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"Civil Society is mobilizing against Trump."

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Russ Roberts (https://trendsingeopolitics.blogspot.com).

 

View this email in your browser. February 11, 2025 Hello, everyone. Today at WPR, we’re covering how civil society in the U.S. and abroad is mobilizing against the Trump administration’s unconstitutional actions. But first, here’s our take on today’s top story: Jordan’s King Abdullah II and President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, June 25, 2018 (AP photo by Evan Vucci). U.S.-Jordan: President Donald Trump will host King Abdullah II at the White House today, a day after suggesting that he may withhold aid from Jordan and Egypt if they do not agree to take in Palestinians from Gaza. The visit also comes as the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas looks increasingly precarious and after Trump doubled down on his declaration that the U.S. should empty Gaza of all its Palestinian inhabitants and take control of the territory. (AP) Our Take: As a U.S. partner that for a long time was one of the only countries in the Middle East to have diplomatic relations with Israel, Jordan has long played an outsized role in U.S. regional diplomacy. Jordan also has... Subscribe to WPR to read our take on today’s top story. In his first few weeks back in office, U.S. President Donald Trump has undertaken a blistering shake-up of the federal bureaucracy in violation of the Constitution’s separation of powers and therefore the law. In the foreign policy realm, too, many of Trump’s actions and stated intentions violate important international treaties the Constitution requires him to uphold. The question on many observers’ minds has been whether the U.S. system of government’s checks and balances would hold in the face of a seeming assault on the Constitution, democratic norms and the international rules-based order. Much depends on the response of the political opposition, which has yet to take shape. In the meantime, as Charli Carpenter writes, serious forms of resistance to the Trump administration’s effort to foreclose the normal functioning of government are already coming from domestic and transnational civil society. Civil Society Is Mobilizing Against Trump’s Lawlessness at Home and Abroad By Charli Carpenter The most serious forms of resistance to Trump’s efforts to foreclose the normal functioning of government are coming from ordinary citizens. Question of the Day: What is the name of the Chinese company that produces the majority of consumer drones worldwide? Autel Robotics DJI Parrot Skydio Find the answer in the latest WPR Weekly Quiz, then read Ulrike Franke’s column on why China’s domination of the drone industry and supply chain is a vulnerability for the West. In a speech yesterday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called for national unity and vowed to support Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s decision to rule out negotiations with the U.S. under President Donald Trump. Khamenei’s statement came after Trump signed an executive order last week reinstating a “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran. A series of events last year—including the rapid fall of the Assad regime in Syria as well as Israel’s weakening of Hezbollah in Lebanon and decimation of Hamas in Gaza—have led to upbeat assessments in the West about the decline of Iran’s power and influence. However, as Abolghasem Bayyenat wrote last month, while Iran’s regional clout has been eroded, that does not necessarily herald a more peaceful and stable regional security environment. A Weakened Iran Doesn’t Mean a More Peaceful Middle East By Abolghasem Bayyenat Jan. 6, 2025 | With regime change in Syria and Hezbollah weakened, Iran’s alliance system has nearly collapsed. That doesn’t mean a peaceful Middle East is emerging. ***** Earlier today, Turkish police detained 10 senior officials—including two deputy mayors—of Istanbul’s district municipalities over their alleged links to Kurdish militants. All are members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, which has faced a growing crackdown in its strongholds, including Istanbul. The ruling party of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered badly in municipal elections last year, prompting Erdogan to ramp up repression of opposition figures. As Howard Eissenstat wrote soon thereafter, the elections pushed Erdogan to return to the authoritarian tools that have been a key component of his leadership for more than a decade. A Weakened Erdogan Is Still Bad News for Turkey’s Democracy By Howard Eissenstat June 5, 2024 | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political position is weaker than it has been in nearly a decade. That’s bad news for Turkey’s democracy. ***** The Trump administration’s swift dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, has left the agency unable to track nearly $8.2 billion in unspent humanitarian aid, USAID’s inspector general’s office said. Read more about why Trump has targeted USAID, and foreign aid in general, in this column by Paul Poast. ***** Colombian President Gustavo Petro asked his entire Cabinet to resign after a handful of officials stepped down last week following a chaotic, televised Cabinet meeting. Tensions in the government had been building for weeks after Petro appointed Laura Sarabia and Armando Benedetti, two scandal-ridden members of his inner circle, to top positions. Read more about the scandal that prompted Petro to fire Sarabia and Benedetti from his administration less than two years ago in this column by Frida Ghitis. More from WPR Paul Poast on U.S. foreign aid retrenchment. Sarah Yerkes and Sabina Henneberg on Europe’s untenable migration model. Eduardo Arcos on Mexico’s economic ambitions. Richard Gowan on Trump’s approach to the U.N. Read all of our latest coverage here. Copyright © 2025 World Politics Review LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to our free daily newsletter. Our mailing address is: World Politics Review LLC 401 E. Jackson St, Ste 3300 Tampa, FL 33606 USA To be sure this email isn't filtered as spam, add newsletter@worldpoliticsreview.com to your address book or contacts list. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or opt out of all WPR emails (not recommended).