Inu Manak and Helena Kopans‐Johnson make the progressive case for globalization. A slice:
They also fail to understand the nuance in the trade‐promotes‐peace literature by arguing that the presence of any conflict disproves the theory that economic integration reduces the frequency and scope of conflict. Furthermore, as political scientist Daniel Drezner points out, complex interdependence made it difficult for Russia’s closest geopolitical ally, China, to provide strong public support for the war in Ukraine. In fact, he argues that China’s links to the global economy and Western countries in particular curbed its behavior by tipping the cost–benefit analysis to favor adopting a less prominent role in the war. The Russia–Ukraine war thus reveals that while interdependence does not eliminate all security concerns, the liberal international order still effectively constrains aggressive foreign policy behavior and fosters collective responses. This is precisely why, in his famous address at American University in 1963, Kennedy remarked that “even the most hostile nations can be relied upon to accept and keep those treaty obligations, and only those treaty obligations, which are in their own interests.” A material interest in accessing markets can thus moderate a country’s behavior.
The loss of faith in the power of interdependence as a restraint and the benefits of a system based on rules appears to be the new consensus in Washington, perhaps best executed by former president Donald Trump. Under his administration, the United States launched a series of trade wars that not only resulted in significant economic harm at home and retaliation that soured relations with our closest trading partners but also undermined the rules‐based trading system. Though President Biden has made important strides in improving relations with our allies, on trade, he has largely preserved, and defended, some of Trump’s most controversial policy actions.
The Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal decries Mexico’s further turn to the left. A slice:
Ms. Sheinbaum has promised to put the poor first, but that means Mexico’s economy will need to keep growing. Her challenge will be to square her socialist bona fides, and her history of climate activism on the United Nations climate panel, with policies that attract foreign capital to expand prosperity.
Here are Ian Vásquez and Daniel Raisbeck on the ominous results of Mexico’s elections.
Also from David Henderson are these thoughts on the Trump trial and the rule of law.
Katherine Mangu-Ward reflects on campuses that call in SWAT teams.
Robert Tracinski decries “the collapse of media.” A slice:
Conservatives used to complain about “low-information voters.” Well, the low-information voters have become even more dominant—and the irony is that they are now particularly dominant on the right. Another Pew poll from 2020 shows a gap between left and right, not just in what they read but in whether they read. Conservatives are more likely to get their news from Fox than from CNN. But they are even more likely to get it from cable TV than from reading—and that includes conservative publications.
