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,...
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...
An Era of Uncertainty: Analyzing US-Middle East Relations During the Trump Presidency
By: Connor A. McNairn* After declaring his candidacy in June 2015, President Donald Trump has gifted his most loyal followers with an abundance of exciting rhetoric and bold promises – much of which often uncomfortably borders, if not penetrates, the boundaries of...
Medicine or Poison: Why None of the Usual Inflation Prescriptions Are Viable Options for Maduro
By: Harry Nitzberg All experts on Venezuela seem to have a single word on their tongues in the past week: inflation. Inflation is “a persistent, substantial rise in the general level of prices related to an increase in the volume of money and resulting in the loss of...
The Muffled Voices of Kashmiris: Belonging to a Stateless Nation
By: Amna Rana* Sometimes, when one has been exposed to the same thing over and over again, it becomes difficult to avoid becoming numb and glance over “the thing” or ignore it. On February 11, 2018, as I read the newspaper, I glanced over the headline, “Militants...
The Road to Reconciliation
By: Mackenzie Rice* At the United Nations General Assembly in September 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a powerful and reflective speech covering a breadth of issues currently facing the Canadian public. In the most emotionally charged part of...
Glamorizing Dictators
By: Tim Bynion* Every four years, the Olympic Winter Games serves as an opportunity for countries around the world to send their best skiers, skaters, and snowboarders for a chance to claim Olympic glory for their home nations. Like any event that includes delegations...
Cracks in the Dam: Argentinian Midterm Elections
By: Harry Nitzberg* On October twenty-third, President Mauricio Macri’s “Cambiamos” (“Let’s change”) coalition was able to hold back attempts of a center-left comeback in Argentina’s midterm elections. Cambiamos’ electoral victories removed the opposition’s best tool...
US-UK Relations: The “Special Relationship” in the Age of Trump
By: Tim Bynion* To say the election of Donald Trump more than a year ago led many to question their preconceived notions on the norms of American politics is quite an understatement. While his presidency has certainly made an impact within America in countless ways,...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the JDF: The Regional Implications of Repealing Article 9
By: Cameron Bell* The recent reelection of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has raised concerns about the continuation of Japan’s pacifist nature. As the President of the Liberal Democratic Party, Abe has called for repealing or re-interpreting sections of the...
Remnants of Marawi
By: Alison Keefner* Earlier this month, United States President Donald Trump toured Asia, making stops in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines.[i] At each stop, the red carpet was rolled out for the American president, who was abroad in Asia for the...
Covert Attack on U.S. Diplomats in Cuba: Anomaly or the Future of Warfare?
By: Chaney Taggart* Our newfound optimism regarding U.S.-Cuban relations has abruptly come to an end, and this time President Trump’s tweets are not at the center of attention. The U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba reopened in 2015 during President Obama’s impressive...
