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REAGAN'S WAR: Who Won the Cold War

with Michael McFaul, Peter Schweizer, Barton Bernsteinvia Uncommon Knowledge
Monday, November 11, 2002

Did Ronald Reagan win the cold war? It's been a dozen years since its end—time enough to look back on the era with some historical perspective. And one question that historians continue to argue about is the role that Ronald Reagan, the man and his policies, played in bringing the cold war to an end. To what extent did Reagan's cold war strategy build on efforts of previous administrations and to what extent was it new? Did the Soviet Union collapse as a result of external pressure or internal weakness?

WORTH THE FIGHTING FOR: A Conversation with John McCain

with John S. McCain IIIvia Uncommon Knowledge
Thursday, November 7, 2002

John McCain has spent a lifetime in the service of his country, including twenty-two years as a naval aviator, two terms in the House of Representatives, and service in the U.S. Senate since 1986. Following his 2000 presidential campaign and the hard-fought passage of his campaign finance bill, John McCain reflects on a life in politics in his recent memoir Worth the Fighting for. A lifelong Republican, Senator McCain has broken with his party's mainstream on a number of issues in recent years. Does John McCain still consider himself a conservative? And why does McCain so often play the maverick?

Analysis and Commentary

Iraq: The Critics, Then and Now

by Robert Zelnickvia Hoover Daily Report
Monday, November 4, 2002

That the critics were wrong a decade ago does not automatically make them wrong today. But their arguments are hauntingly similar.

Analysis and Commentary

The Six-Front War

by Charles Hillvia Hoover Daily Report
Monday, October 7, 2002

For a decade now, the state has been undermined from below while ceding sovereignty to higher levels.

OUT FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL: The Supreme Court and the Constitution

with Erwin Chemerinsky, John Eastmanvia Uncommon Knowledge
Friday, September 27, 2002

The Supreme Court has the final authority on all matters of law under the U.S. Constitution. But what legal philosophy should the Supreme Court use to reach its decisions? Should the Court merely hand down rules based on the text of a fixed, or "dead," Constitution? Or should the Court apply standards that are based on interpretations of a "living" Constitution that evolves as our society changes? These fundamentally different approaches to constitutional law have created a rift with the current Supreme Court. How serious is this rift? Who's right? And to what extent are these competing arguments merely covers for ideological positions?

Audio recording of “Out for a Constitutional” (26:48)

POPE AND CIRCUMSTANCE: The Legacy of Pope John Paul II

with Rod Dreher, Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J, Garry Willsvia Uncommon Knowledge
Thursday, June 27, 2002

In 1978, the Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyla was elected to the papacy of the Catholic Church, taking the name John Paul II. In the twenty-four years since, Pope John Paul II has traveled more widely and held audiences for more people than any other pope in history. But beyond his long service and high profile, how will John Paul II be remembered? Will he be remembered more for his political impact—many say that he played a crucial role in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe—or for his ecclesiastical work? Just how well has John Paul II prepared the Catholic Church for the twenty-first century?

ENEMIES OF THE STATE: Why the U.S. Is Hated

with Dinesh D’Souza, Robert Higgs, Gore Vidalvia Uncommon Knowledge
Thursday, April 18, 2002

In a 2002 Gallup poll conducted in ten Muslim nations, only 22 percent of the people questioned viewed the United States favorably. Why does the United States foster such hatred in the Islamic world in particular? Is it our foreign policy—our support of Israel and of repressive Arab regimes in the Middle East? Or is it our culture? Does globalization spread American values that are simply antithetical, thus disruptive, to the traditional Islamic view of society? Just what should we do to win this struggle for the hearts and minds of those who despise us around the world?

Streaming video

THE RED AND THE BLUE: The Cultural and Political Divide in America

with Michael Barone, Ruy Teixeiravia Uncommon Knowledge
Tuesday, January 22, 2002

Is America a divided nation? Sharp regional voting patterns were evident in the 2000 presidential election: rural, Midwestern, and southern voters went for Bush; urban and coastal voters went for Gore. These regional voting patterns have led some to describe America as one nation with two cultures. Is this an accurate way of looking at American society? Or is America divided along economic rather than cultural lines? Just how fundamental are these differences, and what impact will they have on the American political landscape?

TEST TUBE AMERICA: Immigration

with Michael Barone, Peter Skerryvia Uncommon Knowledge
Tuesday, January 22, 2002

In 1965, Congress voted to change the laws that had restricted immigration into the United States for more than four decades. The Immigration Act of 1965 resulted in a wave of increased immigration that continues today. How do recent immigrant groups compare with those of the last great wave of immigration a century ago? Are they successfully integrating into American culture or threatening America's cultural stability? Should immigration once again be restricted, or should we concern ourselves with helping immigrants assimilate when they arrive?

DISORDER IN THE COURT: The Supreme Court and the 2000 Election

with Pamela S. Karlan, Richard A. Posnervia Uncommon Knowledge
Wednesday, November 14, 2001

On December 12, 2000, the Supreme Court of the United States brought an end to thirty-six days of dramatic vote recounts and legal challenges in the state of Florida. The decision let stand the initial results of Florida's election, which gave the state's electoral votes, and thus the Presidency, to George W. Bush. What was the legal justification for the Supreme Court's decision? Should the Court have intervened in the first place? And what precedent did the Court create for future elections?

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Military History Working Group


The Working Group on the Role of Military History in Contemporary Conflict examines how knowledge of past military operations can influence contemporary public policy decisions concerning current conflicts.