Sam Ratner

Sam Ratner writes The World's Critical State newsletter.

He is also a contributing editor Zitamar News and graduate a of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Sam writes about civil wars, statebuilding, southern Africa and progressive security policy.

Recent Stories

Critical State

Misusing culture in international politics: Part II

Inkstick Media

September 15, 2020

Critical State takes a deep dive into scholar Anna Meier's new article that examines why the German government is so bad at responding to white supremacist violence.

Critical State

Misusing culture in international politics: Part I

Inkstick Media

September 08, 2020

Neoconservative intellectuals have long turned perceptions of East Asian culture into ammunition for a global political agenda, according to historian Jennifer Miller. Critical State takes a deep dive into Miller's new article that charts these patterns.

Critical State

The international politics of COVID-19: Part II

Inkstick Media

September 01, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has often been portrayed as a system-altering shock to international relations. Critical State takes a deep dive into the work of political scientist Daniel Drezner, who predicts that COVID-19 will result in a greater entrenchment of existing international power structures.

Critical State

The international politics of COVID-19: Part I

Inkstick Media

August 25, 2020

How likely are governments to implement border restrictions to fight a pandemic? Critical State takes a deep dive into new research by political scientists Michael Kenwick and Beth Simmons that examines border closures as a measure to contain the coronavirus.

Critical State

Legislating peace and security: Part II

Inkstick Media

August 18, 2020

This week, Critical State digs into new research about legislative oversight when it comes to security issues. As historian Peter Roady writes in a new article in the Journal of Policy History, the National Security Agency has escaped congressional oversight with two words: "It's classified."

Critical State

Legislating peace and security: Part I

Inkstick Media

August 11, 2020

Critical State takes a deep dive into new research by political scientist LaGina Gause, who developed a formal model to explain why legislative bodies are more responsive to some protests than to others.

Critical State

The long-lasting scars of Japanese American internment

Inkstick Media

July 28, 2020

Critical State, our weekly global security newsletter, takes a deep dive into new research on how the scars conflict leaves on regular civilians express themselves in post-conflict politics. In a new working paper, political scientists look into the long-term effects of Japanese internment camps in the US.

Critical State

Conflict researchers on the COVID-19 era

Inkstick Media

July 21, 2020

In this week's Critical State, Sam Ratner takes a deep dive into the latest thinking by leading qualitative security researchers on what conflict studies can teach us about understanding the effects of COVID-19.

Critical State

Illiberalism isn't just rising — it's spreading (Part II)

Inkstick Media

July 14, 2020

The International Department is the diplomatic wing of the Communist Party of China. It has zeroed in on training foreign parties in its own image, using tools that allow the CPC to teach the blocking and tackling of its approach to governance to a wider audience than ever before. Critical State's Sam Ratner looks into new research on the ID-CPC's global reach.

Critical State

Illiberalism isn't just rising — it's spreading (Part I)

Inkstick Media

July 07, 2020

Why does there seem to be a global rise in illiberal laws that restrict nongovernmental organizations and civic life? Critical State's Sam Ratner looks at research on how policies that restrict civic life spread.

Sam Ratner

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