[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

[Editorial] Alliance jolted

South Korea concluded negotiations for the release of more than 300 nationals detained in a recent US immigration raid. They were arrested Thursday at the construction site of an electric vehicle battery plant operated by a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution in Georgia. Reportedly, they are likely to return home voluntarily instead of facing deportation. It is fortunate to receive news of their early release, but the very fact that this happened between South Korea

Sept. 9, 2025

[Editorial] China’s nuclear calculus

In diplomacy, what is left unsaid can speak louder than what is declared. On Sept. 4, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Beijing for their first summit in six years, a spectacle at once familiar and revealing: Warm words of friendship, pledges of economic cooperation and paeans to a shared destiny that concealed a more consequential omission. What was missing was the phrase that had anchored China’s Korean Peninsula policy for three decades: “denuclearization.

Sept. 8, 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

[Editorial] Strategic crossroads

Sixty-six years is a long time to wait for a photo opportunity. Yet on Wednesday in Beijing, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un stood shoulder to shoulder on Tiananmen Square, reviewing troops and missiles as if history had rewound to 1959. The tableau was designed to impress: three leaders, long cast negatively in Western capitals, reclaiming center stage to signal solidarity against the US-led order. For Xi, the occasion marked both China’s wartime triumph and signaled its present ambi

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

[Editorial] Unconstitutional try

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is pushing ahead with its efforts to enact a "special insurrection law" that would set up a special tribunal for the crime. Jeon Hyun-heui, chair of the party's committee for responses to three special counsel investigations, said Sunday that she would expedite the process of legislating the establishment of the exceptional court for insurrection. Special counsels are currently investigating insurrection charges related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's Dec

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

[Editorial] Dry reality

A nation accustomed to typhoons and floods has now declared a natural disaster over something rarer: drought. On Saturday, President Lee Jae Myung designated Gangneung, Gangwon Province, a disaster zone after its main reservoir fell below the threshold needed to sustain household supply — the first time in South Korea that drought alone has triggered such a measure. If typhoons and floods once defined the nation’s natural perils, today scarcity is the more menacing force. Gangneung’s plight is 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