The Shell Company of the Republic: How the Board of Peace Became Trump Organization Foreign Division By Lawson Akhigbe

Start with the constitutional oddity sitting in plain sight. The Board's Charter names Donald Trump personally not the office of the President, not the United States as a state party, but Donald J. Trump as inaugural Chairman, with a term that survives his presidency. He can only be removed through voluntary resignation or a unanimous vote of the Executive Board finding him incapacitated, and he alone selects his successor. No sitting president inherits the chair by virtue of the office; a future occupant of the Oval Office might find themselves outranked, within an organisation their own government helped charter, by a private citizen of their predecessor's choosing.

When the Tail Wags the Watchdog: The Death of Local Democracy by Lawson Akhigbe

The genius of constitutional democracy is not merely that elections are held. It is that power is divided. Every institution is expected to possess enough independence to say “no” when necessary.

The Two-Week Presidency: Trump, Obamacare, Iran and the Politics of Perpetual Promises by Lawson Akhigbe

Whether the subject is healthcare, trade, infrastructure, peace in the Middle East or now Iran, there is a familiar rhythm. An announcement. A flourish. A declaration that success is “very close.” Then another announcement. Then another. Like a magician whose favourite trick is promising that the rabbit will appear in just one more hat.

Married to the Game: The Many Lives, Many Pivots, and Final Curtain of Lindsey Graham By Lawson Akhigbe

For over three decades, the South Carolina Republican became one of Washington’s most recognisable political figures, surviving scandals, ideological earthquakes, party revolutions and presidential feuds with the resilience of a cactus in a drought