Chaos in Venezuela: The Perils of Failed Petrostrates and Bloated Executives
By: Connor A. McNairn* Venezuela, a once rich and powerful Latin American state sitting on the world’s largest oil reserves, presently serves as a compelling case study in the vulnerabilities of petrostates and the consequences of poor governance. Venezuela’s oil...
The Territorial Dispute Over the South China Sea
By: Molly Cook* As early as the 1970s, countries began to claim islands and various zones in the South China Sea.[1] However, recently China has intensified their territorial ambitions in the South China Sea, showing no remorse for their aggressive and destructive...
A New Economy For Africa: The effects Of Chinese Infiltration
Bézawit Tenna * As the proverb says, “Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime.” That implies if you give a man the answer, he will only have a temporary solution. But if you teach him the principles...
Checking In: Reviewing Progress in UNDP’s Development Goals
By: Theron Abell* In 2015, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) created a list of aspirations for the global community. Referred to as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) these seventeen targets are designed to be met by 2030. By examining a handful...
Challenging Africa’s Upcoming Elections: Female Heads of States
By: Fatime Beri* On October 25, 2018, Ethiopia’s parliament approved senior diplomat Sahle-Worke Zewde as the country’s first female president. In a unanimous vote during the second Special Joint Session of Ethiopia's two houses of parliament - the House of Peoples'...
No Rest for the Rohingya: A Call to Action
By: Ezihe Chikwere* Ethnic, religious, and cultural differences can be catalysts for perpetuated violence. However, the recurrence of violence around the world should not lead the international community to normalize crimes against humanity. Due to every state...
The Regional Legacy of Rwanda’s Genocide
By: Harold Niebel* April 7, 1994 marks a day of solemnity and mourning for Rwandans, as it is a day to reflect on the Rwandan Genocide that occurred in the early 1990s. In 100 days, 800,000 Tutsis were massacred on the streets of Rwanda, and millions of Rwandans...
Can Global Leaders Compromise by December in Order to Establish Guidelines for the Paris Accord?
By: Alyssa Lennon* On the morning of September 14th, Hurricane Florence landed in North Carolina, wreaking havoc on the eastern coast of the United States despite having downgraded to a Category 1 storm by landfall[1].The storm decimated the southeastern United...
The Decline of the American Image
By: Ryan Kirby* President Trump campaigned heavily on his promise to put America first and it has played a large part in how he has enacted foreign policy. Just over eighteen months into his presidency, President Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris...
The World Trade Organization: Predictability or the Fog of Isolation
By: Cameron Bell* Since his election in 2016, President Trump has railed against numerous international organizations including the World Trade Organization (WTO). President Trump argues that membership in the WTO harms U.S. economic interests, and his administration...
The U.S. in Yemen: Complicity in Human Rights Violations and Responsibility for Growing Iranian Influence
By: Connor A. McNairn* Peaceful transitions of power are often overlooked or taken for granted by those who enjoy the stability of political systems that foster them. But for states lacking the political infrastructure to facilitate such transitions, separatist...
The Empire of Passion and Dreams
By: Finn Hasson* In the introduction to his 1897 masterwork Un coup de dés jamais n’abolira le hasard (A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish Chance), French Symbolist Stéphane Mallarmé rejected the characterization of his work as radical. He agreed that the poem’s...
The Rock and the Hard Place: Belarus’s Uncertain Future
By: Finn Hasson* On the windswept plains of Belarus, Europe’s last dictator finds himself between a rock and a hard place. To the east, Belarusian President Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko has a powerful ally in Moscow. Belarus has always enjoyed (or endured,...
Australia Says Yes to Same-Sex Marriage
Same-sex marriage has been an ongoing issue around the globe since before it was first legalized in The Netherlands in 2000. Since then, there have been many countries who have followed suit including such as South Africa, Belgium, and now Australia, who chose to use...
Apples and Oranges: the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Crises
By: Harry Nitzberg In the past month, both the governments of Venezuela and Nicaragua have been faced with street protests that brought life to a standstill. Protesters in Managua blocked streets, “clash[ed] with government security forces[,] barricaded...
Facebook and Social Media: A Perplexing Challenge to the International Community
By: Connor A. McNairn* In a world where social media platforms facilitate individuals’ exposure to news, current events, and the lives of friends and family, Internet access is a necessity. Because social media and Internet use are omnipresent, those utilizing...
The Cipollino Affair: Russian Interference in Catalonia
By: Finn Hasson* In mid-February of this year, the Department of Justice announced that the Grand Jury for the District of Columbia would press charges against 13 Russian nationals for exercising “improper foreign influnce on U.S. elections and on the U.S. political...
SESTA, International Organizations, and the Danger of Conflating Sex Work and Sex Trafficking
The sex industry is massive, global, and exists in both the regulated, transparent world and the underground black market. Sex trafficking has been identified as an issue to address by government agencies and international organizations that tackle illicit...
