New here? You're reading Dispatches from the Rebellion — independent reporting on the global fight for freedom. Subscribe Free The Global Fight for Freedom This week, contrary to popular opinion, The Economist marveled at America’s enduring power. It was more of a complaint than a compliment, but who cares? They’re right—No nation in history has been freer, stronger, or more prosperous. Here is what Xi and Putin will never grasp: American power endures not because her leaders are strong, but...
7 days ago • 7 min read
New here? You're reading Dispatches from the Rebellion — independent reporting on the global fight for freedom. Subscribe Free The Global Fight for Freedom Vladimir Putin is obsessed with longevity.He has committed $26 billion to a national longevity program — gene therapy, bioprinting, organ transplants. Last year, he told Xi Jinping humans might one day live to 150. He reportedly bathes in Siberian deer blood.This week brings more evidence Putin's grip on Russia and its neighbors is...
14 days ago • 6 min read
New here? You're reading Dispatches from the Rebellion — independent reporting on the global fight for freedom. Subscribe Free The Global Fight for Freedom A month ago, these pages trumpeted Trump’s maximum leverage over Tehran. What happened? And two centuries ago, Simón Bolívar shattered an empire. Today, his legacy is being vanquished from a continent—one philosophical heir at a time. Editor’s Note: this week was short on time and long on late breaking evidence—the Iran story alone was...
21 days ago • 5 min read
The Global Fight for Freedom A student movement, resurrected. Crowds, some whose lungs still burn, chanting "freedom". The Russian strongman next door is shrinking fast — and his neighbors can smell it. But one question hangs over each of this week’s stories: when a tyrant offers concessions, does America stand for its values, or sell its name for another golden tower? Flashpoints Putin's Puppet Pivots West Erdogan's "Caliphate" Devoured Itself. Africa Is Next. Belgrade's Buried Movement...
28 days ago • 6 min read
New here? You're reading Dispatches from the Rebellion — independent reporting on the global fight for freedom. Subscribe Free The Global Fight for Freedom This week, three nations reckon with the wreckage of a failed philosophy. In one South American nation, an entitled colony rages after losing the ballot box. In another, once grateful citizens sniff a betrayal. And a country that once chased the socialist dream quietly buries it. Flashpoints In Bolivia, the Colony Rages Sweden Buries Its...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
For nearly three decades in the fifth century BCE, the great empires of Athens and Sparta tore at each other across the Aegean. Sparta — the dominant land power, the established hegemon — had watched Athens rise into a wealthy naval empire and feared what it had become. The Peloponnesian War that followed defined the ancient world. New here? You're reading Dispatches from the Rebellion — independent reporting on the global fight for freedom. Subscribe Free When Donald Trump arrived in Beijing...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
New here? You're reading Dispatches from the Rebellion — independent reporting on the global fight for freedom. Subscribe Free The Global Fight for Freedom Children jumping deliriously, waving American flags. The CIA director opposite the grandson of a revolutionary. Rooftops where families sleep to escape the heat. A young woman running back through prison gates to kiss her mentor goodbye. This week, the struggle spans three continents. A rising power that isn't rising. A regime running out...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
United Arab Emirates - Freedom House Freedom Score: 18 (Not Free) On April 28, the third-largest producer in the world’s largest cartel announced its exit. Effective May 1, the UAE left OPEC— without consulting Saudi Arabia, the kingdom that has driven OPEC since 1960.The strategic logic: Iran has been a founding OPEC member for 66 years, using the cartel as a venue for international legitimacy even under crushing sanctions. Now the table tilts harder against Tehran on every future production...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
New here? You're reading Dispatches from the Rebellion — independent reporting on the global fight for freedom. Subscribe Free The Global Fight for Freedom These pages have long argued that human rights and democracy must be permanent pillars of American foreign policy. They must. But no ally is perfect. Some are even monstrous — yet brutal realities force us to make difficult choices.This week, three of them.Every stance the United States takes for human rights risks ceding ground to...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read