How an obscure scholar is shaping the most powerful country on Earth

Open this photo in gallery: The ideas of René Girard, a French-American scholar of literature and religion, greatly influenced billionaire Peter Thiel as well as Vice President JD Vance.PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: BRYAN GEE/THE GLOBE AND MAIL. SOURCE PHOTOS OF RENE GIRARD AND JD VANCE: AFP George A. Dunn is a scholar of philosophy and religion at Zhejiang City University in China and Indiana University Indianapolis in the United States. In 2015, a reality-TV star and real-estate mogul descended a golden escalator to announce a presidential bid that would upend American politics. That same year, a quieter exit took place on the…