Op Eds

January 27, 2026, Wall Street Journal, ICE Needs the DOGE Treatment.

January 1, 2026, Wall Street Journal, Trump Isn’t Leaving a Legacy Built to Last. PDF.

February 12, 2025, Austin American-Statesmen, with colleagues, Lawmakers in DC Must Halt Destruction of USAID

PDF version

January 30, 2025, Toronto Globe and Mail, Executive Orders Are Ghosts in the American Machine — And Trump’s Are Undermining Democracy

January 22, 2025, Austin American-Statesman, Trump Declared Jan. 20 Liberation Day. Liberation From What?PDF Version

January 20, 2025, Inside Higher Ed, Hopes and Fears: Higher Ed Leaders Sound Off on Trump’s Return to Power

April 29, 2024 - “End the War on Universities,” CNN.com.

March 21, 2024 - “Pass Ukraine Support Now,” with colleagues, Dallas Morning News PDF Version

February 9, 2024 - “Border Tensions Reflect Conflicting Visions of What US Should Look Like.,” TRTWorld.com.

January 3, 2024 - “What We Need From University Leaders,” CNN.com.

November 30, 2023 - “What Henry Kissinger Never Understood.” CNN.com.

August 2, 2023 - “Why the Judge Chosen in DC is the Right One for Trump's Trial” (with Eric Klein). CNN.com.

July 20, 2023 - “In Tough Times, Russia Turns To A Cold War Comrade.” CNN.com.

January 11, 2023 - “Democrats Have a Gen Z Problem” (with Samuel Abrams). Business Insider.

December 19, 2022 - The Founders Set Up a System to Hold Leaders Like Trump Accountable. CNN.com.

November 13, 2022 - Biden Can Still Get Things Done. Achieving National Unity Isn’t One of Them. New York Times.

October 8, 2022 - Historical Lessons for a New Generation of Leaders (with William Inboden). CNN.com.

October 4, 2022 - Putin’s Effort to Make Conquest Acceptable Again. Not Even Past.

March 24, 2022 - Democracies Must Liberate Themselves from Fossil Fuel Dictatorships. (with Clark Miller). CNN.com.

December 28, 2021 - Give Young People the Vote (with Samuel J. Abrams and Zachary Suri). The Hill.

December 11, 2021 - The Good News for the GOP is Only Temporary (with Samuel J. Abrams). Politico.

November 27, 2021 - Are Gen Zers Past Partisanship? (with Samuel J. Abrams). Los Angeles Times. PDF Version.

November 24, 2021 - Some Surprising Facts About College Students’ Politics (with Samuel J. Abrams). Real Clear Policy.

November 12, 2021 - Democrats Should Not Take Gen Z For Granted (with Samuel J. Abrams). Newsweek.

April 27, 2021 - Biden Has Brought the Presidency Back (with other authors). CNN.com.

November 9, 2020 - After the Election, What’s Next for America? (with other authors). CNN.com.

November 4, 2020 - American Elections Have Become a Drama Frustratingly Divorced from Democracy. CNN.com.

September 10, 2020 - Texas Governor Abbott’s “Back the Blue” Pledge is a Return to Jim Crow. Urbanitus.

August 28, 2020 - 2020 Will Be the Youth Election, with Samuel Abrams. The Dispatch.

June 2, 2020 - “We the People” trumps “commander-in-chief.” CNN.com.

May 13, 2020 - Young Activists Hold the Key to a Better Future, with Samuel Abrams. CNN.com.

January 18, 2020 - White House Distorts History and Defends Bribery of Senators. CNN.com.

January 8, 2020 - Congress and the War Powers Act. CNN.com.

December 27, 2019 - Historians Reflect on the Turbulent Decade Ending 2020, and What Comes Next. Politico.

December 19, 2019 - The Historic House Vote to Impeach Trump. CNN.com.

October 31, 2019 - How “All Politics is Local” became “All Politics are Global.” Urbanitus.

October 23, 2019 - Trump is no George Washington; What the First President Teaches about Public Service. CNN.com.

October 2, 2019 - Trump is the First President Who Does Not Care About National Security. CNN.com.

January 30, 2019 - The Case for Independent Presidential Candidates. CNN.com.

December 12, 2018 - Is the Senate Still the Nation’s Conscience? The Hill.

November 15, 2018 - How The Midterm Elections Will Affect US Foreign Policy. LSE USA Centre Blog.

July 17, 2018 - Trump’s Surrender to Putin Creates a Constitutional Crisis. Austin Statesman. (Broken link to Austin Statesman article). Capital Times.

May 25, 2018 - Renewing Democracy on Memorial Day. Dallas Morning News.

March 19, 2018 - Lessons from the Iraq War on its 15th Anniversary. CNN.com.

March 9, 2018 - Assessing Obama’s Legacy. Historians’ Views. CNN.com.

November 7, 2017 - Election Day Isn’t About Counting Votes. It’s About Whose Votes Count. Washington Post.

October 11, 2017 - Trump’s Attacks on Economic Regulations Will Create Another Era of Robber Barons. The Conversation.

October 1, 2017 - How Our Government Fell Apart: And How to Begin to Put the Pieces Back Together. New York Daily News.

September 21, 2017 - Restoring the Presidency to What the Founders Intended. Dallas Morning News. Corpus Christi Caller Times.

September 7, 2017 - Trump is Everything the Founding Fathers Feared in a President. History News Network.

August 22, 2017 - Trump Disrespects Nation-Building, but it is the Key to Long-Term Victory in Afghanistan. New York Daily News.

Memorial Day, Leadership, and National Service:

May 28, 2017 - San Antonio Express-News

May 28, 2017 - Waco Tribune-Herald

May 28, 2017 - Austin Statesman (Broken link).

May 27, 2017 - Houston Chronicle

May 26, 2017 - Dallas Morning News

May 25, 2017 - Psychology Today

Trump’s First 100 Days of Shame

May 1, 2017 - Houston Chronicle

April 30, 2017 - The Monitor (Broken link).

April 28, 2017 - USA Today

April 28, 2017 - Waco Tribune-Herald

April 28, 2017 - Abilene Reporter-News

April 28, 2017 - Corpus Christi Caller Times

April 27, 2017 - Dallas Morning News

April 27, 2017 - Austin Statesman (Broken link).

February 21, 2017 - Trump is Taking Us Back to the Late 1920s. Dallas Morning News.

What Trump Should Say in His Inaugural Address.

January 13, 2017 - Houston Chronicle

January 11, 2017 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

January 10, 2017 - Dallas Morning News

January 10, 2017 - Austin Statesman (Broken link).

January 9, 2017 - Psychology Today

December 3, 2016 - Could Public Service Heal Our Nation’s Wounds? Houston Chronicle. Waco Tribune.

November 21, 2016 - How the Electoral College Can Save the Republic (with Jeffrey Tulis and Sanford Levinson). New York Daily News.

Renewing Our National Strength Requires Shared Sacrifice (with Mark Eaker)

November 10, 2016 - Dallas Morning News (Broken link).

November 10, 2016 - San Antonio Express-News

November 10, 2016 - Austin Statesman (Broken link).

November 5, 2016 - Houston Chronicle

A Deeply Divided Nation Needs the Next President to Go Big

November 1, 2016 - Florida Sun Sentinel

October 31, 2016 - Dallas Morning News

October 26, 2016 - Austin Statesman (Broken link).

October 25, 2016 - Rio Grande Guardian

Since 9/11 Our Fears Have Harmed Us, More than the Terrorists Have

September 11, 2016 - Houston Chronicle

September 11, 2016 - Newsday

September 11, 2016 - San Antonio Express-News

September 11, 2016 - Wisconsin State Journa

September 11, 2016 - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

September 11, 2016 - Lexington Herald Leader

September 11, 2016 - Desert Sun

September 11, 2016 - Holland Sentinel (Broken link).

September 11, 2016 - Herald and Review

September 9, 2016 - Arizona Daily Sun

September 7, 2016 - Dallas Morning News (Broken link).

July 19, 2016 - Republicans Have a Moral Duty to Oppose Trump: Lessons from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Houston Chronicle. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Austin Statesman. (Broken Austin Statesman link).

How America’s Violent, Tribal Culture Supports Mass Shootings

June 21, 2016 - Houston Chronicle

June 16, 2016 - Providence Journal

June 15, 2016 - Philadelphia Inquirer

June 15, 2016 - Knoxville News Sentinel

June 14, 2016 - The Monitor (Broken link).

June 13, 2016 - Dallas Morning News (Broken link).

June 13, 2016 - Austin Statesman (Broken link).

June 13, 2016 - Waco Tribune

March 22, 2016 - Historical Lessons for Fighting Terrorism. Dallas Morning News. (Broken link).

March 5, 2016 - Lessons from the Alamo for North America Today. Houston Chronicle.

February 14, 2016 - Justice Antonin Scalia’s Legacy. Dallas Morning News. (Broken link).

January 23, 2016 - How Presidents Try to Shape Policy Through the Supreme Court. San Antonio Express-News. Austin Statesman. (Broken Austin Statesman link).

December 18, 2015 - Sending More US Troops to the Middle East will Repeat Past Mistakes. Orlando Sentinel.

November 19, 2015 - Admitting Refugees Will Help Defeat ISIS. Houston Chronicle.

November 11, 2015 - We Need More Veterans’ Voices in our Policy Debates. Houston Chronicle. Capital Times, Wisconsin.

October 11, 2015 - Why Presidential Elections Matter. Austin Statesman. (Broken link).

September 6, 2015 - Historical Lessons for Choosing the Next President. Dallas Morning News. (Broken link).

Fall 2014 - Spring 2015 - Weekly Column on Politics, History, and Foreign Policy. The Daily Texan. (Broken link).

July 26, 2015 - The Iran Nuclear Deal Offers Time and Openness. Austin Statesman. (Broken link).

May 22, 2015 - The Enduring Costs of War, and Our Patriotic Duty. Houston Chronicle.

December 7, 2014 - On Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Attack, Future of U.S-Japan relations. Houston Chronicle.

October 2, 2014 - How America Helped ISIS (co-written with Andrew Thompson). New York Times.

July 31, 2014 - Unconditional Israel Support Does Not Serve U.S. Interests. Houston Chronicle.

July 28, 2014 - States Should Act to Contain Russia’s Proxy Wars. Daily Texan. (Broken link).

May 5, 2014 - A Certain Breed of Fascism: Containing Putin’s Russia. Alcalde Magazine.

December 20, 2013 - Intolerance, Boycotts, and the ASA. Academe Blog.

April 13, 2013 - Neutralizing North Korea. New York Times.

January 18, 2013 - Defending Democracy by Teaching History. Real Clear Politics.

January 9, 2013 - What Kind of History Should We Teach?. Alcalde Magazine. Academe Blog.

June 19, 2012 - The Crisis of Our Universities. CNN.com.

May 2, 2012 - Obama’s Strategic Retreat in Afghanistan. CNN.com.

March 12, 2012 - America’s Self-Defeating Cycle in Afghanistan. CNN.com.

October 26, 2011 - Is America Really an Empire? Salon.

October 14, 2011 - America the Overcommitted. New York Times.

October 7, 2011 - Our Next Step in the Middle East. Daily Beast.

September 27, 2011 - How to Leave a Strong Afghanistan. CNN.com.

April 10, 2010 - Obama’s Anti-Nuclear Vision After the Cold War. Aargauer Zeitung (Zurich, Switzerland). English Language Version.

February 28, 2010 - Where are the Kissingers for the 21st Century? Toronto Globe and Mail.

November 6, 2009 - Twenty Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall. From the Cold War to a “Common European Home.” Aargauer Zeitung.

October 18, 2005 - The Real History of the Korean War. Read this editorial in Korean, Japanese, and English at The Chosun Ilbo. (Broken link).

July 2007 - A chance for Bush to salvage his foreign policy. Read the full editorial at the Boston Globe and New York Times.