TORONTO — In the ancient world, people spoke of "Ultima Thule," a mythical land in the extreme north, at the end of the earth. By venturing north to Alaska to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump reached his own Ultima Thule, the arctic endpoint of a foreign-policy dreamworld. For Trump, foreign leaders can be dealt with like Americans, with fantastic promises and obnoxious bullying. But the fantasies do not function beyond America's borders. The empty offer of a "

Over the past two months, financial investors have hit upon a new trading strategy, based on a simple rule: TACO — Trump Always Chickens Out. America’s president threatens to slap massive import tariffs on friends and foes alike, or to remove the Federal Reserve chair, only to back down when the whip of the market imposes its uncompromising discipline. Then he switches back to tariffs, only to back down yet again. It’s a pattern that extends beyond the economy. In fact, it’s the defining featur

The following lecture was delivered in March 2023 at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy as part of a benefit conference to raise funds to support public outreach at Kyiv Mohyla Academy. The subject I have chosen for myself is thinking about freedom in wartime Ukraine. The basis for this title is a conference I ran with some friends and colleagues in 2014, just as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began — the first Russian invasion, in the spring of 2014. I