"At least 100 American colleges and universities illegally withheld information on approximately $13 billion in undocumented contributions from foreign governments, many of which are authoritarian.... Speech intolerance—manifesting as campaigns to investigate, censor, demote, suspend, or terminate speakers and scholars—was higher at institutions that received undocumented money from foreign regimes." — ISGAP report, "The Corruption of the American Mind," November 2023.

Qatar makes it possible for Ivy League universities to claim that they receive no funds from the Qatari state, because the donations are funneled through the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, a not-for-profit organization established in 1995 by the Emir of Qatar. This ensures that the foundation can identify itself as a private organization, which enables Qatar to conceal its state funding as private donations.

"At the time of writing, the State of Qatar contributes more funds to universities in the United States than any other country in the world, and raw donation totals omit critical, concerning details about the nature of Qatar's academic funding." — ISGAP report, "Networks of Hate," December 2023.

"We would pay them [journalists]... Some of them have become MPs now. Others have become patriots.... We would pay [journalists] in many countries. We would pay them every year. Some of them received salaries. All the Arab countries were doing this. If not all, then most of them." — Former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim, February 2022.

Another case of the pendulum swinging in the opposite direction concerns the United Nations and diplomacy in general. The UN Security Council is likely to remain inoperative for the foreseeable future, while the Secretary-General, having tripped over the Gaza war, has lost much of his authority as arbiter of international conflicts.

A broader and potentially more important pendulum swing in 2024 would be away from the mushy consensus formed during the golden days of globalism.

Finally, the pendulum looks likely to swing in favor of small- and/or medium-sized nations capable of adopting non-ideological and effective policies in the interest of their people. After all, no nation is small or medium as such; it's the leadership that makes a country small or great.