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The Hidden Plight of the Street Level Bureaucrat
Most encounters with government happen with “street-level bureaucrats.” Brian Klaas tries to figure out what it’s like to be one for The Garden of Forking Paths.
We need sting operations for politicians
In The Garden of Forking Paths, Brian Klaas argues that corruption, lobbying, and improper political influence plague our political systems, wasting money and creating bad governance, and that randomised sting operations could expose this.
Democracy Has a Customer-Service Problem
Can incompetent airlines, hospital-billing errors, or a mix-up at the IRS erode our trust in everything? Brian Klaas thinks so, in the Atlantic.
How many politicians are psychopaths?
Dark Triad traits are over-represented in positions of power. Are the halls of Congress and Parliament overrun with psychopaths? Brian Klaas for The Garden of Forking Paths.
The Republican Trifecta of Extremism
America's Republican Party is ‘drowning in a cesspool of conspiracy theories and deranged, ratcheting extremism’. Why did that happen—and how can it be reversed? Brian Klaas explores in The Garden of Forking Paths.
Why is America so obsessed with conspiracy theories?
The history of conspiracy theories in America has a long past, but the most worrying shifts have happened in the Trump and post-Trump era. Brian Klaas explores for Public Notice.
Schemas and the Political Brain
Understanding how cognitive shortcuts work when processing new information is crucial to understanding modern politics—and it's a facet of cognition that Republicans manipulate extremely effectively. Brian Klaas for The Garden of Forking Paths.
A multipolar order in the making?
Last month, Xi Jinping’s three-day visit to Saudi Arabia led to a flurry of deals, drawing scrutiny in the US and Iran. Umberto Profazio explores why for the NATO Defense College Foundation.
Why are so many politicians like cartoon villains?
From Trump to Matt Gaetz, Steve Bannon, Lauren Boebert, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, so many terrible politicians present themselves as bizarro caricatures. Why? Brian Klaas investigates.
Xi’s Paradox: Flexible, Ideological or Both?
Kenneth Dekleva writes in The Cipher Brief that China’s vigorous and intimidating cyber-attacks, economic pressure, diplomatic pressure, and extensive military exercises highlight the importance of understanding President Xi’s leadership style.
America’s Self-Obsession Is Killing Its Democracy
The U.S. still has a chance to fix itself before 2024. But when democracies start dying—as ours already has—they usually don’t recover. Brian Klaas writes for The Atlantic.
The Fall of the Neoliberal Order
As war continues in Ukraine, how did the collapse of neoliberalism get us to the point of conflict in Europe? Arthur Snell and Gary Gerstle discuss for Doomsday Watch.
‘Businesses are a lifeline for dictators’: In conversation with Brian Klaas, professor of global politics at UCL
Brian Klaas tells Sebastian Shehadi in an interview for Investment Monitor how the Ukraine war heralds a new era for the relationship between democracies and autocracies. Business as usual cannot go on.
Is Negotiating with Putin even possible at this point?
Jason Pack and Kenneth Dekleva’s write for The Cipher Brief on if Negotiating with Putin even possible at this point and how negotiation psychology is critical in understanding Putin’s desires.
It’s Time to Beat Putin at Poker and Call His Bluff
Jason Pack writes for Foreign Policy that Putin’s disordering leadership style cannot be understood through the metaphors of chess or martial arts, but by viewing the current confrontation between the West and Russia as a game of televised poker.
Author Talks: Why your boss may indeed be a psychopath
McKinsey Global Publishing’s Author Talks chats with Brian Klaas, who speaks to some of the world’s most corrupt people and says we need to rethink the way we select our leaders.
Why Putin Is Playing Poker, Not Chess
Jason Pack writes for New Lines Magazine that Russia and the West are now at war. And the delicate dance leading to conflict between nuclear powers is a form of poker, not chess. Putin is used to bluffing and stealing the pot.
Why we always get the wrong political leaders — and how to get the right ones
Power attracts those most likely to abuse it and then makes them worse. So how do we stop voting for narcissistic psychopaths? Brian Klaas explains for The Times.
Twilight Of The Oiligarchs – The end of petrochemical power?
What happens to the Middle East when the world stops buying its oil? As the world races to decarbonise, the region’s petrochemical plutocrats face a terrible decision. To keep power, they must cut off their addiction to oil, but this won’t be easy. Arthur Snell discusses on Doomsday Watch.
The Prospect Interview #208: Brian Klaas: Does power corrupt or do the corrupt choose power?
When most people are decent, why are there so many bad leaders, politicians and CEOs? Are despots made or born? Brian Klaas discusses his new book, Corruptible, with The Prospect Podcast.