Mon Dieu, Monsieur
"697 - Défilé pour la VIe République à la Bastille - Paris" by Jacques-BILLAUDEL is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
[The Sunday Wire is the weekly newsletter of the Modern Whig Institute.]
Whatever you do in life, try and make a friend who is just as bonkers as you are: ‘Psychopaths’ Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo are already changing Giants’ DNA
The News of the Week
Peace is unquestionably a good thing. Despite what our secretary of defense might believe, lethality isn't the sole province of the American military. Anyone with a gun is lethal. And there are a lot of guns in hands of a lot of people out there, including in the hands of Hamas and, of course, Israel.
So, the acceptance of the concepts of a plan for peace between Hamas and Israel is welcome news.
There's reason for caution, though. It's essentially the same framework as President Biden proposed in May 2024 and both sides accepted on the last day of his administration. That deal lasted just two months before falling apart when Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, tried to impose new conditions in the second phase.
Then the shooting started again. And there was a lot of shooting.
There's also the issue of the Board of Peace, with the current American president sitting as the chair. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is back as a senior advisor, and he has, shall we say, the concept of a plan of his own for Gaza:
"If the peace plan proceeds, Kushner and Witkoff will be deeply involved in a Gaza reconstruction effort. They are in early discussions with developers seeking to pursue Trump’s vision of a “Riviera of the Middle East,” and Kushner has been in touch with associates who could serve on a governance board, according to people familiar with the preparations."
Where this will all lead is anyone's guess. There isn't a more volatile sector of the Middle East than the flashpoint between Israel and Gaza. There isn't a more determined adversary of the Israelis than Hamas. And there isn't anyone who has forgotten the massacre of Oct. 7.
There also isn't anyone who didn't expect Israel to flatten Gaza after that.
But it's fair to say, Gaza has been flattened. Something like 67,000 Gazans have died in the onslaught. Perhaps that's enough for Israel to believe they've exacted their revenge. Maybe there is in fact a chance at peace.
As always, when it comes to peace, one can always — and only — hope.
Mon Dieu, monsieur.
Lest we think the United States is the only place struggling with democratic governance these days, just take a look at France. The most recent French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, resigned a few days ago in the midst of yet another in a series of crises which has paralyzed the government. Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, facing his own cratering approval numbers, accepted the resignation and began the process of forming a new government.
Which did not go well. In fact, no one other than Lecornu was foolish enough, or crazy enough, to want the job, which led President Macron to … wait for it … reappoint Lecornu as prime minister.
It's not exactly a U.S.-style government shutdown (we're uniquely talented in that regard) and the French civil service seems to trundle along regardless of whatever the politicians have gotten up to. But still, it's quite a spectacle.
It's also yet another in a string of incidents across the globe where democracies are struggling to manage their respective national affairs. It's a troubling trend.
📉 Global Democratic Trends: 2000 vs. 2025
🗓️ 2000–2005: The Democratic High-Water Mark
Around 70–80% of UN member states were classified as electoral or liberal democracies.
The post–Cold War “third wave” of democratization was still cresting.
Democratic institutions were expanding, especially in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and parts of Africa.
🗓️ 2025: The Age of Autocratization
72% of the world’s population now lives in autocracies, up from 46% in 2013.
42 countries are currently autocratizing, while only 14 are democratizing.
Freedom of expression is declining in 35 countries, setting a new record for erosion of civil liberties.
The average level of democracy globally has dropped to 1985 levels, according to population-weighted metrics.
🧭 Interpretation
The shift isn’t just about regime type—it’s about democratic quality. Even nominal democracies are seeing declines in judicial independence, press freedom, and electoral integrity.
The trend is driven by executive aggrandizement, disinformation, and polarization, often without coups or overt authoritarian takeovers.
[Sources: V-DEM Democracy Report, Democratization and International IDEA]
What are the reasons? There probably isn't one single place where we can point a finger. Certainly the script was flipped by 9/11 and the wars which followed. The world saw our war in Afghanistan as fair and just retaliation; the war for regime change in Iraq, not so much. It's at least possible the loss of faith in the world's leading democracy led to a loss of faith in democracy itself.
But a more likely explanation is the simplest one: democracy is hard. And history is replete with examples of nations, and peoples, who have traded their liberty for security.
The question for us now is whether we're about to do the same.
Odds and Ends
This is a fascinating look into the regression of the French Republic:
Chartbook 411 The twilight of Macronisme: Jean Pisani-Ferry's cri de cœur.
It's impossible to trust anything this government says. But that's what they count on: blind acceptance of their narrative and blind obedience to their orders — legal, constitutional or not:
Something like 75 percent of the 24 million people who get their health insurance through Obamacare live in states which voted Trump in 2024:
Who Gets Healthcare Subsidies Under the Affordable Care Act - WSJ
Are we finally getting sick of social media?
Passed peak social media, maybe – FlowingData
Polling suggests most Americans oppose the president's use of the military domestically, with one glaring exception. (Remember "state's rights"? Good times, good times.)
Poll: Most Americans think military should face only external threats
Gee, I wonder why we need this. And for the Qataris, no less.
US says Qatar to build air force facility in Idaho
Here's some further clarification. But we still don't know exactly what it is or what it's for:
Air Force base to host Qatari F-15 training unit
Dude, what are you doing?
The Bill Belichick Nightmare Just Keeps Getting Worse - WSJ
Pam Bondi and Krisi Noem got the SNL Cold Open this week:
Pam Bondi Hearing Cold Open - SNL
And finally, live your life in such a way that others are glad to see you remembered — almost two millennia later:
1,900-year-old Roman marker found in New Orleans yard | AP News
Kevin J. Rogers is the executive director of the Modern Whig Institute. He can be reached at director@modernwhiginstitute.org
To become a member of the Institute, click here.
