Uri Friedman

Why America Resists Learning From Other Countries

The pandemic may pose the greatest threat yet to the belief that America has little to learn from the rest of the world.

• Uri Friedman
• May 14, 2020

Brazil’s Pandemic Is Just Beginning

The hardest-hit country in Latin America is facing a “perfect storm,” as inequality collides with COVID-19.

• Uri Friedman
• May 10, 2020

I Have Seen the Future—And It’s Not the Life We Knew

Cities around the world might slowly be coming back to life, but there’s no going back to “normal.”

• Uri Friedman
• May 1, 2020

New Zealand’s Prime Minister May Be the Most Effective Leader on the Planet

Jacinda Ardern’s leadership style, focused on empathy, isn’t just resonating with her people; it’s putting the country on track for success against the coronavirus.

• Uri Friedman
• April 19, 2020

Anthony Fauci, Lightning Rod

The nation’s top infectious-disease expert is hardly infallible. But Trump allies may be criticizing him because they can’t target the president.

• Peter Nicholas and Uri Friedman
• April 14, 2020

We Can’t Rely on Just the Military

It might seem like the Pentagon can act as some sort of savior in confronting the coronavirus, but that’s unlikely.

• Uri Friedman
• April 8, 2020

Face Masks Are In

The West has long stigmatized mask-wearing, unlike many Asian countries, where those who don’t wear masks during public-health crises are the ones who are stigmatized.

• Uri Friedman
• April 2, 2020

The Coronavirus-Denial Movement Now Has a Leader

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has lashed out against local officials who have implemented severe lockdowns, accusing them of destroying the country.

• Uri Friedman
• March 27, 2020

Why America Is Uniquely Unsuited to Dealing With the Coronavirus

For decades other countries were shaped by the traumas of disease outbreaks while the United States remained largely untouched. No longer.

• Uri Friedman
• March 25, 2020

We Were Warned

When the inevitable inquiry into the government's response to COVID-19 happens, it will conclude that signs of a coming crisis were everywhere.

• Uri Friedman
• March 18, 2020

China Hawks Are Calling the Coronavirus a ‘Wake-Up Call’

Hard-liners have long warned of the systemic risks posed by America’s global supply chains. Now they’re pointing to the outbreak as definitive proof.

• Uri Friedman
• March 11, 2020

The Democrats’ Dictator Problem

The candidates’ attempts at moral clarity got muddled when conversation turned to the trade-offs inherent in actually conducting American statecraft.

• Uri Friedman
• February 26, 2020

What Democrats Aren’t Admitting About Trump’s Record

The episodes in which critics’ predictions weren’t borne out offer valuable lessons for Trump’s challengers, even if they still vigorously disagree with the moves the president has made.

• Uri Friedman
• February 22, 2020

America Is Alone in Its Cold War With China

If the Trump administration is truly going all-in on competition with Beijing, it’s not clear that Trump himself is fully on board. Nor, it’s now clear, are several of America’s closest friends.

• Uri Friedman
• February 17, 2020

The Sanders Doctrine

The presidential candidate wants to redefine American power.

• Uri Friedman
• February 11, 2020

The Staggering Vulnerability of Global Elites

Anyone can get hacked. But when it happens to the rich and powerful, the stakes can be extraordinarily high.

• Uri Friedman
• January 30, 2020

America Has Come Full Circle in the Middle East

“We are opening a Pandora’s Box,” Dwight Eisenhower warned when he ordered the first U.S. combat mission in the region. Little did he know how right he would be.

• Uri Friedman
• January 24, 2020

The Big Split Emerging in the Democratic Party

The candidates agree that Donald Trump has gutted traditional American foreign policy. Where they diverge is in how to respond to that destruction.

• Uri Friedman
• January 15, 2020

The Iran Plane Crash Is the Big Story

The accidental shoot-down of the Ukrainian passenger jet is a glaring example of how the conflict between the U.S. and Iran can spiral out of control even when neither party wants it to.

• Uri Friedman
• January 14, 2020

A New Nuclear Era Is Coming

We’ve gone from the first decade since the advent of the atomic age to not yield a new nuclear-weapons state to the brink of war between the U.S. and Iran.

• Uri Friedman
• January 9, 2020