Twenty-four years ago, the Democrats were a party in trouble. They had just lost their third consecutive presidential election, and the prospects for the future looked bleak. In response, William Galston and Elaine Kamarck wrote one of the most important political white papers of our time: “The Politics of Evasion,” an essay that diagnosed the party’s ills and urged the Democrats to change course. Their advice was controversial, but it was heeded by some important people—including one Bill Clinton. In our current issue, Galston and Kamarck revisit that landmark paper and find that it still holds valuable lessons for a party lost in the wilderness—this time, the Republicans.

Also in the issue: Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace takes a look at our deteriorating relationship with Russia. Richard V. Reeves, Isabel Sawhill, and Kimberly Howard of the Brookings Institution call on progressives to begin paying attention to the “parenting gap.” Henry Farrell of George Washington University explores the world of technology intellectuals. And Bruce Raynor and Andy Stern rebut Rich Yeselson’s “Fortress Unionism” essay from the previous issue.

In the books section, we have Joan Walsh on George Packer’s take on American decline; Seyla Benhabib on the late Albert O. Hirschman; J.J. Goldberg on Daniel Jonah Goldhagen’s new book on anti-Semitism; Meg Jacobs on the history and politics of austerity; and Diana Wueger on the continuing debate over guns.