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Order from Ashes

@orderfromashes.bsky.social
494 followers 176 following 195 posts

International policy that's independent, critical, and progressive.

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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Lebanon's grassroots solar boom has mostly benefited those who own their homes and can afford the investment—installations have plateaued at <25% of households. A new report by @erverd.eurosky.social offers a case study of one way the boom could become more equitable: tcf.org/content/repo...
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Read the commentary here: tcf.org/content/comm...
tcf.org
New Pipelines Won’t Solve the Hormuz Crisis
Just a few weeks into the U.S.–Israeli assault on Iran, it became clear that the Islamic Republic would not collapse. On the contrary, the war provoked
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz on March 2, Western hawks have revived colonial-era schemes to build pipelines from the Gulf to Israel. These fantastical proposals won’t work, and cannot solve the growing energy crisis. New report from CI fellow Zack Cuyler.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Read the whole report here: tcf.org/content/repo...
tcf.org
Road Warriors: How a Fight Over Trucking Explains the New Syria
On February 6, Syrian freight truck owners and drivers mounted a national strike and organized demonstrations on key road arteries across the country.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Syrian truckers successfully fought to shield their industry from the economic liberalization agenda of Ahmed al-Sharaa's government. Now, the Syrian business community is crying foul. The story underlines the tense challenges facing Syria’s new leaders. New report from @abujamajem.com
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Available on all platforms youtube.com/watch?v=BXIG... open.spotify.com/episode/2MpY... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
youtube.com
A US War Economy That Destroys Value
YouTube video by Century International @ TCF
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
America’s war economy helps no one. Short term: ends lives, undermines democracy, makes daily life unaffordable. Long term, even worse: pitches world into recession and dystopia. New Order from Ashes episode from @eamonka.bsky.social and @tcambanis.bsky.social youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Title image for Order from Ashes podcast episode "A War Economy That Only Destroys"
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Reposted by Order from Ashes
Sam Heller | سام هيلر @abujamajem.com · 02/04/2026
@centuryintl.bsky.social colleague @eamonka.bsky.social lays out how Trump's war on Iran – in addition to being monstrous and wrong – will also incur all kinds of second-order economic costs, making Americans' lives materially worse: tcf.org/content/comm...
tcf.org
The Iran War’s Forever Costs Will Far Exceed the Immediate Pain for Consumers
The most headline-grabbing economic effects of the Iran war are immediate, directly felt in consumers’ daily life: Pump prices are up 35 percent, and the
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Read more: tcf.org/content/comm...
tcf.org
The Iran War’s Forever Costs Will Far Exceed the Immediate Pain for Consumers
The most headline-grabbing economic effects of the Iran war are immediate, directly felt in consumers’ daily life: Pump prices are up 35 percent, and the
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
The pain that consumers are feeling from the Iran war is real, and likely to get worse. But those short-term costs are only the tip of the economic iceberg, writes CI editor-in-chief @eamonka.bsky.social in a new commentary.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Read more tcf.org/content/repo...
tcf.org
Solar Killed Dirty Energy in Rural Lebanon. Here’s What Other Countries Can Learn.
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation The Century Foundation
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Rural Lebanon’s near-total transition to solar is inspiring for emerging economies, writes CI contributor Camillo Stubenberg in a new report. But it also carries warnings: left unmanaged, Lebanon’s unlikely solar revolution could harden into another tale of haves and have-nots.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Read more tcf.org/content/repo...
tcf.org
Solar Killed Dirty Energy in Rural Lebanon. Here’s What Other Countries Can Learn.
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation The Century Foundation
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Lebanon’s energy crisis spurred a stunning revolution in rural solar energy. But cities are still chugging diesel. Broadening the benefits of solar requires good state policy, argues CI contributor Camillo Stubenberg.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Read more from our fellows in our roundtable on the Iran war. tcf.org/content/comm...
tcf.org
Roundtable: War on Iran Was Easy to Start. It Won’t Be Easy to End.
President Donald Trump decided to join Israel and attack Iran early on Saturday, February 28—a reckless move that positions the United States as a rogue
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
With Iranian drones hitting Iraqi targets and local militias choosing sides, CI fellow @sajadjiyad.bsky.social 's warnings from our recent roundtable on the Iran war are looking grimly prescient.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Read more from our fellows in our new roundtable on the Iran war. tcf.org/content/comm...
tcf.org
Roundtable: War on Iran Was Easy to Start. It Won’t Be Easy to End.
President Donald Trump decided to join Israel and attack Iran early on Saturday, February 28—a reckless move that positions the United States as a rogue
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
So far, a combination of diplomacy and Houthi interest calculations have kept the Yemeni militants out of the Iran war, writes @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social. But if they enter the fray, it could have serious implications for global shipping.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Read more from our fellows in our new roundtable on the Iran war. tcf.org/content/comm...
tcf.org
Roundtable: War on Iran Was Easy to Start. It Won’t Be Easy to End.
President Donald Trump decided to join Israel and attack Iran early on Saturday, February 28—a reckless move that positions the United States as a rogue
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
America won’t be able to control when the Iran war ends, writes @tcambanis.bsky.social. But leaders should use all means to block funding for America’s continuing participation. Meanwhile, the most vulnerable—in the US and worldwide—will suffer from eroded security and spiking energy prices.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Read more from our fellows in our new roundtable on the Iran war. tcf.org/content/comm...
tcf.org
Roundtable: War on Iran Was Easy to Start. It Won’t Be Easy to End.
President Donald Trump decided to join Israel and attack Iran early on Saturday, February 28—a reckless move that positions the United States as a rogue
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
The "forever war" paradigm doesn't really describe the Iran war, writes @abujamajem.com. This U.S.–Israeli attack is something more acute, and immediate—this is a war of aggression, chaotic and wild.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Read more from our fellows in our new roundtable on the Iran war. tcf.org/content/comm...
tcf.org
Roundtable: War on Iran Was Easy to Start. It Won’t Be Easy to End.
President Donald Trump decided to join Israel and attack Iran early on Saturday, February 28—a reckless move that positions the United States as a rogue
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Israel has shifted from managed containment to comprehensive destruction writes @yaelmiz.bsky.social. Long-term consequences will be devastating.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Hezbollah escalated a war with Israel that had never ended, despite a nominal ceasefire. Renewed fighting will punish Lebanese civilians, but will probably also further weaken Hezbollah. @abujamajem.com in new roundtable tcf.org/content/comm...
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
The predictable regional fallout has begun from America's reckless war of choice against Iran. New roundtable from @tcambanis.bsky.social @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social @sajadjiyad.bsky.social @yaelmiz.bsky.social @abujamajem.com tcf.org/content/comm...
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Read more from @charlielawrie.bsky.social: tcf.org/content/repo...
tcf.org
Fossil Fuel Dependency Is the Real Cause of Lebanon’s Energy Crisis
Lebanon’s energy crisis is nothing new. Intermittent blackouts and crumbling infrastructure have been a problem for decades. But with the total collapse
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Lebanon’s grinding energy crisis has benefited generator owners, smugglers, and large fuel importers. But in a new report based on three years of fieldwork, @charlielawrie.bsky.social identifies a more basic, root cause of the crisis: the country’s structural dependency on fossil fuel.
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Read more: tcf.org/content/repo.... With support from @XCEPT_Research
tcf.org
From Smugglers to Supply Chains: How Yemen’s Houthi Movement Became a Global Threat
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation The Century Foundation
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Only int'l cooperation can stop the Houthi arms program. But US disengagement & regional tensions make a coalition unlikely. Now, there’s growing danger the Houthis are exporting their deadly capabilities to war zones in Africa. - @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social @veenaa.bsky.social + Henry Thompson
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Read more: tcf.org/content/repo.... With support from @XCEPT_Research
tcf.org
From Smugglers to Supply Chains: How Yemen’s Houthi Movement Became a Global Threat
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation The Century Foundation
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
In a decade, Yemen’s Houthis have transformed from low-tech insurgent group to regional power that can fire missiles up to 2,600km. Our new report shines a light on the inner workings of the Houthis’ startling expansion. By @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social @veenaa.bsky.social + Henry Thompson
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Read more: tcf.org/content/repo...
tcf.org
From Smugglers to Supply Chains: How Yemen’s Houthi Movement Became a Global Threat
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation The Century Foundation
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
No one has been able to constrain the Houthis. Why? Using OSINT research, our report reveals how the Houthis built an astonishing arsenal in secret using a complex web of global supply chains. By @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social @veenaa.bsky.social and Henry Thompson & w support from @XCEPT_Research
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
To stop settlements, sanctions need to address state and institutional support. Otherwise, the settlement enterprise will continue to expand and foreclose the possibility of equal rights for Palestinians in a Palestinian state. Read more: tcf.org/content/comm... (5/5)
tcf.org
Sanctions Can’t Solve the Israeli Settlement Problem
Burned houses and mosques, kidnappings, pogroms, masked thugs attacking unarmed olive harvesters: in the last few years such Israeli settler violence has
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Settlements aren’t a sideshow. They’re the centerpiece of Israel’s policy to control Palestinians and make a Palestinian state impossible. (4/5)
tcf.org
Sanctions Can’t Solve the Israeli Settlement Problem
Burned houses and mosques, kidnappings, pogroms, masked thugs attacking unarmed olive harvesters: in the last few years such Israeli settler violence has
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
@yaelmiz.bsky.social argues that current sanctions misdiagnose settler violence as a matter of individual accountability. Sanctions fail when they treat settlements as an aberration rather than what they are: a project of state policy. (3/5)
tcf.org
Sanctions Can’t Solve the Israeli Settlement Problem
Burned houses and mosques, kidnappings, pogroms, masked thugs attacking unarmed olive harvesters: in the last few years such Israeli settler violence has
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Many policymakers in Europe and the US have called for sanctions on “extremist settler violence” in response to ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank. But sanctions, as currently conceived, haven’t worked, and probably aren’t going to. (2/5)
tcf.org
Sanctions Can’t Solve the Israeli Settlement Problem
Burned houses and mosques, kidnappings, pogroms, masked thugs attacking unarmed olive harvesters: in the last few years such Israeli settler violence has
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
The settlement enterprise is not separate from the Israeli state—it is the Israeli state. So argues @yaelmiz.bsky.social in a new commentary. (1/5)
tcf.org
Sanctions Can’t Solve the Israeli Settlement Problem
Burned houses and mosques, kidnappings, pogroms, masked thugs attacking unarmed olive harvesters: in the last few years such Israeli settler violence has
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
@yaelmiz.bsky.social argues that current sanctions misdiagnose settler violence as a matter of individual accountability. Sanctions fail when they treat settlements as an aberration rather than what they are: a project of state policy. (3/5)
tcf.org
Sanctions Can’t Solve the Israeli Settlement Problem
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation The Century Foundation
000
Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Many policymakers in Europe and the US have called for sanctions on “extremist settler violence” in response to ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank. But sanctions, as currently conceived, haven’t worked, and probably aren’t going to. (2/5)
tcf.org
Sanctions Can’t Solve the Israeli Settlement Problem
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation The Century Foundation
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Elections remain mostly free, though there are storm clouds on that horizon, as well. But the study results indicate that voting still offers Americans an escape hatch from an antidemocratic nightmare. Full report: tcf.org/content/repo... (5/5)
tcf.org
Century’s New Democracy Meter Shows America Took an Authoritarian Turn in 2025
At a time when experts are warning of unprecedented democratic backsliding in the United States under the second Trump administration, how should people
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
But civil society, higher education, and rights also severely suffered in 2025—especially because of immigration enforcement that violated rights and due process. (4/5)
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
The core problem is an all-powerful executive branch, made worse by a pliant Congress, a compromised judiciary, and grand corruption. t.co/4ykYgUCz0O (3/5)
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
TCF’s new US Democracy Meter uses 23 indicators and a 100-point scale to analyze the erosion of American democracy in 2025. The results: American democracy is now at greater risk than at any time since Watergate, & may even be approaching its pre-Civil Rights Movement low. (2/5)
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
In the first year of Trump 2.0, the United States went from being a passing if imperfect democracy to sliding into authoritarianism: new Century Foundation findings from @nateschenkkan.bsky.social @tcambanis.bsky.social tcf.org/content/repo... (1/5)
tcf.org
Century’s New Democracy Meter Shows America Took an Authoritarian Turn in 2025
At a time when experts are warning of unprecedented democratic backsliding in the United States under the second Trump administration, how should people
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
@freddydeknatel.bsky.social argues that, without reforms, reconstruction risks ushering in a new era of cronyism and corruption in Syria, benefiting only Sharaa’s allies and international developers, while the Syrian people continue to be locked out of key decisions. tcf.org/content/comm... (3/3)
tcf.org
Syria’s Reconstruction Risks Cutting Out the Syrian People
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation The Century Foundation
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Reconstruction of Syria’s infrastructure has an estimated price tag of $400b—20x the size of the country’s GDP. But the Syrian people aren’t getting a say in how it’s done. (2/3)
tcf.org
Syria’s Reconstruction Risks Cutting Out the Syrian People
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation The Century Foundation
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Syria’s new president, former rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, is big on inclusive rhetoric. But when it comes to his reconstruction agenda, the reality is falling far short of the marketing—new commentary from @freddydeknatel.bsky.social tcf.org/content/comm... (1/3)
tcf.org
Syria’s Reconstruction Risks Cutting Out the Syrian People
The Century Foundation The Century Foundation The Century Foundation
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Order from Ashes @orderfromashes.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
The authors argue that Trump has doubled down on militarized approaches at the expense of human development, threatening to deepen the very instability U.S. policy purports to prevent. The cuts pose long-term risks to America’s influence and standing in the region. (4/4)
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