Think of our democracy as a house we built in 1776, big enough only for Christian, property-owning white men. Over the next two centuries, various groups struggled to make it bigger, with space for people of other faiths or no faith, people of color, poor people, and women. Imagine then that someone stole a shingle, or a nail — first one, then another. After many such small thefts, the structure weakens. The roof begins to fall in; whole rooms are torn down, the wreckage is carted away; eventually, all that remains is a skeleton. Democracy, as the historian Sean Wilentz wrote,…

Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world: Thank you. We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people. Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come. We will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done. Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President…

Many people charge that both the religion of Islam and realities of Muslim politics demonstrate that Islam is incompatible with democracy. Across the political and ideological spectrum, the Muslim experience has been one of kings, military, and ex-military rulers possessing tenuous legitimacy and propped up by military and security forces. In Syria, the president’s son recently succeeded his father; and some believe the rulers of Libya, Egypt, and Iraq now entertain such a possibility. Some “Islamic governments”—the Taliban’s Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan—have projected a religiously-based authoritarianism that parallels secular authoritarianism. And since 9/11, many Muslim governments have used the…

Over the course of 30 years working in Israeli intelligence, Shmuel Bar immersed himself in the hermeneutics of terrorism. Using techniques of literary analysis more familiar to Koranic scholars and Bible critics, he came to recognize the distinctive language and religious phrases that suicide bombers used in their farewell videos. “Victory is with the patient” appeared frequently in the martyrdom declarations of Hamas recruits. Al-Qaeda adherents favored the call “God, count them, kill them, and don’t leave any of them.” Bar, a tousle-haired 62-year-old with a wry sensibility, emerged from government service in 2003 amid the proliferation of global terrorism,…

Two randomised controlled trials from Goa, India, in today's Lancet assess brief psychological treatment delivered by lay counsellors in primary care for depression (the Healthy Activity Program; HAP) and for harmful drinking (Counselling for Alcohol Problems; CAP). Although WHO recommends psychological interventions for mental health disorders, evidence comes largely from high-income countries. These trials from the PRogram for Effective Mental health Interventions in Under-resourced health systeMs (PREMIUM), show feasibility, outcomes, and cost in a developing country. Depression and alcohol misuse are common problems with huge treatment gaps in low-income and middle-income countries. In India, for instance, suicide is the leading cause of…