For any Americans who were paying attention, no less than twelve weeks ago Donald Trump said he would reopen Hormuz as his main objective against Iran. Now he proclaims a blockade of the strait he swore to open; welcome to chaos and confusion in the Trump White House. The Personality Cult Surges as the Plot […]

In diplomatic practice, there is an unwritten but strict rule: the weaker a state is economically and politically, the more delicate the tone of any external player must be if they genuinely want reforms—not chaos. Lebanon today is a classic “fragile sovereignty.” After the 2020 Beirut port explosion, the subsequent financial collapse, the emigration of […]