Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 2h

Delegitimizing women and limiting their rights goes hand in hand with democratic backsliding around the world.

@saskiabr.bsky.social explained the relationship between women’s rights and democratic resilience, for @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/w...

As Democratic Institutions Erode, Women See a Loss of Rights

www.nytimes.com

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 3h

Read the full paper here:

carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Carnegie California AI Survey

Californians believe that AI will significantly impact their work, communities, and democracy. But this is offset by high levels of anxiety and uncertainty around specific impacts.

carnegieendowment.org

Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 3h

California dreamin’ — of the future of AI. The 2025 Carnegie California AI Survey is out. While Californians believe that AI will impact their work, communities, and democracy, they are uncertain of specific impacts, such as safety and cybersecurity.

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 21h

Armies shape war, but war shapes armies. Russia has turned its invasion of Ukraine into an effort to draw from failures and adapt its strategy & approach to the future of combat in Ukraine and beyond, writes @massdara.bsky.social in @foreignaffairs.com:
www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/how-r...

How Russia Recovered

What the Kremlin is learning from the war in Ukraine.

www.foreignaffairs.com

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 3d

And, for more from Andrew, be sure to check out his latest for Emissary, mentioned in the interview: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

The Riyadh Comedy Festival Isn’t Trying to Change Your Opinion of Saudi Arabia

The driving forces are domestic.

carnegieendowment.org

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 3d

Initiatives like the Riyadh Comedy Festival aren’t helping Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman “clean up” his image abroad. But the kingdom’s international reputation isn’t its main priority here.

@andrewleber.bsky.social, on @npr.org: www.npr.org/2025/10/04/n...

The image Saudi Arabia hopes to achieve beyond the comedy festival

Saudi Arabia is working to reshape its global cultural image, but controversies over several acts in its comedy festival tied to the country's human rights record are underscoring the tension between ...

www.npr.org

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 5d

As it is now, the Trump plan isn’t a viable path to peace in Gaza, says @zaha-hassan.bsky.social. To bring the war and the humanitarian catastrophe to an end, governments must focus on human rights and international legitimacy.

More from Zaha here: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

Is the U.S.-Israel Gaza Peace Plan a Deal or a Distraction?

Regardless, it took the wind out of the sails of broader efforts grounded in international law.

carnegieendowment.org

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Reposted by Carnegie Endowment

Andrew M Leber @andrewleber.bsky.social · 6d

I looked at the domestic drivers of the Riyadh Comedy Festival for @carnegieendowment.org

carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

The Riyadh Comedy Festival Isn’t Trying to Change Your Opinion of Saudi Arabia

The driving forces are domestic.

carnegieendowment.org

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 6d

This week, the White House announced an executive order aimed at shoring up U.S. security support for Qatar.

But, in light of recent events – namely, Israel’s airstrike in Doha – will it work? @andrewleber.bsky.social explains: youtube.com/shorts/6kWXI...

Can the U.S. Really Ensure Qatar's Security?

YouTube video by Carnegie Explains

youtube.com

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 6d

From the outside, former president Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction looks like a big win for Brazilian democracy. Is it really? What’s next? And why is President Trump getting involved?

@oliverstuenkel.bsky.social joins Jon Bateman to discuss on The World Unpacked: youtu.be/RJ9dS92rZew

Did the Bolsonaro Trial Really Save Brazil's Democracy?

YouTube video by Carnegie Endowment

youtu.be

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 7d

Trump’s proposed Gaza peace plan comes as the humanitarian dimensions of the crisis are increasingly intersecting with political pressures & security priorities. Can Trump’s plan reconcile its ambitions with the reality on the ground?

Amr Hamzawy explains: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan: Comprehensive, Ambitious, and Uncomfortably Ambiguous

The obstacles to implementation will be numerous and substantial.

carnegieendowment.org

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 8d

For more from Sheena on China’s global security outreach, see her work with @ibkardon.bsky.social and Cameron Waltz here: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 8d

Can China sell itself as an alternative to the Western-led security order?

@sheenagreitens.bsky.social joined @gmfus.bsky.social’s @bglaser.bsky.social on the China Global podcast to discuss. Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...

Global Public Security with Chinese Characteristics

Podcast Episode · China Global · 09/30/2025 · 36m

podcasts.apple.com

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 9d

Six years ago, President Trump told India’s PM Narendra Modi he had never had a better friend as President than him. This summer, U.S.-India relations hit their lowest point in decades.

@milanv.bsky.social, with Isaac Chotiner for the @newyorker.com, explains why: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

The Stunning Reversal in U.S.-India Relations

Why is Donald Trump turning on his ideological ally Narendra Modi?

www.newyorker.com

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 9d

As the Trump administration moves to shrink FEMA, disaster-torn communities, like St. Louis, struggle to recover without adequate federal aid.

@sarahlabo.bsky.social explained one way the administration is holding aid back, for @wsj.com: www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 9d

Carnegie President Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar and Micah Weinberg on the reforms California and democracies like it will need (and why the “abundance agenda” might not be the full answer): carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Abundance, Complexity, and Political Reform in California and Across the Globe

California’s difficulties with policy and project gridlock echo in large, complex, wealthy democracies worldwide—and consistent, pragmatic attention to lingering policy problems along with comprehensi...

carnegieendowment.org

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 9d

California is an economic and political leader in the U.S. and globally. But it also faces challenges common among wealthy democracies. How can the state’s leaders chart a successful path forward?

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 10d

International students are critically important for U.S. universities, and for the U.S. economy. President Trump’s staggering new H-1B visa fee puts both at risk.

@milanv.bsky.social and Devesh Kapur explain, for Emissary: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

Trump’s H-1B Gambit Will Gut American Universities

The financial stakes alone are enormous.

carnegieendowment.org

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 10d

Israel’s PM Netanyahu meets with President Trump today on the heels of a wave of Western countries announcing their recognition for a Palestinian state. What impact does this recognition actually have?

Amr Hamzawy explains, for Emissary: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

Palestine, the Wave of Western Recognition, and a Global System in Transformation

The moves neither end occupation nor halt the war in Gaza. But they do open a diplomatic window of hope and build on a new balance in the international arena.

carnegieendowment.org

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 10d

President Trump’s TikTok deal puts the company's U.S. operations under U.S. control. But it doesn’t do much to address the economic or security concerns that motivated the deal in the first place, says @stevenfeldstein.bsky.social.

More in @foreignpolicy.com: foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/29/t...

The TikTok Deal Is America’s White Flag in the Tech War With China

Beijing will still retain considerable influence over the U.S. version of the app.

foreignpolicy.com

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 12d

ICYMI: This week, the bipartisan Task Force on Nuclear Proliferation and U.S. National Security (convened by Carnegie, @nti.org, and @belfercenter.bsky.social) released its full report on preventing disaster under a new nuclear era.

Read the full report here: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 12d

As this week’s UN General Assembly session wraps up, we're looking back at one thing that dominated the headlines: President Trump’s speech.

But beyond the speech’s unprecedented nature, what made it so remarkable? Stewart Patrick explains: youtube.com/shorts/t_-z_...

Takeaways from Pres. Trump's UN Speech

YouTube video by Carnegie Explains

youtube.com

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Reposted by Carnegie Endowment

Carnegie Democracy @carnegiedcg.bsky.social · 12d

Today, French farmers held a day of protest, driving tractors to Versailles palace. Erin Jones connects protests like this to other recent examples of “greenlash” across Europe in a new short for @carnegieendowment.org:

Why Are French Farmers Protesting Again?

YouTube video by Carnegie Explains

www.youtube.com

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 13d

Will superintelligent AI destroy humanity? Nate Soares, leading “doomer” and bestselling co-author of If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All, joins Jon Bateman to discuss on The World Unpacked.

Watch here: youtu.be/TSfWqp6djck?...

Will AI Kill Us All? Nate Soares on His Controversial Bestseller

YouTube video by Carnegie Endowment

youtu.be

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Carnegie Endowment @carnegieendowment.org · 14d

For more, see the Task Force’s full report (with @nti.org and @belfercenter.bsky.social) here: carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Preventing an Era of Nuclear Anarchy: Nuclear Proliferation and American Security

Following decades of mostly successful efforts to combat the spread of nuclear weapons, multiple global trends are reviving the possibility of a world with more nuclear-armed states. These development...

carnegieendowment.org