A brief year in review from The Good Society, the newsletter I started this year! t.co/ScPMbkvFy1

The Arctic is ground zero for the colliding threats of climate change and geopolitical competition between the US, Russia, China, and EU countries. My interview with @klausdodds.bsky.social on his new book Unfrozen michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/unfrozen-t...

My conversation with Princeton Professor Rory Truex on the American confrontation with Venezuela: where it's coming from and where it could be headed

Chile's blowout election of Kast gives momentum to right-wing political movements that focus on hard-line immigration and security policy and will further build a growing club of countries turning away from mainstream politics. My op-ed @foreignpolicy.com foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/15/c...

If the executive wins authority to intervene in independent agencies like the #FTC simply for partisan reasons, why won't the same logic apply to other government entities and to the civil service more broadly? My post on this power grab & why it matters michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-ftc-ca...

The recent but growing rural-urban divide in the US is a threat to democracy. My interview with @cornelluniversity.bsky.social Professor Suzanne Mettler and Johns Hopkins postdoc Trevor Brown on how it arose and what can be done @smettler.bsky.social michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/rural-vers...

With the American military buildup in #Venezuela, what is the endgame? Plotting out the most likely scenarios in my latest post. michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/plotting-o...

Wealthy democracies with a history of fair elections never fail–or do they? My interview w/ @newyorkuniversity.bsky.social Professor Adam Przeworski on a career's worth of insight on what makes democracy thrive, and why he's so puzzled now about the US michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/wealthy-de...

The Maduro regime is not in a position to design, or even participate in, an institutional framework that could guide Venezuela back to democracy. With no golden parachute in sight, he's digging in. My piece @foreignpolicy.com on off-ramps from dictatorship foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/19/m...

With the government shutdown over, what has shifted politically? Not much. Although it probably emboldened Republicans in playing hardball with Democrats. My latest post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-govern...

The far right is poised to come out on top in #Chile's watershed election this weekend. Here's why, and what it means for the region. My piece in @foreignpolicy.com foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/12/c...

As the US builds military forces on Venezuela's coast to pressure Maduro, it should heed this lesson: toppling a dictatorship is easier than building a functional democracy to take its place. My piece in today's @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

Immigration and crime are roiling the upcoming presidential election in #Chile much as they did in the US. It's poised to join the rightward shift in Latin America. michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/immigratio...

My interview with @utaustin.bsky.social professor Raul Madrid on how democracy arose in South America, and what that tells us about democracy today. @raullorcamadrid.bsky.social @universitypress.cambridge.org michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-birth-...

My interview with @umich.edu professor Dan Slater on the current landscape of democracy and authoritarianism in the US & abroad. "Short-term extremely pessimistic and long-term at least somewhat optimistic"; watch out for weak authoritarians; fire up the non-cooperation & more @dnsltr.bsky.social

Happy to have shared my thoughts in this piece in @chicagotribune.com on Trump's escalating attacks on democracy, and his targeting of Chicago www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/19/t...

My interview with Democratic Erosion Consortium Directors @robertblair.bsky.social, Laura Paler, Jessica Gottlieb, and Julie Anne Weaver on their *new global dataset* on democracy! And on how to measure and understand democracy today, in the US & abroad michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...

A federal judge is currently hearing whether #Trump can turn #Chicago into the latest military "training ground". On the back of last week's ICE raid in South Shore, it's a combustible (and unnecessary) situation. And it hits close to home michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/chicago-is...

The Trump administration is using the government shutdown as an opportunity to double down on its attacks on political enemies. That raises risks for American democracy. More here on where this could go 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/dangers-of...

My interview with @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social Dean Will Howell and @stanforduniversity.bsky.social Prof. Terry Moe, leading experts on the American presidency, on their important new book The Rise of the Strongman Presidency @princetonupress.bsky.social michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-rise-o...

The temperature is rising in American politics. Charlie Kirk's assassination is part of a growing wave of political violence that threatens the stability of our democracy and is very unusual among advanced democracies. michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-rising...

My interview with social change experts and philosophy professors @michaelbrownstein.bsky.social, Dan Kelly, and Alex Madva on their fantastic new book Somebody Should Do Something. A must read if you’re thinking about big social problems, how they change, and what you can do @mitpress.bsky.social

The renaming of the Department of Defense as the Department of War signals a deeper geopolitical shift that departs from the postwar global order www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

#Trump's airstrike on a boat from #Venezuela signals an increasingly reliance on "tough on crime" political branding and advances in the international arena the same sense of unilateral authority that he has been pursuing domestically 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-drug-w...

Just published! 🎉 My paper "Indigenous Community Recognition and Identity: Evidence from Peru" @cpsjournal.bsky.social. It shows how & why indigenous recognition impacts self-identification for those who experience it – and for later generations that don't. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

#Trump's politicized firing of Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook threatens its independence and could destabilize the American economy. It also marks a major departure among advanced democracies of central bank independence, which has tamed inflation and unemployment 👇

Democracy is under assault in the US & abroad by elected leaders entrusted to preserve it. My interview with UChicago Professor Susan Stokes, a leading expert on democracy, tells why, based on her new book The Backsliders (@princetonupress.bsky.social) michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-backsl...

My interview with Harvard legal scholar and elections expert @profnickstephan.bsky.social on Texas's redistricting. We cover the legal landscape of gerrymandering, how Texas's move impacts other state plans to redistrict, and what it means for democracy michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...

Trump's proposal to redefine "persons" in the #census – by excluding immigrants without legal status – aims at giving Republicans a durable political advantage. A deep dive on it, with a key map that helps understand the dynamics, here 👇

What does it mean to look at power through the lens of land stewardship and ownership? My interview on Green Dreamer with @greendreamerkamea.bsky.social. We talk capitalism, culture, ecology, politics, and more. Based on my new book, Land Power podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

My interview with election law expert @profnickstephan.bsky.social on #Texas Republicans' extreme partisan #Gerrymandering. Why the rare move threatens representation and the balance in the US House – and could spark widespread partisan redistricting. 👇

Excited to share a podcast on my new book, Land Power, out today @amprestigepod.bsky.social ! On how land power has shaped society across the ages – and continues to be fundamental to inequality, political power, and development today. open.spotify.com/episode/71ym...

E221 - Land Power w/ @mikealbertus.bsky.social Michael Albertus from the University of Chicago talks to Danny and Derek about land: historical notions of ownership, race and gender relations around it, and environmental outcomes of its exploitation. Link in the replies!

With the #DOJ being cleared out over #January6, I interviewed senior J6 prosecutor and co-director of Yale's rule of law clinic Sonia Mittal on her work and on the practice of law now michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...

My interview with a senior January 6th prosecutor on the increasingly critical gap between the current practice of law and the reality of democratic erosion – and what can be done about it. Sonia now co-leads a rule of law clinic at Yale Law School. michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/q-and-a-wi...

Columbia's agreement with the Trump administration will only embolden its heavy-handed approach to higher education. My latest post 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/columbia-u...

From trade to immigration & the Big Beautiful Bill, the foundations of #Trumpism are now in place. What will determine its fate? Insights from political science 👇 michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-founda...

My conversation on the importance of #PublicLand – and why selling it off was dropped last-minute from the Big Beautiful Bill – with @npr.org affiliate WOSU. www.wosu.org/show/all-sid...

Australia's first-ever truth commission for First Nations peoples just delivered its report to Victoria's parliament. A watershed moment. Land was at the core of dispossession and is key to justice today. My piece in @unherd.com. unherd.com/2025/07/the-...

The "Big Beautiful Bill" is a boon for the rich at the expense of the poor. It will spike inequality and diminish opportunity for those less advantaged. That's part of a bigger, important trend in the US michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-big-be...

Under immense pressure, Senate Republicans dropped public land sales from their budget bill. A relief! www.salon.com/2025/06/21/f...

Today's bombshell ruling at the Supreme Court limiting nationwide injunctions amounts to a major expansion of executive power and a blow to the protection of Constitutional rights. #SCOTUS

A new review of my book Land Power is out in the current issue of @foreignaffairs.com 🎉 www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/your...

The Senate's version of the 'Big Beautiful Bill' would put vast amounts of public land up for sale – with few exemptions. My piece @salonnewsroom.bsky.social on what's at stake www.salon.com/2025/06/21/f...

The big questions in the Iran-Israel war: (1) Will Israel push back Iran's nuclear program MANY years or deter it from a bomb? (2) Will there be 'regime change'? Stakes are huge michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-israel...

Excited to share a new article with Kathleen Klaus in @annualreviews.bsky.social: "Land and Politics" 🎉 Land shapes politics through its material nature and distribution, by serving as a mechanism of control and state-building, and by imbuing identity & belonging 🧵

The ICE raids, troop deployments, and protests in LA are the latest front in the crisis of American democracy michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/los-angele...

My interview at the Australian Broadcast Company with the journalist David Marr on my new book Land Power. At a time when Australia is grappling with its treatment of Aboriginal communities www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

My latest post on the global trend in #INDIGENOUS community recognition, with lessons from my new research @cpsjournal.bsky.social on how recognition impacts indigenous identity, welfare, and inclusion across generations michaelalbertus.substack.com/p/the-global...

Excited to have a new paper forthcoming @cpsjournal.bsky.social – Indigenous Community Recognition and Identity: Evidence from Peru. A first individual-level analysis of a key, widespread public policy, based on years of mapping, data & conversation with colleagues papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....