Co-Director of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, Thomas Donnelly analyzes the growing challenges to American primacy and explains why our “security, liberty, and prosperity seem to be at greater risk than at any time in a generation.” Considering mounting threats from Russia, China, the Middle East, as well as the consequences of nuclear proliferation, Donnelly argues that America has the resources to meet the challenges but today suffers from a lack of resolve. In sum, Donnelly makes a compelling case for continued American leadership in the world.

Christina Hoff Sommers is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and host of the popular online series, The Factual Feminist. In this Conversation, Sommers reflects on the “Google memo” and argues that the suppression of free speech at universities now is spilling over into other parts of American life. Sommers also returns to the subject of “GamerGate,” the backlash against political correctness by video game enthusiasts, and describes how that movement has fared in an era of online “trolling” in American politics. Highlighting the decline in free speech on one hand and norms of civility on the other, Sommers calls for an alliance of “fair-minded liberals and conservatives” to restore civic education and respect for the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights.

The latest in our ongoing series with Harvard professor Harvey Mansfield is devoted to Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) and particularly his masterwork, Gulliver’s Travels. In this Conversation, Mansfield provides an in-depth interpretation of Swift’s writing, which Mansfield calls “essentially political.” Through his illuminating analysis of Gulliver’s voyages and encounters, Mansfield uncovers Swift’s pointed though subtle critique of modernity. In sum, Mansfield argues that Swift deserves to be studied as an important thinker in the history of political philosophy.

Irwin Stelzer is Director of Economic Policy Studies at Hudson Institute, a Sunday Times (London) columnist, and a thinker who combines wisdom about politics with penetrating insights into economics. In this Conversation, Stelzer shares his perspective on threats to American democratic capitalism, including the “feeling that compensation and performance have become disconnected.” To address these current challenges, Stelzer calls for a more political approach to economics—one which is both mindful of the limitations of economics and considers the political consequences of distributional inequities. In sum, Stelzer offers a spirited defense of democratic capitalism: “not because of the goods and services it produces, but because of the freedom that it has produced.”

Ronald Brownstein is a Senior Editor at The Atlantic, Senior Political Analyst at CNN, and a shrewd observer of American politics. In this Conversation, Brownstein shares his perspective on the 2016 elections and explains why Trump’s path to victory represents the culmination of long-term trends in the ways voters relate to the political system and the two parties. Brownstein also discusses the partisan divisions in the country, today, and outlines the central political and electoral challenges facing each party—including Democrats’ lack of appeal beyond urban and coastal areas and the demographic headwinds faced by Republicans.