The penultimate piece in my series on supranational federalism for the Streit Council is out. There’s no paywall. You can read it here:
https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/why-federalism-on-the-role-of-china
Why Federalism: On the Role of China
Tag: International Relations
3 Brexit Futures: Stories from Next Year
In Spring 2019, the UK is meant to leave the EU. Prime Minister Theresa May soldiers on, but many think she can’t get the job done. Former Prime Ministers John Major and Tony Blair gave ruthless speeches again May, and EU’s lead Brexit negotiator accused May of being “vague” and “not credible”. Major–a member of May’s own party–was especially vicious:
It all has me thinking about what comes next. How might these Brexit negotiations conclude? Three possibilities stick out to me.
National Self-Determination is Overrated
I have a new piece out for Current Affairs about the importance of political unions in the 21st century. Here’s the link:
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/11/national-self-determination-is-overrated
The original title was “In Praise of Unionism: What the European Left Can Learn From America,” but we souped it up a bit. It’s a bit longer and more comprehensive than the stuff I usually do here. The folks at CA are delightful to work with. They’re putting out some really terrific long-form pieces that dig into things more deeply than a lot of what we see on the web these days.
How Trump’s Executive Actions are Like Obama’s–And How They’re Not
President Trump is fed up with everyone and everything. For months now, congress has refused to implement his agenda. He’s mad as hell and he’s not going to take it anymore. Does that sound like someone you know? It should–late in his presidency, Barack Obama became exasperated with years of Republican obstruction. He turned to his lawyers. What could the administration do unilaterally that might be legal? They threw the kitchen sink at it, trying all sorts of things and leaving it to the courts to decide what would stick. Like Trump, Obama began taking more executive action late in the first year, though most of his biggest and boldest moves came in the second term:
The fact that Trump is frustrated and is looking for ways to weasel around institutional impediments shouldn’t surprise us. When the Supreme Court got in Franklin Roosevelt’s way, he tried to pack the court with sycophants:
What’s interesting is how transparently bad this executive action is.
Continue reading “How Trump’s Executive Actions are Like Obama’s–And How They’re Not”
Everyone Missed the Point of Charlottesville
Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been digesting the narratives swirling after the tragic violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. I’ve waited to write about it because I noticed that so many people’s emotions were running so high, even people who usually seem pretty level-headed to me. Nearly all the reactions I’ve seen have left me dissatisfied. This will take a minute to unpack, but I promise you it’s worth it. Continue reading “Everyone Missed the Point of Charlottesville”
Benjamin Studebaker 