News
& Media

As we approach Inauguration Day, exactly two weeks after the Capitol insurrection, Americans are on edge. About 20,000 National Guard troops will provide security on Wednesday — more than in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our political situation feels shaky and our institutions fragile. It's like we're living in a bad Tom Clancy novel. We couldn't reach Clancy, so we called up the authors of Why Nations Fail instead. We wanted to figure out if the insurrection is a sign that our nation is failing and, if so, whether there's anything we can do about it.

Despite the challenge of authoritarian populism and a new divisiveness in political debate in many countries around the world there are reasons for optimism, argues political scientist Yascha Mounk, author of The People vs. Democracy. He talks us through his selection of the best politics books of 2020.

The multilateral nature of cybersecurity today makes it markedly different than conventional security, according to a new study. The researchers' new model shows why countries that retaliate too much against online attacks can make things worse for themselves.