The post examines recent developments in model city projects, including California Forever's plan in Solano County, updates on Praxis and Prospera, and brief mentions of other global initiatives. Longer summary

This post discusses several model city projects, focusing on California Forever's plan to build a new city in Solano County, California. It details the project's ambitious goals, potential challenges, and the mixed reactions it has received. The post also covers updates on Praxis, a highly visionary city-building project, and Prospera, a special economic zone in Honduras facing legal battles. Finally, it briefly mentions other model city developments worldwide. Shorter summary

The post examines the compatibility of Islam and liberal democracy by analyzing six Muslim-majority countries, finding a wide spectrum of outcomes and concluding that Islam often acts as an obstacle to liberal democracy. Longer summary

This post examines the compatibility of Islam and liberal democracy by analyzing six Muslim-majority countries: United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Lebanon. The authors review each country's history, constitution, democratic institutions, and human rights record to assess the extent to which liberal democracy has taken hold. They find a wide spectrum, from Tunisia's robust democracy to Iran's theocratic regime, with the other countries falling in between. The authors conclude that while it's possible for Muslim countries to adopt liberal democracy, Islam often acts as an obstacle, and most Muslim countries have only taken small steps in that direction so far. Shorter summary