What Was Macron Thinking?

Snap Elections and Political Turmoil Put France at a Critical Juncture, and Voters in an Uncomfortable Place

Here in France, we had all expected the far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally)—or the RN—to outperform in the European elections earlier this month. At 8 p.m. on June 9, the results confirmed the polls and our fears.

But we never expected the bombshell that President Emmanuel Macron dropped on us a mere hour later.

Sober, dressed appropriately for the dramatic moment in a black suit and tie, Macron announced that he would dissolve the lower house of France’s parliament, the National Assembly. With the far-right RN and Reconquête! parties winning nearly 37% …

by Olivia Snaije | June 27, 2024

Where Did Argentina’s Firebrand New President Get His Political Ideas?

Javier Milei Has Changed the Meaning of Libertad From Collective Struggle to Libertarianism—With Help from the U.S. Right

by Federico Perelmuter | January 24, 2024

Last month, Argentina swore in as president yet another right-wing populist with mutton chops and bad hair who built a political career out of screaming at people on television with …

How Hollywood’s Black Friday Strike Changed Labor Across America

A 1945 Union vs. Studios Battle Set Off Broad Right-Wing Hysteria—Its Lessons Should Resonate Today

by Gerald Horne and Anthony Ballas | November 9, 2023

It was October 5, 1945. The Conference of Studio Unions (CSU), a union representing craft laborers in Los Angeles, including painters, carpenters, set designers, cartoonists, and others, was seven months …

On a Rocky Hill in Athens, a ‘Democratic Odyssey’ Begins

Could a European People’s Assembly—Politician-Free and Chosen by Lottery—Become a Permanent Branch of Government?

by Joe Mathews | October 31, 2023

Democracy was first built on a lot of loose rock.

Can democracy now be rebuilt on that very same ground?

Recently, I spent a long afternoon on a dusty and rocky Athens …

Jimmy Carter’s Pragmatic Path to Power

An Idealist in and After Office, He Became a Governor and a President By Appealing to Racial and Class Prejudice

by James C. Cobb | September 28, 2023

Former president Jimmy Carter, who will be 99 this Sunday, October 1, was only 46 when he first popped up on the national political radar. After declaring in his 1971 …

What the GOP Gets Wrong About the Puritans

Reagan and Pence Invoked Them as Inspiration, But a True Reckoning With Their History Provides a Different Vision of the Nation’s Future

by Peter C. Mancall | September 27, 2023

During the first Republican presidential primary debate, on August 23, former Vice President Mike Pence spoke of founders of the nation conquering the American “wilderness.” It was one …

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