The most revealing measure of U.S. competitive power isn’t found in military operations against Iran or a looming $1.5 trillion defense budget. It’s in our private economy. SpaceX closed with a market cap larger than the gross domestic product of most nations on June 12, its first day of public trading. In the prior two weeks, Anthropic and OpenAI filed to go public, both chasing $1 trillion valuations.

“Democracy is something that people must always be doing.” With that line, three-time Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Rick Atkinson framed a March 3 conversation at Duke about the American Revolution, leadership and the enduring responsibilities of citizenship. Atkinson, this year’s Egan Professor for American Grand Strategy, joined Distinguished Lecturing Fellow John Hillen for a fireside chat in Reynolds Industries Theater hosted by the American Grand Strategy program.

On Wednesday evening, members of the Duke community joined POLIS for a discussion exploring the question: "Why Public Service?" The conversation, moderated by Sanford Professor of the Practice Jenni Owen, featured POLIS Distinguished Fellows Dr. John Hillen, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and decorated combat veteran; Michael Regan, former EPA Administrator; and Danny Werfel, former IRS...

In the latest episode of Sanford's Policy 360 podcast, guest John Hillen says that only a third of native-born Americans can pass the citizenship test that American immigrants are required to pass. He is part of a new bipartisan commission trying to change that. The goal is to revitalize the teaching of American civics and history.

New summer reading from Duke authors includes timely books on race, history and political polarization, useful books on finance, health and mentorship and good reads of poetry and fiction. Plus: for the kids, there’s a primer on subatomic particles. Below is a roundup of some of the most recent and upcoming published titles. Many of the books, including new editions of previous titles, can be found on the “Duke Authors” display shelves near the circulation desk in Perkins Library.

ACTA President Michael Poliakoff welcomes The Honorable John Hillen, distinguished resident fellow at the Center for Politics in Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and an executive-in-residence of the Political Science Department. Dr. Hillen is a combat veteran and Bronze Star recipient, a former assistant U.S. secretary of state, a successful business leader, and the author of The Strategy Dialogues: A Primer on Business Strategy and Strategic Management.