Henry Farrell

A Cynical Election Ploy Like Hawley and Cruz’s Looks Harmless. Until It Isn’t with Elizabeth Saunders

Washington generally shrugs at cynical theatrical gestures like the GOP Senate effort, led by Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Ted Cruz (Tex.), to object to the election results. Politicians see them as useful and harmless. Consider the regular news releases from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) making National Science Foundation projects sound ridiculous, or the House of Representatives’ decision in 2003 to have its cafeteria call french fries “freedom fries.” Wednesday’s episode in the Senate at first had the appearance of a dinner theater murder mystery in which the key suspects (Democratic operatives; sinister manufacturers of voting machines; the late Hugo Chávez) had been fingered by pro-Trump lawyers.

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Other Writing:

Essay

The Twilight of America’s Financial Empire – with Abraham Newman

January 24, 2020 Foreign Affairs (online) with Abraham Newman
When Iraqi lawmakers voted to expel U.S. forces from the country earlier this month, the Trump administration’s response was swift and forceful: it refused to withdraw and, for good measure, threatened financial retaliation, saying it would freeze Iraq’s accounts at the U.S. Federal Reserve. The threat seems to have been effective. Although Iraqi officials still ...
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Essay

Canada Needs to Start Preparing for Trump – and Getting Other Allies Involved – with Abraham Newman

March 2, 2024 Toronto Globe and Mail with Abraham Newman
If Donald Trump wins the presidential elections in November, even Canadians could be blocked from their bank accounts. In our recent book… Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman, “Canada Needs to Start Preparing for Trump – and Getting Other Allies Involved,” Toronto Globe and Mail, March 2, 2024. Access the full article here.
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