Gülen Poses a Threat to Turkey and the United States

By Robert Amsterdam | Published: May 16, 2017

Today President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is making his first official state visit to President Donald Trump in Washington DC. Among the many issues in the bilateral relationship they will be discussing is the status of Fethullah Gülen, a billionaire Turkish fugitive living in Pennsylvania who is accused of planning last July’s attempted military […]

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Oligopoly and the Airline Industry

By Robert Amsterdam | Published: April 15, 2017

Like many of you, I have been obsessively watching the crisis at United Airlines unfold, where approximately $1 billion in share value has been shed following the viral video of a passenger being violently removed from an overbooked flight. The response to this crisis, at least in terms of reputation management, has obviously been very […]

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The Rule of Law in a Polarized America

By Robert Amsterdam | Published: April 14, 2017

I recommend this thoughtful Passover piece published by Bill Galston in the Wall Street Journal, which emphasizes the difference between the policies that parties may fight over and the underlying institutional structures which should remain sacred.  Some quotes: Contemporary populists have legitimate complaints against the status quo, not least the incapacity of parliamentary governments to […]

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A Love Song from Lavrov

By Robert Amsterdam | Published: April 13, 2017

There’s been a lot of good analysis published on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s first visit to Russia this week, but it was down at the bottom of this piece by Amie Ferris-Rotman in Foreign Policy which stands out: Despite the high stakes and heightened scrutiny, there were some aspects of Wednesday’s visit that seemed […]

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Assad Just Gassed Putin’s Chance at a Deal

By Robert Amsterdam | Published: April 5, 2017

It’s always difficult to pinpoint the moment in which a policy changes, but yesterday’s horrific chemical weapons attack in Idlib appears to signal a shift in how the Trump administration may view its options in the conflict. The attack, which has already killed more than 100 people and injured another 400, including a great number […]

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Economic Consequences of South Africa’s Political Crisis

By Robert Amsterdam | Published:

Earlier this week, South Africa’s debt was downgraded by S&P to junk bond status for the first time in 17 years, which will have a very negative effect on borrowing costs. The downgrade was prompted by a dramatic, middle-of-the-night cabinet reshuffle, when President Zuma sacked about one-third of his ministers including Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, […]

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