The article argues that the Federal Reserve's recent rate hike decision, while justifiable on inflation grounds, highlights a critical lack of an underlying, transparent policy framework. The core problem is that the Fed's decisions appear discretionary, leading to market uncertainty because the committee's judgment, rather than clear data, dictates policy shifts. The author proposes that the Fed adopt a formal monetary policy rule—an algebraic formula linking the target rate to indicators like inflation and unemployment—to replace subjective guidance. Implementing such a rule would provide market predictability, enhance transparency, and shield the Fed from political attacks by making deviations from the standard easily quantifiable.
Chokepoints and coercion: Iran’s challenge to maritime openness
English Summary
Iran has introduced politically conditioned access to the Strait of Hormuz by selectively granting passage to vessels from allied nations (Russia, China, Pakistan) while charging tolls and requiring detailed information about ownership and crew nationality, directly challenging the 400-year-old principle of freedom of navigation. This represents a significant precedent for using maritime chokepoints as geopolitical leverage that could spread to other critical waterways like the Strait of Malacca and Taiwan Strait. Such politicization would harm smaller, trade-dependent countries most severely and shift global commerce from economically-determined to geopolitically-determined criteria, requiring major powers to sustain open transit through credible deterrence, transparency mechanisms, and resistance to competing systems of privileged access. The implications extend beyond immediate energy disruptions to fundamentally reshape how states use control of critical infrastructure for coercive purposes in an era of intensifying geopolitical rivalry.
中文摘要
伊朗透過選擇性地向盟國（如俄羅斯、中國、巴基斯坦）船隻提供霍爾木茲海峽的通行權，同時收取過路費並要求提供詳細的船隻所有權和船員國籍資訊，實行了政治條件化的海峽進入權。此舉直接挑戰了數百年來確立的航行自由原則。這代表著一個重大的先例，即將海域咽喉點作為地緣政治籌碼，其影響可能擴散至馬六甲海峽和台灣海峽等其他關鍵水道。此類政治化行為將最嚴重損害小型、依賴貿易的國家，並將全球商業的決定標準從經濟因素轉移至地緣政治因素。這要求主要大國必須透過可信的威懾、透明化機制，以及對競爭性特權通行體系的抵抗，來維持開放的過境權。其意涵不僅限於即時的能源供應中斷，更將從根本上重塑國家在日益激烈的地緣政治競爭時代，利用關鍵基礎設施進行強制性目的的手段。
Related Entries
-
1.
-
2.
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC serves as a critical warning that the global health security system is fundamentally unprepared for future biological threats. The difficulty in containing this outbreak is compounded by the rising risk of emerging pathogens and the growing potential for AI misuse in bioweapon development. Policy must therefore shift from reactive, crisis-driven funding to sustained, proactive investment in resilient public health infrastructure, particularly in conflict zones. Addressing this requires strengthening global surveillance, ensuring consistent international cooperation, and mitigating the intersection of conflict, climate change, and disease spread.
-
3.A Design Lab Pilot to Inform Strategies for Expanding Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Community Mental Health Centers (RAND)
Despite MOUD being the standard of care for opioid use disorder, access remains severely limited in Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs), which serve the primary population with co-occurring disorders. A Design Lab pilot identified payment limitations and regulatory complexity as the chief barriers to implementation. The most feasible and high-impact strategy identified was establishing a structured learning exchange between CMHC leaders and insurers to improve reimbursement understanding. Policymakers and payers are therefore advised to pilot this learning exchange model to initiate broader payment reform and expand evidence-based care for this vulnerable population.
-
4.
The article argues that modern conflicts are increasingly defined by attrition, driven by three strategic gaps: the difference between nominal military power and usable capacity; the difficulty of achieving breakthroughs in a technologically advanced battlefield; and the detachment of military means from clear political objectives. Evidence from Ukraine and the Middle East demonstrates that sustained logistics, rapid technological adaptation, and proxy networks are now more decisive than sheer military size. For policymakers, this implies a strategic shift away from seeking short, decisive victories toward preparing for prolonged, high-cost engagements, requiring a focus on sustainable supply chains and defining concrete, attainable political end-states.
-
5.
Congress has significantly expanded presidential tariff authority by passing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, allowing the executive to impose up to 100% tariffs on key buyers of Russian energy and sanctions enablers. The article argues that this legislation represents a dangerous abdication of Congress's Article I authority, as it grants the executive vast, discretionary power without specifying criteria for enforcement. Historically, the executive could claim tariffs were its own doing; however, by writing and passing this new authority, Congress now owns the resulting trade policy and its economic consequences. This shift implies that future tariffs will be viewed by the public as a direct legislative action, potentially undermining the administration's credibility and creating political vulnerability.