Berkeley Political Review

UC Berkeley's Only Non-Partisan Political Magazine

The Future is for Sale on Polymarket

The 2024 U.S. presidential election was one of the most disheartening nights of the last year. It was also the first time I heard about Polymarket. This was not a coincidence, of course. As a group of friends and I were crammed in a claustrophobic dorm room watching a map of states flipping

A Utopia for Billionaires, a Nightmare for Residents

A Utopia for Billionaires, a Nightmare for Residents

In 2017, a mysterious company began buying large plots of land in Solano County, California. The company has since spent

October 24, 2025
What Silicon Valley and Shenzhen Forgot

What Silicon Valley and Shenzhen Forgot

At a startup fair in Shenzhen, often called China’s Silicon Valley, a robotic arm salutes the Chinese flag while a

October 24, 2025
How Wokeness Became Everything — And Then Nothing

How Wokeness Became Everything — And Then Nothing

President Donald Trump was sworn into office this January as part of a promise to make the United States “woke

October 23, 2025
The Power Outage That’s Breaking a Nation

The Power Outage That’s Breaking a Nation

On 25 September, at dusk, Antananarivo went dark. Mothers lit candles to cook dinner; children did their homework by phone

October 23, 2025
Who Gets to be a State? The Politics Behind Recognition

Who Gets to be a State? The Politics Behind Recognition

On September 21, a coordinated effort by the Western nations of Britain, Australia, Canada, and Portugal aimed to promote a

October 22, 2025
AB 260 Protects Reproductive Freedom Amid State Crackdowns

AB 260 Protects Reproductive Freedom Amid State Crackdowns

“California stands for a woman's right to choose,” affirmed Gov. Newsom as he signed Assembly Bill 260, a sweeping California

October 22, 2025
Why Every Home Needs a Precision-Guided Bomb

Why Every Home Needs a Precision-Guided Bomb

In December 1959, New Yorkers were met with the curious scene of Soviet soldiers on 47th Street and a new

October 21, 2025
The Enlightenment Gone Dark

The Enlightenment Gone Dark

Liberalism is the tie that binds the nation. It is imperfect – it has frayed and nearly come undone numerous

October 20, 2025
The Case for a Metrolink Land Trust

The Case for a Metrolink Land Trust

The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), or Metrolink, has been serving Los Angeles and its surrounding counties for decades,

October 19, 2025
The Inception of the Post-Roe Generation

The Inception of the Post-Roe Generation

Framed in black and written in white, Students for Life America’s posters shone through the crowds outside the Supreme Court

October 15, 2025
Not a Citizen, but Not Un-American

Not a Citizen, but Not Un-American

Uprooted from Korea, raised in Cupertino, sent back across the Pacific only to return a decade later — all of

October 14, 2025
Germany’s Free Speech Dilemma

Germany’s Free Speech Dilemma

A few supporters have gathered in front of the podium in the small eastern German town of Gera, as Björn

October 14, 2025
Serve the People, March the Nation

Serve the People, March the Nation

In Beijing’s 2025 military parade, symbolism mattered as much as firepower. Alongside next-generation drones and hypersonic missiles, President Xi Jinping

October 13, 2025
Lebanon Is A Mess … That Kind Of Works?

Lebanon Is A Mess … That Kind Of Works?

A deeply divided population. An explosion, a mass government resignation. A militia stronger than the military, an invasion from the

October 13, 2025
Four Years After the Fall of Kabul, Afghan Refugees Have Nowhere to Turn

Four Years After the Fall of Kabul, Afghan Refugees Have Nowhere to Turn

In the months after the United States-backed government of Afghanistan first fell to the Taliban, international condemnation of the regime

October 12, 2025
Indonesia and the Chronically Online Political Voice of Gen Z

Indonesia and the Chronically Online Political Voice of Gen Z

Searching Indonesia on TikTok once yielded viral videos of an 11-year-old kid racing boats and “aura-farming”. Now, the same search

October 12, 2025
The Warden of the Panopticon: Trump and the Dawn of Digital Authoritarianism

The Warden of the Panopticon: Trump and the Dawn of Digital Authoritarianism

Digital control is the bloodstream of modern authoritarianism. From the streets of Hong Kong to the border of Israel, technology

October 12, 2025
Karl Popper’s Moral Case for Rationalism

Karl Popper’s Moral Case for Rationalism

One would assume that Austrian-Jewish philosopher Karl Popper’s 1945 book, “The Open Society and Its Enemies,” would be teeming with

October 11, 2025
A Homicide Against Academia

A Homicide Against Academia

On August 14th, UC Berkeley students received an email from the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost that

October 10, 2025
Trump’s Message to California, the Nation

Trump’s Message to California, the Nation

MacArthur Park is a civic treasure of Los Angeles. It stands as a testament to the diversity and resilience of

October 8, 2025
Newsom’s Early Path to Presidency

Newsom’s Early Path to Presidency

Gov. Gavin Newsom has been making headlines recently as he is seemingly in the early stages of a 2028 bid

October 8, 2025