Frontiers of Freedom Blog

Overview

The Frontiers of Freedom blog explores the evolving frontlines of strategic competition—fault lines that increasingly run through digital platforms, semiconductor supply chains, shipping corridors, and the rules that govern global markets. Each post analyzes where freedom is advancing, where it is under siege, and how open societies must respond.

About the Author

Mark R. Kennedy is a first-generation college graduate whose leadership spans public service, higher education, global strategy, and civic renewal. He has served as President of both the University of Colorado and the University of North Dakota, and as a U.S. Congressman from Minnesota.

Learn More about Mark Kennedy here.

Mind The Gap

The “Mind the Gap” series spotlights disconnects between strategic ambition  and institutional execution. Whether in economic development, technology, infrastructure, or alliances, these short  essays expose policy blind spots,  misaligned incentives, and implementation  lags that weaken allied coherence.

Learn More

Featured

Strategic Competition at NYU: Four Pillars for Democratic Strength

This fall, the Wahba Initiative for Strategic Competition (WISC) begins a new chapter as part of New York University’s Development Research Institute (DRI). We do so with gratitude to Sadek Wahba for his vision and steadfast support, and with excitement to join Rajeev Dehejia, Jonathan Morduch, and Yaw Nyarko in one of the world’s premier […]

Learn More

Different Histories, Different Rules

This essay is part of my Toward a Trusted Tech Alliance series, which explores how democracies can move from fragmentation to common cause in shaping the digital future. In my last essay, Outrunning the Dragon Means Running Together, I argued that fragmentation among democracies is not just inconvenient but a strategic liability that risks ceding […]

Learn More

Made in Democracy

This post launches my Made in Democracy series, part of my broader Mind the Gap effort to expose the distance between what democracies aspire to achieve and the tools they have prepared to achieve it. From Arsenal to Afterthought In the middle of the 20th century, the U.S. was the world’s leading manufacturer. The U.S. produced […]

Learn More

Outrunning the Dragon Means Running Together

Author’s Note This essay opens my new series, Toward a Trusted Tech Alliance, exploring how democracies can move from fragmentation to common cause in the digital era. At its core is what I call a Digital Steel Accord — in other words, a foundational agreement on data and AI standards, narrow enough to be practical […]

Learn More

Peace Requires Strength and Allies

Later today, President Zelensky will meet with President Trump in Washington, accompanied by European leaders, for what may prove a pivotal moment in shaping the path to peace in Ukraine. Much of the attention will focus on whether the talks produce immediate concessions or credible guarantees. But the deeper question is how any agreement should […]

Learn More

Blog