AEI's weekly digest of top commentary and scholarship on the issues that matter most
AEI This Week
AEI's weekly digest of top commentary and scholarship on the issues that matter most
DEMOCRATS' LEFTWARD DRIFT
DSA: The Vanguard of the Radical Professionals
July 25, 2026
Since Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has had remarkable success in congressional primaries across the country. Ruy Teixeira warns ([link removed] ) that DSA’s success—fueled by college-educated professionals—will only further alienate the Democratic Party from the working-class and moderate voters it needs to win back.
dsaweb ([link removed] )
On anniversaries like our nation’s 250th, Americans can often be tempted by narratives of decline—that our country no longer lives up to the ideals or achievements of past generations. In a new essay, Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies Director Yuval Levin explains ([link removed] ) why we should reject this kind of grumpy pessimism.
Republican politicians are increasingly joining Democrats in slowing down and opposing data center construction. Michael M. Rosen casts ([link removed] ) a critical eye on this trend—debunking myths about costs and highlighting the role of Chinese influence in this threat to America’s AI dominance.
This week, Derek Scissors released ([link removed] ) the latest report on his Chinese Global Investment Tracker ([link removed] ) . Read his analysis of investment trends between January and June and his warnings about US policy failures that leave us increasingly vulnerable to Chinese economic coercion and technology theft.
With both its failed attempt to acquire Greenland and its renewed investments in defense, the Trump administration is driving seismic shifts in US Arctic policy. Writing in Foreign Affairs, preeminent Arctic security expert Heather A. Conley provides ([link removed] ) a comprehensive assessment of the new state of play on the free world’s northern front line.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 at 30
This year the Telecommunications Act of 1996—which deregulated 40 years of antitrust restrictions and opened almost all communications markets to competition—turns 30. In a new AEI compilation edited by Mark Jamison, architects of the law, policy experts, and policymakers, including former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt and Senator Deb Fischer, reflect ([link removed] ) on the law’s legacy and lessons for today about regulating technologies that are evolving faster than rules can adapt. Jamison emphasizes that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 should serve as a reminder that durable policy does not need to predict the future—it just needs to create conditions where innovation, competition, and broad public benefit can emerge.
More from AEI
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
China Has Caught Up in Frontier AI ([link removed] )
Ryan Fedasiuk | AEIdeas
Don't Fear the Socialists. Fear the Conditions That Produce Them. ([link removed] )
Samuel J. Abrams | Deseret News
Alan Greenspan and the 2008–09 Financial Crisis ([link removed] )
Phil Gramm and Jeb Hensarling | The Wall Street Journal
Destruction, Policy, and the Evolving Consequences of the 1968 Civil Disturbance in Washington, DC ([link removed] )
Stan Veuger et al. | The Review of Economics and Statistics
Why Is It Difficult for Congress to Take Action in Support of National Interests? ([link removed] )
Kevin R. Kosar | Kosar on Congress and Governance
PODCASTS AND VIDEOS
The Rise of the Kooks, the Fall of the Gatekeepers ([link removed] )
Jay Cost and Sean Trende | Stubborn Things
Guardrails for AI in Healthcare—How High? ([link removed] )
Charles N. Kahn III and Michelle Mello | KFF's The Business of Health with Chip Kahn
Why Are Groceries So Expensive? ([link removed] )
Vincent H. Smith and David Frum | The David Frum Show
The Development Paradox ([link removed] )
Jonah Goldberg and Ronald Bailey | The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg
Data Center Distortions: My Interview with Energy Policy Analyst Shuting Pomerleau ([link removed] )
James Pethokoukis and Shuting Pomerleau | Faster, Please!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
You don’t have to agree with all of [Justice] Barrett’s jurisprudence to recognize that she is, one, thinking about the law in a way that conservatives have championed for decades, and two, helping the court deliver one victory after another, both in legal and policy terms, for the right. Her opinions reflect a calm and fair-minded evaluation of the facts and arguments before her.
—Ramesh Ponnuru ([link removed] )
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