We’re entering a period of worldwide political disorder, says historian Gary Gerstle. What comes next is anyone’s guess.

Can the United States and China avoid military conflict?

How Stanford University turned optimization into the global capitalist credo

In the wake of economic crises, liberal democracies proved most adept at imposing austerity.

A survey of the world’s worst nuclear disasters highlights the catastrophic consequences of technical hubris.

From the fall of the Berlin Wall to 9/11, we had relative peace and prosperity. It was an opportunity to salve some festering national wounds. We squandered it completely—and helped give rise to the crises we’re dealing with today.

Hal Brands urges the U.S. to make China and Russia “pay exorbitantly” for their policies. History shows that has never worked.

Putin alone is to blame for the war in Ukraine. Still, some opponents of NATO expansion were strikingly prescient.

In a lengthy screed, the Russian dictator made it clear that his ambitions are to restore his nation’s status as a colonizer of Europe.

Yes, the Russian leader is an authoritarian aggressor. But different decisions at key points by the U.S. might have made him less so.

From his early novels to his final work, “Silverview,” le Carré captured the pervasive sense of being watched.

Not long ago, life-saving medical know-how was viewed as belonging to everyone. What happened?

The “Yellow Peril” tropes that may pave the way for a new war abroad have historically fueled anti-Asian hate on these shores.

A new history of the Cuban missile crisis emphasizes how close the world came to destruction—and how severe a threat the weapons still pose.

Louis Menand’s new book traces the decline of a defining ideal.

How not to learn about the American past

How 150 years of apocalyptic agitation culminated in an insurrection

Wolfgang Kaleck is using the justice system to do what nation-states will not or cannot.

An elaborate secret life was a necessity for children’s author Louise Fitzhugh.

Politicians love to bluster about saving “our democracy”—without acknowledging all the ways it’s broken.