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
TURMOIL IN EAST ASIA
South Korea Is an Indispensable Ally
August 22, 2026
This week, President Trump disrupted US policy on the Korean Peninsula by suspending military exercises with South Korea while lavishing praise on Kim Jong Un. Recently returned from a trip to South Korea, AEI Fellow Ryan Fedasiuk reflects ([link removed] ) on the state of the alliance.
north-korea ([link removed] )
The potential of generative artificial intelligence to disrupt the US labor market has drawn comparison to the “China shock” of the early 2000s. AEI Economic Policy Studies Director Michael R. Strain debunks ([link removed] ) the idea that normalized trade relations with China accelerated US deindustrialization but highlights two lessons policymakers can learn from that event to help US workers navigate the AI transformation.
Ever since the passage of welfare reform 30 years ago, progressives have tried to deny the success of work promotion in reducing dependency and poverty. In a new essay for National Review, AEI Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility Director Scott Winship and Deputy Director Kevin Corinth dissect ([link removed] ) the flawed data behind Democrats’ repeated attempts to restore unconditional cash assistance.
Instead, policymakers should be looking to apply the success of work requirements to other parts of the safety net. The Trump administration is doing just that with public housing, as Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner has proposed a new rule allowing localities to adopt work requirements and time limits for tenants. Writing in the New York Post, AEI Senior Fellow Howard Husock takes ([link removed] ) New York City to task for rejecting this federal reform.
Last month, Vanderbilt University published and formally adopted a new declaration of principles that, among many provisions, explicitly rejects politicized scholarship, embraces viewpoint diversity, and recognizes the university’s obligations to American society above any global engagement. AEI Center for the Future of the American University Codirectors Benjamin Storey and Jenna Silber Storey discuss ([link removed] ) the strengths and weaknesses of this welcome attempt to rebuild public trust in higher education.
A Digital Divide in American Adolescence: Gender, Class, and the New Teenage Experience
In a new AEI report based on the 2026 American Teenagers Survey, Survey Center on American Life Director Daniel A. Cox examines ([link removed] ) how American teenagers are living, connecting with each other, and thinking about their futures. Many teenage experiences are less common than they once were—dating, working a part-time job, and experimenting with drugs and alcohol have all declined. In their place is increasing technology use—which among older teen girls is associated with less satisfaction and less excitement about life. Gender and education are emerging as important divides on technology use, but also on other core experiences: 60 percent of girls plan to attend four-year college, compared to just 36 percent of boys. Across the board the survey reveals a generational shift in the definition of what a good life looks like.
More from AEI
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
How Congress Is Aggravating the Munitions Crisis ([link removed] )
Elaine McCusker | The National Interest
A Medicare-for-All Gift Is Staring the GOP in the Face ([link removed] )
Ramesh Ponnuru | The Washington Post
Pennsylvanians Agree the Tax System Is Unfair. They Just Disagree on Why. ([link removed] )
Sean Trende | RealClearPolitics
The Test of US-China Ties Is in the Western Pacific, Not Washington ([link removed] )
Hal Brands | Bloomberg Opinion
The Constitution Gets in the Way ([link removed] )
John Yoo | Civitas Outlook
PODCASTS AND VIDEOS
Debt and the Deficit ([link removed] )
Roger Zakheim and Michael R. Strain | Reaganism
What Should I Read This Summer? Israel on Trial by Roy Altman ([link removed] )
Danielle Pletka et al. | What the Hell Is Going On?
Not Losing the Iran War ([link removed] )
Jonah Goldberg and Hal Brands | The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg
The Great AI Race as a Clash over Compute ([link removed] )
James Pethokoukis and Ryan Fedasiuk | Faster, Please!
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Best Shot at President Is Now, Trump Already Won the Iran War, and Woke 2.0 ([link removed] )
Howard Husock et al. | The Rod & Greg Show
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
The reforms so urgently needed in higher ed will be the work of scholars and administrators ready to fight for their own institutions, even at some cost to their comfort and standing on campus.
—Gary Rosen ([link removed] )
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