Checking the news these days feels a lot like watching a WWE main event. We've drifted into this world of "neokayfabe," where politicians act more like wrestlers, cutting promos and casting themselves as the hero while everyone else is the villain. It's less about policy and more about generating "heat" to stay viral.

Our phones are basically the promoters in this scenario. Algorithms are rigged to feed us drama because outrage is what pays the bills. Aristotle actually predicted this slide in his cycle of government. He warned that democracy eventually degrades into ochlocracy - or mob rule - once the theater of politics starts to override actual logic. When we start valuing the spectacle more than the substance, the whole system starts to shake.

Getting back to "real" diplomacy means we have to make politics boring again. We'd need to stop rewarding the loudest performers and focus on the quiet, unglamorous work of governing. It's a tough ask when the drama is this addictive, but if we keep buying tickets to the circus, we shouldn't be surprised when the clowns stay in charge.