Issue 5: America
Our America issue focuses on militarism, foreign policy, technology, capitalism, and exceptionalism through the lens of a word we’re hearing with increasing frequency: multipolarity.
Dear Readers,
America is in the news again—it always is. Headlines celebrating the 2026 World Cup and the nation’s semiquincentennial run alongside grimmer ones about Iran, Gaza, ICE, and other issues in which U.S. action and policy are continuously, and often violently, implicated. Americans are celebrating and grieving in the same breath, and they’re still debating what America means, where it ends, and what its future holds.
This issue is our small contribution to that debate. The essays here look at American militarism, foreign policy, technology, capitalism, and exceptionalism through the lens of a word we’re hearing with increasing frequency: multipolarity. And we’ve tried not to let the conversation stay inside America’s borders. Several pieces come from international writers whose lives are directly shaped by decisions made in America but felt everywhere else.
As always, we’re releasing these essays gradually over the course of the month. The first two are up now.
We’re ad-free and independent, which means we depend entirely on you, dear reader. If this issue is worth something to you, consider subscribing or donating to keep us going, and share these essays with others to help us grow. For more America beyond the America issue, you can also check out our podcast episodes on the U.S. border, the Christian Right, and the fabled fascism debate.
With gratitude,
The Muftah Team
Where Does America End?
