The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., March 7, 2025. (Christopher Capozziello/The New York Times) By BRET STEPHENS University administrators sometimes ask how their institutions can best serve democracy. For decades, many believed that their role was to serve as instruments of social change. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, especially in hiring and admissions, were one part of the tool kit. Politicized academic departme

Family members grieve as a convoy of ambulances carrying the coffins of their loved ones arrive in the southern Lebanese village of Bazourieh for a mass funeral, on Monday, April 20, 2026. Families gathered for the funeral of nine people — both Hezbollah fighters and civilians — who were killed in recent weeks. (David Guttenfelder/The New York Times) By THE EDITORIAL BOARD If you are looking for two pictures that summarize where Israel’s geopolitical strategy under Prime Mini

A mural depicting the Strait of Hormuz in Tehran, April 13, 2026. “Iran’s regime,” Times columnist Bret Stephens writes, “can have an economy. Or the regime can attempt to have a nuclear program while trying to control the Strait of Hormuz. But it can’t have both.” (Arash Khamooshi/The New York Times) By BRET STEPHENS “The easiest method for the United States to reopen Hormuz,” I wrote last Tuesday, “is to start seizing tankers carrying Iranian crude once they reach the Arabi

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban looks on as President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral lunch at the White House in Washington, Nov. 7, 2025. Orban and his right-wing playbook were embraced by parts of the American right — now some are worried by his defeat. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times) By ROSS DOUTHAT The defeat of Viktor Orban’s government in Hungary’s parliamentary elections may usher in a new era in Western commentary, when neither conservatives nor li

Ukrainian war crimes prosecutors with a Russian Shahed style drone, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, on July 16, 2025. “Intelligence reports suggest that Russia had been assisting Iran, a traditional ally, with targeting intelligence about U.S. bases, as well as supplying it with upgraded versions of Iran’s own Shahed-136 drone ...” Times columnist Serge Schmemann writes. (David Guttenfelder/The New York Times) By SERGE SCHMEMANN The Iran war has been an economic windfall fo

A monitor displays President Donald Trump as he delivers a message on the war in Iran in Washington, April 1, 2026. (Jason Hendardy/The New York Times) By JAMELLE BOUIE To have spent any amount of time observing President Donald Trump over the last month is to conclude that he is in far over his head. The president is struggling with the consequences of his actions, raging in protest of the fact that for all its firepower, the United States cannot bomb Iran into submission. W

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday night, April 12, 2026. Trump on Sunday lashed out at Pope Leo XIV and took credit for his ascension to the papacy. Leo had issued a rare direct criticism of a threat by Trump last week. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times) By ROSS DOUTHAT Let’s analyze the world’s latest church-and-empire fracas, the open conflict between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV, in terms o

A crowd during an anti-government concert on Heroes’ Square in Budapest, Hungary, April 10, 2026. (András Zoltai/The New York Times) By MICHELLE GOLDBERG On Saturday, the day before the election in Hungary, I went to Puspokladany, a run-down town of about 16,000 in the northeastern part of the country, for the penultimate rally of the opposition leader, Peter Magyar. Though the region has traditionally been a stronghold of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party, the squar

Members of the Basij paramilitary volunteer militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps march past a ballistic missile on display during a military “force parade” in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 10, 2025. The Trump administration is facing several unpalatable options: A lengthy negotiation with Tehran over the future of its nuclear program, or a resumption of a war that has already created the largest energy disruption in modern times, and the prospect of a long struggle over who

Donald Trump should at long last recognize the ineptitude of his impulsive, go-it-alone approach. (Jason Hendardy/The New York Times) By THE EDITORIAL BOARD When President Donald Trump attacked Iran on Feb. 28, we called his decision reckless. He went to war without seeking congressional approval or the support of most allies. He offered thin and contradictory justifications to the American people. He failed to explain why this naive attempt at regime change would end better