Today, Stephen Kotkin explains how the United States can most effectively confront its international authoritarian adversaries; Ayaan Hirsi Ali argues that Australia stands at a critical policy juncture in the wake of last weekend’s terror attack; and John Cochrane discusses the distorted incentives created by federal fuel economy standards.
International Affairs
In a new essay for Foreign Affairs, Senior Fellow Stephen Kotkin provides an in-depth analysis of what truly threatens authoritarian regimes. “These regimes take great pains to cultivate façades of unity and approval, which makes them vulnerable when disunity and disapproval are exposed,” writes the historian. He shows how cash flow, often disconnected from domestic taxation, forms another pillar of authoritarian rule. Kotkin also explains how history, control over “subjects’ life chances,” and the conditions of international order (which he shows can be “conducive” or “corrosive”) are important determinants of authoritarians’ success. Kotkin concludes that “combating authoritarianism requires patience and resolve,” as well as democracies getting “their own houses in order, which is particularly urgent in the United States because of its weight.” Read more here.
At The Free Press, Research Fellow Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes that “the Bondi Beach atrocity was horrific, but it wasn’t unforeseen. It was the result of long indulgence. . . . When Jewish symbols are burned, and Jews singled out as symbols of evil, this is not dissent, and certainly not ‘resistance,’ but preparation. It is a rehearsal for what follows.” Hirsi Ali says that Australia’s next moves are of the utmost importance, as “terrorism feeds on weakness” and “studies responses.” She calls for “enforcing the law without apology,” recognizing that “incitement is not opinion.” “Hanukkah is a story about survival against forces that sought to erase a people,” the column concludes. With its response to this terror attack, Hirsi Ali says, “Australia can choose to honor that meaning.” Read more here.
Freedom Frequency
For more than 50 years, fuel economy standards have promised to reduce gasoline use and make cars more efficient. But the results tell a different story. In this Grumpy Economist rant, Senior Fellow John H. Cochrane explains how well-intentioned regulations have distorted incentives, encouraged bigger vehicles, and failed to deliver meaningful energy savings. Rather than raising gas prices transparently, policymakers relied on complex rules, exemptions, and credits that protected automakers and masked real costs from voters. The solution, if policy makers want Americans to use less gas, he argues, is to be honest to voters and persuade them to support a gas tax. Read more here.
Law and Policy
Can the government regulate social media features because they are “addictive”? On Free Speech Unmuted, Senior Fellow Eugene Volokh and cohost Jane Bambauer talk with Emory law professor Matthew Lawrence about whether features like infinite scroll, personalized feeds, “near-miss” reward patterns, and dopamine-driven engagement tactics are comparable to gambling or even drug addiction—and whether that means the government can step in. The conversation digs into current lawsuits, whether there’s a constitutionally significant difference between content and design, how addiction is defined in law and neuroscience, and what First Amendment limits exist when regulating digital platforms. This episode offers a smart, fast-moving discussion for anyone curious about the future of free speech, tech regulation, and the psychology behind our screens. Watch or listen here.
Revitalizing History
On a new episode of Uncommon Knowledge, pianist and conductor Ignat Solzhenitsyn reflects on growing up in exile as the son of Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, moving from Soviet persecution to a quiet childhood in rural Vermont. Ignat recounts how music, faith, and Russian culture sustained his family far from home, how cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich helped set him on a musical path, and what it meant to carry a historic name while forging his own life between Russia and America. The conversation ranges from the moral legacy of his father’s The Gulag Archipelago to the emotional power of Russian music, the meaning of freedom, and the enduring truth that the line between good and evil runs through every human heart. It’s a deeply personal conversation on memory, exile, and the choices that shape a life. The episode concludes with Ignat at the piano performing a section from Bach’s Cantata No. 208, Sheep May Safely Graze. Watch or listen here.
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