Good Authority

Photo by Zsófia Hajnal on Unsplash. In 2026, interdisciplinary programs that center identity, such as Black studies and women’s and gender studies, are facing institutional closures, reorganization, or downsizing. Universities are explaining this retrenchment as administrative efficiency, or the impact of low enrollment numbers and budget cuts. But these decisions have widespread implications for traditional disciplines – and the study of power.

The National Museum of American History (cc) . In recent months, the Trump administration has been exercising control over symbols of the United States, from the White House and Reflecting Pool to the reinstallation of Confederate statues. Plans to change the names of military bases, Navy ships, and American cultural centers have also been in the news.

Protests in Kenya, June 2024. Photo by Hassan Kibwana on Unsplash. Two years ago, Kenya’s Gen Z protesters forced the government to withdraw a controversial tax bill. Kenyans’ underlying economic grievances have not been resolved – and anniversary demonstrations in June 2026 showed the movement is far from spent. The pattern is not unique to Kenya.

Ousmane Sonko, former prime minister of Senegal (left) and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye (right). Images (cc) World Economic Forum, 2025, and Paul Kagame photostream, 2025; images combined on Canva. Media reports describe the power struggle between Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko, his former prime minister and the current president of the National Assembly, as a personal dispute.

A naturalization ceremony in 2010 at the south rim of the Grand Canyon (cc) NPS photo by Michael Quinn. A new YouGov/Economist survey caught my eye (see cross-tabs; summary).

Thousands of protesters gathered near Jantar Mantar in Delhi and began marching toward Parliament on July 20, 2026. Police ordered the crowds to disperse, using batons and tear gas against the protesters (cc) Alnitak-Alnilam-Mintaka. Image combined on Canva. Do people support political violence? And how prevalent is such support? Five years after the Jan.

VIDEO In the United Kingdom, right-wing leader Nigel Farage wins his by-election against Count Binface – a man with a trash bin on his head who still managed to get 27% of the vote. Related

(cc) Wendell Ward, via Flickr. One of the most interesting puzzles in political economy right now is the disconnect between consumer sentiment data and price levels. This is the “vibecession” outlook we’ve been seeing in the news. Despite low unemployment and strong growth in consumer spending and business investment, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index remains 10% lower than a year ago.

Photo by Leif Christoph Gottwald on Unsplash. One way to think about public policy is whether you support the means or the ends. Evaluating, say, tax rebates for electric vehicle purchases means deciding whether you want more EV purchases and whether tax rebates are the right way to incentivize them. Another way to think about a policy is how you feel about the people who benefit from it. Do you think those people deserve it? This is the “deservingness heuristic.” It’s a familiar idea, to be sure.

Photo by Shiona Das on Unsplash. Image combined on canva.com. In July 2026, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s policy threatening foreign disinformation researchers with visa denials and deportations. This policy is part of the administration’s broader campaign framing disinformation research as censorship. While the White House fight against the “censorship-industrial complex” looks like a distinctly American political battle, it’s part of a global pattern.