[Ahmed Bouzid] The myth of Mr. Smith

In the American political conscience, there lingers a myth that real change comes from exhortation -- passionate, unyielding exhortation -- which moves the hearts of men and women. According to this story, virtuous citizens advocate relentlessly for what is right until the sheer moral force of their persistence breaks through. This sentiment is epitomized in the classic film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." There, Mr. Smith spends himself on the Senate floor, filibustering without rest, shaming h

Sept. 10, 2025

[Noah Feldman] US Supreme Court can’t dodge White House

The US Supreme Court has been trying to avoid directly confronting President Donald Trump’s blatant challenges to established legal norms. But two cases destined to reach the justices are going to make that very difficult. Both instances involve signature Trump policies that were ruled unlawful by federal appeals courts: his unilateral tariffs, found to exceed his presidential authority, and his use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members. In each case, the Supreme Cou

Sept. 9, 2025

[Lee Kyong-hee] Trump-Kim Act II at Wonsan-Kalma resort?

China’s massive military parade — the largest ever — was staged on Sept. 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The display projected China’s growing military prowess and its readiness to challenge American dominance in Asia. Yet for many watching closely, the parade carried another surprise: It gave North Korean leader Kim Jong-un an outsized diplomatic victory. For Kim, who had been absent from major multilateral stages for years, the optics were priceless. He was treated a

Sept. 8, 2025

[Allison Schrager] America's strange economic boom

On paper, these are good times for the US economy. The latest gross domestic product numbers show growth was at 3.3 percent in the second quarter. Business investment is up. The unemployment rate remains low and the inflation rate is reasonable. Still, underneath it all lies a nagging question: If the economy is so good, why does it feel so bad? First, the numbers. Nominal GDP has grown more than 50 percent since the bottom of the last recession in 2020. Real median wages are up 5 percent since

Sept. 8, 2025

[Robert J. Fouser] President Lee survives the Oval Office

On Sept. 4, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung finished his first three months, or one quarter, in office. He took office after six months of political turmoil that began with former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law, subsequent impeachment, and an early presidential election. President Lee has moved quickly to bring stability to the nation amid economic challenges and shifting geopolitical dynamics. The public has rewarded him with positive approval ratings. One of Lee’s bi

Sept. 5, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] Trump show without Trump

In this week, China staged back-to-back spectacles of diplomacy in Tianjin and Beijing — a rare global diplomatic show that arrives perhaps once in a decade. The choreography was deliberate, the optics unmistakable: China wanted the world to watch, and the world did. In Tianjin, the leaders of China, Russia and India — Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi, respectively — appeared together. Such a convergence is unusual in itself; their relaxed smiles were rarer still. Putin, largely isol

Sept. 4, 2025

[Daniel Moss] Dads, not ‘duds,’ matter for baby bust

Peak population is coming for all of us. Sensible measures can respond to the strains imposed by smaller families, but cultural norms matter as much as policy outcomes. While US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was undoubtedly the main attraction at Jackson Hole, there were other weighty issues on the table. The role of men — and societal values — in declining fertility was among them. Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin told the Fed’s conference in Wyoming that it’s important not to overlook tradi

Sept. 3, 2025

[Kim Seong-kon] Navigating between Scylla and Charybdis

Once again, Korea is precariously navigating a narrow strait between Scylla and Charybdis, the two gigantic, menacing creatures from Greek myth. According to the myth, Scylla is a many-headed monster, while Charybdis is a massive whirlpool. If the ship sails near Scylla, it will devour the ship’s sailors and passengers. If it goes near Charybdis, it will engulf the ship and capsize it. The mythology of Scylla and Charybdis symbolizes a leader’s difficult decision in times of crisis. In Homer's “

Sept. 3, 2025

[Antara Haldar] The postwar era's first democratic authoritarian

The 78th anniversary of India’s independence last month offers an opportunity to recall one of the most insidious moments in the country’s post-independence history: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s 1975 decision to declare an emergency and suspend civil liberties. A new book by political scientist Srinath Raghavan, “Indira Gandhi and the Years That Transformed India,” not only revisits that fateful move but also traces its lasting impact half a century later. Raghavan’s unsentimental autopsy of I

Sept. 2, 2025

[Hyun Jin P. Moon] A vision for a unified Korea

This year marks the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, a milestone that calls for both celebration and serious reflection. As we honor our hard-won independence, we must acknowledge that the dream our ancestors cherished — a free, independent and unified Korea — remains unfulfilled. The 1945 liberation revived the spirit of the March 1 Movement, which was grounded in the universal principles of freedom, equality and justice. This movement chose nonviolent resista

Sept. 2, 2025

[Andrew Sheng] The myth of central bank independence

Central bankers are the high priests of high finance. That’s because they control high-powered money, commonly known as the monetary base, or the sum of currency in circulation plus commercial bank deposits with them. By buying government bonds from banks or the market (which expands central bank balance sheets), commercial bank reserves rise, improving market liquidity and therefore tending to reduce short-term interest rates. In effect, central banks affect market sentiment by expanding their

Sept. 2, 2025

[Yoo Choon-sik] Spending without discipline won’t save economy

The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Bank of Korea held their respective events on the state of the national economy just one day apart last week. The ministry unveiled its first full-year budget plan under the Lee Jae Myung administration, while the central bank outlined its monetary policy outlook. Taken together, however, the announcements offered little confidence in the coherence of South Korea’s economic policy and more evidence that both institutions are prioritizing short-term con

Sept. 1, 2025

[Jeffrey Frankel] Make America sick again

US President William McKinley died in 1901 from gunshot wounds that modern medicine could easily have treated. Though X-rays had been invented, they were not yet widely available, so McKinley’s medical team was unable to find one of the assassin’s bullets. And the antibiotics that could have prevented the onset of sepsis — McKinley’s ultimate cause of death — would not be discovered for another few decades. When US President Donald Trump talks about making America great again, this is the period

Sept. 1, 2025

[Lee Byung-jong] Korea’s role in global governance

At a time when the basic framework of world multilateralism seems to be decaying under the weight of rising nationalism in many parts of the globe, it may sound odd to call for South Korea to play a greater role in global governance. The two summit meetings President Lee Jae Myung just concluded in Japan and the United States attest to the necessity of Korea’s bilateral diplomacy rather than multilateralism. Yet, as a country that has benefited enormously from multilateral institutions over the

Aug. 29, 2025

[Wang Son-taek] The golden age of the Korea-US alliance

The Korea-US summit held in Washington on Monday began under tension, with the possibility of failure — or even fiasco — hanging over it. However, the summit ended in great success, as the two presidents, both inaugurated earlier this year, repeatedly staged scenes of broad smiles and praised each other as great leaders. Since the future of the Korea-US alliance was at stake in this summit, the majority of citizens in both countries are breathing a sigh of relief. They are now dreaming of a gold

Aug. 28, 2025