Sam Ratner

Sam Ratner writes The World's Critical State newsletter.

Sam Ratner writes Inkstick Media'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.

A man holds a portrait of Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba who has taken the reins of Burkina Faso, in Ouagadougou, Jan. 25, 2022. 

Undemocratic shifts for state control: Part I

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into the sudden proliferation of undemocratic shifts in state control that has reignited a series of debates about coups.

Undemocratic shifts for state control: Part I
A Pittsburgh police officer stands in a downtown Pittsburgh intersection Sunday, May 31, 2020.

If not police, what? Part II

If not police, what? Part II
A Kenyan police officer talks on his phone inside the compound of the command center in Malindi, Kenya, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018. 

If not police, what? Part I

If not police, what? Part I
Afghan police arrive at the site of an attack at Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020.

​​​​​​​What does ‘legitimacy’ mean: Part II

​​​​​​​What does ‘legitimacy’ mean: Part II
Government soldiers wait on a helicopter at the airport in San Pedro, southwestern Ivory Coast, Friday Jan. 10, 2003, before heading to an area near Grabo, also in the southwest, where government forces are fightng rebels.

What does ‘legitimacy’ mean: Part I

What does ‘legitimacy’ mean: Part I
Activists shout slogans to mark anniversary of death of Chinese Nobel prize winner Liu Xiaobo outside a district court in Hong Kong, Monday, July 13, 2020. 

Protest projection: Part II

In this week's Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, Sam Ratner takes a deep dive into new research on what happens when Chinese political prisoners make an appeal to an international audience.

Protest projection: Part II
In this Friday Jan. 20, 2012, file photo, anti-Syrian regime protesters gather at a square as they hold an Arabic banner, center, reading, "Hey, the miserable, the tyrant, what else," during a demonstration at the mountain resort town of Zabadani, Syria.

Protest projection: Part 1

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive into why protests led to military interventions in Bahrain, Syria, Libya, and Yemen, and how those interventions played out.

Protest projection: Part 1
Philanthropist Bill Gates attends the World Leaders' Summit "Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment," at the COP26 Summit, in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. 

Foundations of international relations: Part II

How do philanthropic foundations get involved in international climate policy — and what kinds of reforms do they favor? Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive into this question this week.  

Foundations of international relations: Part II
In this June 21, 2019, file photo, George Soros, founder and chairman of the Open Society Foundations, looks before the Joseph A. Schumpeter award ceremony in Vienna, Austria. 

Foundations of international relations: Part I

What happens when major philanthropy tries to influence the international system? This week's Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, tackles this question.

Foundations of international relations: Part I
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, speaks with European Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn during a meeting of the College of Commissioners at EU headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021. 

Monetary policy by other means: Part II

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into the security effects of keeping orderly budgets. Fighting a war requires raising money, and raising money requires convincing potential donors and lenders that you’re a good investment risk.

Monetary policy by other means: Part II
Bank customers write Arabic words thats read "Riad is a thief. Thieves" (Riad Salameh, the governor of Lebanon's Central Bank) on a facade of bank in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 19, 2021.

Monetary policy by other means: Part I

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into the effect that central banking can have on conflict.

Monetary policy by other means: Part I
In this Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, file photo, people pass a banner reading "STOP EBOLA," forming part of Sierra Leone's Ebola free campaign in the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone. 

How do 'whole-of-government' programs actually work? Part II

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive into the "whole-of-government" approach to the Ebola crisis in West Africa.

How do 'whole-of-government' programs actually work? Part II
In this Jan. 28, 2012 file photo, members of the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) patrol west of Kabul, Afghanistan. 

How do 'whole-of-government' programs actually work? Part I

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive into how the implementation of whole-of-government counterinsurgency varied between the Swedish and German experiences in the war in Afghanistan.

How do 'whole-of-government' programs actually work? Part I
In this Sept. 29, 2021, file photo, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies before the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. A new Pentagon plan calls for incorporating the realities of a hotter, harsher Earth at every level in th

Political climate: Part II

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive into how the US military might be bad for the planet: It's the single-largest petroleum consumer in the world and is also the largest greenhouse gas emitter.

Political climate: Part II
A flare burns natural gas at an oil well on Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, North Dakota.

Political climate: Part I

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive into the political and climate risks of fossil fuel production.

Political climate: Part I