape events to their advantage, but unforeseen events shape presidencies, often with calamitous consequences. Published June 2, 2021
It is no surprise some Americans believe it is just a matter of time before another financial crisis rocks the economy. Recent headlines make clear the financial system is loaded with minefields. Published May 31, 2021
Unresolved historical grievances make peace impossible between two peoples whose national aspirations are tied to the same piece of land. Published May 26, 2021
Joe Biden, the New Deal liberal, takes his best shot. Published May 24, 2021
Should the controversial New York Times project be taught in public school? Published May 19, 2021
Is the liberal democratic order in real trouble at home and abroad? Published May 17, 2021
While fear of government censorship still exists, the globe's digital behemoths -- Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube -- possess more unchecked power and technological capability to suppress speech than any government. Published May 12, 2021
Will Trumpism devour conservatism? Published May 10, 2021
If you step away from the daily headlines and avert your eyes from the border for a moment, you will see that the underlying problems and historical causes of human migration have not been resolved. Some may even be intractable. Published May 5, 2021
What happened in the Ottoman Empire in 1915, and why does it matter now? Published May 3, 2021
It may seem a stretch to compare the anti-Communist hysteria of the McCarthy era to the "Stop the Steal" movement. Yet despite their significant differences, both conspiracy theories are based on the same notion: internal enemies, from ordinary people to the powerful, are at work. Published April 28, 2021
President Biden's decision to withdraw the last U.S. troops from Afghanistan may have overshadowed an equally important development in Congress designed to rein in the executive branch's authority to fight "forever wars." Published April 26, 2021
It appeared democracy and free markets had triumphed, were on the march, and would become the foundation of a new and peaceful international order, or at least that was what some U.S. leaders envisioned. Published April 21, 2021
