Ein Wendepunkt für die globale Korruptionsbekämpfung
In der Kaskade aufsehenerregender Dekrete von US-Präsident Donald Trump sticht der letzte Woche verkündete Schritt, die Anwendung des Gesetzes gegen Auslandsbestechung für sechs Monate auszusetzen, auf den ersten Blick nicht heraus. Näher besehen könnte diese Executive Order aber die globale Antikorruptionspolitik unterminieren und die wirtschafts- und sicherheitspolitischen Interessen Europas nachhaltig schädigen. Zur Debatte steht mit dem Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) nämlich jenes Gesetz, mit dem die transnationale und globale Korruptionsbekämpfung im Jahr 1977 ihren Lauf nahm.
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Trump’s Straussian Shysters: The Scary Sequel
Nearly three years ago I wrote here about the far-right constitutional theory behind Trump lawyer John Eastman’s role in the inept yet deadly January 6, 2021 coup attempt against then President-elect Joe Biden. I described the idiosyncratic reworking by Eastman and other so-called west-coast Straussians at California’s Claremont Institute of the ideas of the German-Jewish refugee Leo Strauss, an imposing, deeply conservative political theorist, into an apology for an executive-directed counterrevolution aimed ostensibly at restoring the original US constitutional order. Little did I imagine that Strauss’ Claremont disciples would soon enjoy a political comeback, and that they would once again be wreaking constitutional havoc.
Continue reading >>Transgender Rights at a Crossroads in the United States
In his first month in office, US President Donald Trump has issued a series of sweeping executive orders targeting transgender rights. These orders build on political terrain that is now exceedingly hostile to transgender rights. In this post, I briefly examine the landscape for transgender rights in the United States, analyze what President Trump’s executive orders on transgender rights aim to do, and then discuss the stakes of United States v. Skrmetti, the pending Supreme Court case that will likely set out the framework that federal courts will use in adjudicating transgender rights cases under the Trump administration and beyond.
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Trump und der neue Faschismus
Seit der Inauguration Trumps zum 47. US-Präsidenten zieht Elon Musk mit einem Gefolge aus Tech-Ingenieuren und Führungskräften seiner diversen Firmen durch die Bundesbehörden in Washington und verschafft sich Zugang zu Gebäuden, Daten und Computersystemen. In diesem Prozess positionieren sich Akteure der Big Tech Industrie als Profiteure und als Betreiber einer neuen, technologischen Regierungsinfrastruktur – eingeklinkt über die Zugänge zu Computer- und Bezahlsystemen, die Musk sich gerade verschafft. Diese Entwicklung stellt einen neuen Qualitätssprung im politischen Projekt Trumps dar. Sie ist am besten mit dem Wort Faschismus zu beschreiben.
Continue reading >>TikTok’s last dance
“On January 19, we still have President Biden, and on January 19, as I understand it, we shut down.” With these words—foreshadowing the final ban of the TikTok app in the United States—Noel Francisco, legal representative of ByteDance, the Chinese parent company, addressed the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments on January 10, 2025. One week later, the Supreme Court issued its ruling: TikTok’s appeal was dismissed. The court’s reasoning merits examination, while the implications remain uncertain, particularly as a Trump executive order temporarily blocks the ban’s enforcement.
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The US Supreme Court and Plutocracy
Populist authoritarianism is a global phenomenon. However, the US is the only so-called consolidated democracy where its ascent has been eased by the systematic dismantling of legal limits on campaign donations. US elections are now not only the world’s most costly, but they are also directly subject to the inordinate influence of wealthy individuals and corporations. The Supreme Court of the United States’ 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling has paved the way for the emergence of so-called “super” PACS (political action committees) that, while formally barred from coordinating with candidates or parties, can accept unlimited corporate contributions.
Continue reading >>One Step Further Towards Global Plutocracy
On his first day in office, US President Donald Trump signed dozens of Executive Orders on various issues. Among those receiving little public attention was the announcement of the US withdrawal from the OECD project on reforming global corporate taxation. This step, although expected, is a major setback for the only global plan aimed at increasing economic fairness that has any real chance of success.
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Trump and the Folklore of Capitalism
How can we make sense of the return of Donald Trump, who again convinced enough US voters of his populist bonafides? Populist authoritarianism has made inroads around the world. Only Trump’s version, however, probably brings together so much wealth and power, with super-rich business executives now at the helm. Here I tap a brilliant but neglected book, The Folklore of Capitalism (1937), by the legal scholar and New Deal trustbuster, Thurman Arnold (1891-1961), to understand this remarkable development. Folklore of Capitalism helps explain Trump’s wide appeal, despite the electorate’s disagreements with many of his policy preferences.
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Zuckerberg’s Strategy
On January 7, 2025, and in the days following, the founder and CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, made a series of statements that framed Meta's previous and future content policy with an evidently strategic intention. The change of content moderation policy, as described in three comprehensive points in his personal announcement on his own platforms, may even sound reasonable, as discussed below. However, the reasoning and the framing of these changes appear to show that Meta is up to something entirely different from just further optimizing its curation of content on its platforms.
Continue reading >>Ein König zum Unabhängigkeitstag
Der U.S.-amerikanische Supreme Court hat entschieden, dass offizielle Amtshandlungen von Präsidenten Immunität genießen. Anlass war das Verfahren gegen Donald Trump, der sich wegen seiner Beteiligung am versuchten Aufstand vom 6. Januar 2021 vor einem Gericht verantworten muss. Die Entscheidung ist ein voller Erfolg für Trump und wird nicht nur weitere Strafverfahren beeinflussen, sondern auch über den aktuellen Fall hinaus weitreichende Konsequenzen zeitigen. Der Supreme Court hat den USA in der Woche des 248. Unabhängigkeitstages einen neuen König geschenkt.
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Trump and the American Problem of the Commons
Americans missed another opportunity on Monday to reduce the threat Donald Trump presents to constitutional democracy in the United States and in other countries. The Supreme Court in Trump v. Anderson unanimously overturned decisions that held Trump ineligible to run for the Presidency. Three justices acknowledged that Trump is an “oathbreaking insurrectionist.” None challenged that Trump committed treason on January 6. Nevertheless, in an unsigned per curium opinion that had some basis in policy, but little or no foundation in the constitutional text or history of the Fourteenth Amendment, the justices ruled that states had no power to determine whether persons were eligible for the presidency under Section 3.
Continue reading >>Who’s Afraid of Militant Democracy, U.S. Style
Yesterday, Professor Samuel Issacharoff asked “Can it really be that one public official in Maine can remove a national presidential candidate on her say-so?” Professor Issacharoff and I, as well as every proponent of disqualification I know of, agree on a basic point. Right-wing populist authoritarianism cannot be defeated by legal decree. Government by the people cannot be maintained by means other than government by the people. Disqualifying individual candidates who resort to violence when they lose the vote, however, does not raise the difficulties that concern Professor Issacharoff and are consistent with democratic rule.
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