Wartime Media and the Russian Federation: Protecting National Interests through Indoctrination
Introduction In 2021 Russia ranked 150 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index. This annual ranking regressed from 149 to 150 following the arrests of journalists reporting on anti-government protests and the Russian government’s inability or...
Rising Tides, Sinking States: Climate Change and Implications for Statelessness
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues to date, impacting nearly every aspect of life. Climate change has influenced numerous national and international decisions regarding energy production, agriculture, and development. Though permanent effects of climate...
Could it Happen?: The Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Response to the Russo-Ukrainian War
On March 24th, President Biden announced that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would be inclined to respond if Russia were to employ the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. “We would respond…We would respond if [Putin] uses it…The nature of the response would...
The First Crypto War: Russia, Ukraine, and the role of Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has the potential to change the way the world utilizes money and financial assets, especially in times of war. The role of cryptocurrency in the Russian invasion of Ukraine is one of the first major examples of the impact of...
Video Gaming Addiction: A Case Study of China and South Korea
Introduction To wrap up summer vacation, the two leading countries combating internet and gaming addiction—China and South Korea—took a step in diverging directions. This raises the issue of which country serves as a better model for the U.S. government and American...
Language and Geopolitics: A Case Study of the Former Soviet Union
Introduction Modern studies of international relations have grown to emphasize the political importance of language in shaping how individuals think of themselves and their place in the world. [1] The utilization of a particular language implicitly attaches an...
Listen to the Youth: How Global Leaders Can Solve Climate Chaos
While the world has battled the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly extreme weather events and patterns plagued communities and regions across the globe, further exposing the infrastructural weaknesses of unsustainable human practices. Anthropogenic warming has been...
Without the Right to Choose: Women in China
Introduction In September 2021, the Chinese central government pledged to enact a policy to restrict all abortions aside from those medically necessary. With about nine million women in China obtaining abortions annually, the commitment will have a considerable impact...
US Refugee Resettlement and the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the failures in the US refugee resettlement program and simultaneously introduced new challenges to resettlement agencies. The nine resettlement agencies in the United States need more funding, publicity, and community support. As a...
A Seemingly Developed Nation: Women’s Rights in Japan
Japan is seen as one of the most economically successful, and technologically advanced countries in the world. It has the second largest economy—only behind the United States—which is highly impressive, as most of this growth occurred after the end of...
Shifting Away from the West: Erdogan’s Post-Coup Attempt Response
On July 15, 2016, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) launched an attack on the Turkish presidential administration from an air base near the capital city of Ankara, marking the bloodiest coup attempt in Turkish political history. Today, President Recep Tayyip...
India’s Mental Health Epidemic: Deteriorating Amidst the Pandemic
Introduction During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health across the globe is rapidly declining due to the additional stress and turmoil from the virus, especially in developing countries like India. Over the past year, the coronavirus pandemic has led to an increase...
Dimensions of Power: The Effects of China’s Escalating Economic Influence on the Contemporary Global Landscape
On October 6th, 2020, German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen presented a joint statement on behalf of 39 member nations to the United Nations Human Rights Committee that condemned China's recent human rights abuses, specifically, its treatment of Hong Kong, and the...
Macron’s Crackdown on Islamist Separatism
After the Brexit referendum and election of Donald Trump in 2016, centrists and leftists revered the electoral success of Emmanuel Macron and his centrist La République En Marche! (En Marche) party in the 2017 French presidential election. Macron seemed to embody the...
Imperial Evolution: The Putin-Erdogan Quandary
The Evolution of Two Empires From the Treaty of Hunkar-Iskelesi in 1833, to a recent deal for the S-400 missile defense system, history has proven that Russia and Turkey are willing to sublimate their imperialist instincts when national progress is at stake. As the...
Ghana in a Health Crisis: Striking a Balance between Saving Lives and Preserving Livelihoods
Introduction On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern [1]. Since this announcement, the 2019-nCoV outbreak, better known as the Covid-19 pandemic, has swept across the globe, leading to over 113...
A Dysfunctional Marriage
Image Credit: voanews The Republic of Turkey suffers at once from both excess of pride and vacillation. We should expect no less from the heir of the Ottoman Empire. Like that empire, Turkey straddles the junction of four different regions. But at reduced...
How Neutrality Has Historically Prevented Terrorist Attacks in Austria, Despite Recent Events
On November 2, 2020, Austria experienced a terrorist attack in its capital of Vienna. The attacker was later identified as an “Islamic terrorist” named Kujtim Fejzula, and it was discovered that the Jihadist group, Islamic State (IS), was responsible for the...
