By Alexis Bibeau Understanding Riots The riots that shook Nanterre and several other French cities last June followed a well-established script. Following the killing of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old teenager, by a police officer during a traffic stop, many residents of working-class and underprivileged neighborhoods (including a significant number of minors) expressed anger and outrage... Continue Reading →
The Importance of Political Community
By Logan M. Williams Nationalism as a Bulwark Against the Populist Threat to Democracy The latest Latinobarómetro – an annual survey designed to measure the attitudes towards democracy across Latin America (alternatively, Ibero-America) – has been released, and it contains harrowing data, which confirms the greatest fears of democracy advocates around the world: Latin America... Continue Reading →
Erdogan is Trapped Between Business and Voters: The Political Economy of Migration
By Mehmet Yaşar Altundağ and Abdullah Esin Amid the turmoil in Turkish politics triggered by viral videos on social media that show how Afghan-Pakistani immigrants easily pass the Turkish borders, President Erdogan gave a very clear speech on May 9th 2022: “We will protect these brothers who have fled war to the end... They may... Continue Reading →
Why the US Military Values a PhD in Political Science
By Lieutenant Colonel Nerea M. Cal In the summer of 2021, reports of the chaotic and rushed withdrawal from Afghanistan dominated the news, with harrowing images of Afghans – desperate to escape what would surely be oppressive rule by a Taliban government – clinging to the landing gear of U.S. Air Force cargo aircraft as... Continue Reading →
Local Democracy and the Anti-War Narrative in Russia
Local Democracy and the Anti-War Narrative in Russia: Insights for the Present, Lessons for the Future? By Guzel Garifullina When a municipal council member from Moscow, Alexey Gorinov, stood up during a council meeting in March 2022 and suggested a moment of silence for the victims of the invasion in Ukraine, he might have realized... Continue Reading →
The Real Danger of AI to Democracy
By Jose Marichal A 2022 article in the journal Nature detailed the study by which a team of researchers took a machine learning model published by Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (called MegaSyn) trained to identify potential pharmaceutical drugs and asked it to come up with toxic compounds that would mirror the composition of VX nerve gas.... Continue Reading →
The Next Iteration of Legal Scholarship
By Kevin Frazier Law reviews--legal publications edited by law school students and the main outlet for articles written by law professors and other legal scholars--may have outlived their utility. Still, they not only persist, but continue to expand in number and volume. The time has come to stop relying on law reviews as the dominant... Continue Reading →
Violence Against Civilians: The Wagner Group, Brutality and Exploitation of Africa
By Akinyetun, Tope Shola The incidence of violence in Africa has exponentially increased over the last decade. There has been an increase in violent extremist attacks, terrorism, insurgency, farmer-herder crises, identity conflicts, climate-induced violence, and banditry – inter alia – resulting in the deaths of thousands of people and the destruction of property. Data from... Continue Reading →
Thomas Scandal is the Latest Example Of Why Court Reforms are Necessary
By Tiffany Muller During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas has vehemently opposed transparency measures designed to root out corruption. So, it should come as no surprise now that he’s at the center of one of the most damning scandals in Supreme Court history. In 2010, the Court’s Citizens United decision allowed... Continue Reading →
Putin, Accountability, and the International Criminal Court
By Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr. and David Bernell There is a line in scripture that says, “If anyone causes one of those little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea”... Continue Reading →