By early 2026, the global order has moved from a “unipolar” or “multilateral” system toward a fragmented regionalism. With the United States actively dismantling its participation in international organizations, regional blocs have transformed from secondary partners into the primary guarantors of trade, security, and technological standards.
The protests that began on December 28, 2025, represent a critical inflection point for Iran, fueled by an economic “perfect storm” that has effectively hollowed out the country’s middle class. As of January 4, 2026, the movement has spread to over 100 locations across 22 provinces, marking it as one of the most geographically expansive challenges to the Islamic Republic since 1979.
In December 2025, mass protests erupted across Iran, sparked not by a revolutionary movement but by the sheer desperation of a collapsing economy. The Iranian rial plummeted to a historic low of 1.42 million per dollar, triggering market shutdowns and the largest civil unrest since 2022.
Despite rising nationalism, a 2025 global survey reveals that 84% of people still favor international cooperation over isolation. While trust in major world powers has dwindled, most citizens view multilateralism as a practical necessity for addressing shared threats like food insecurity, climate change, and pandemics through enlightened self-interest.
Africa enters 2026 facing an unprecedented security crisis, with conflict affecting more nations than at any time in two decades. From the fall of Goma in the DRC to the “famine engine” in Sudan and military juntas in the Sahel, the continent’s future hinges on transforming this global disorder into strategic autonomy.
The last-minute cancellation of a “60 Minutes” report on torture at El Salvador’s CECOT prison has ignited a firestorm over editorial independence and political interference at CBS News. While Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss cites a lack of new information, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and critics label the move as corporate censorship, raising urgent questions about media integrity and government influence in the wake of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies.
The December 2025 decision by UK police to arrest protesters for chanting “globalise the intifada” has ignited a fierce debate over democratic erosion and selective enforcement. While authorities cite security concerns following recent global tensions, legal experts and activists warn that criminalizing political speech without evidence of violence constitutes institutionalized bias, threatening the fundamental right to peaceful mobilization and free expression.
Western democracies are experiencing a significant sociopolitical transformation due to demographic changes and new ideological alliances. Eliyahu Haddad’s analysis highlights that mass migration, declining birth rates, and “ideological paralysis” contribute to a “civilizational replacement,” which is now influencing electoral dynamics in Europe and North America and impacting social cohesion, domestic security, and transatlantic relations with Israel.
President Trump has moved to constrain birthright citizenship, and a number of constitutional scholars have questioned whether the 14th Amendment in fact requires it. They make serious arguments, but they ultimately misconstrue the 14th Amendment. According to the best reading of the text, all individuals born on American soil are American citizens. The marginal exceptions to this rule tend to prove the rule rather than refute it.
We want to move beyond the outrage cycle and toward tangible outcomes. That means equipping parents with the tools to advocate for their rights.
The most practical solution is to uphold federalism and leave education policy completely to the states.
The Take It Down Act’s swift movement from bill to law proves that it’s possible to adopt a targeted approach to regulating AI without derailing innovation.
