America’s democratic culture is as formidable as its military and economic might. A scholar and former ambassador explains why the administration is getting it right while Russia and China are not.
Derek Shearer
Derek Shearer is the former U.S. ambassador to Finland. He is the Chevalier Professor of Diplomacy at Occidental College and Director of the McKinnon Center for Global Affairs.
Posted inPolitics
As War Rages in Ukraine, Finland Offers Answers
The Nordic nation’s prosperity and careful neutrality could provide a model for a peace settlement between Moscow and Kyiv.
Posted inPolitics
Fifty Years After the Nixon-Mao China Opening, U.S.-Chinese Relations Are Getting Worse
The Biden administration needs a new paradigm with Beijing—cooperate where we can, stand up where we must, and keep revitalizing ourselves.
Posted inMain, Political Animal, Politics
How Tina Turner, Pick-Up Basketball, and Sister Cities Can Undo Trump’s Diplomatic Disasters
A scholar and former “Ambassadude” shows why people-to-people contacts can help Biden, Blinken—and America.
Posted inFeatured, Political Animal
Do Books Matter?
The best-seller list is dominated by volumes on race but there’s an important distinction between the works that are enduring and those that are just for putting on shelves.
Posted inPolitical Animal
How to Really Say Thank You: A Proposal
As a society, we don’t say thank you often enough. So why not credits on a building for everyone who built it and big signage to let you know who gave you that COVID test?
