**Originally published in The Cornell Review dated March 29, 2020* On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed the Afghan Peace Deal. The deal is a landmark attempt to end the nearly two decades-long war in Afghanistan. The war that began following the 9/11 attacks of 2001, has resulted in nearly 2400...
Above Credit: The Atlantic Failed States and Global Security Nearly 2 million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, making it the most serious refugee crisis in Latin America’s recent history. These refugees are fleeing what has in effect become a failed state, and most are finding refuge in neighboring Colombia, which has emerged from over...
This essay is written largely to those on the right of center on the political spectrum. I myself used to be sceptical on the theory of man-made climate change, but witnessing the proliferation and heightened intensity of extreme weather events over the last several years has made me rethink my position. Hopefully, my perspective...
This entry is the third and final part of a three part essay outlining the contemporary structural challenges of US governance. For Part I, click here. For Part II, click here. The rudderless state of the US Congress, with no clarifying initiative from an increasingly weakened chief executive is especially disturbing in light of recent...
For Part I, click here Distrust within the body politic toward each other and institutions like the American presidency is not simply the fault of Donald Trump. The meme of Donald Trump being a unique threat to American democracy creates a far too simplistic narrative that media figures have exploited in part due to preconceived...
Many pundits have predicted that the Trump administration is poised to launch a limited strike, a bloody nose, on North Korean military targets to deter a rapidly advancing ballistic missile program. They point to worrying developments such as the administration refusing to nominate Victor Cha as ambassador to South Korea due to his...
Donald Trump’s populism galvanized millions who were cynical and enraged about the current failed state of American politics. He railed against politicians too cowardly to secure America’s border and stop illegal immigration. He called for a radical departure from America’s never-ending, fruitless investment in the world. He intuitively understood that a nation with third world infrastructure should not spend...
Our elite politicians have established a bipartisan consensus to harbor intense hatred toward Russia. In the wake of the latest Russian hacking allegations, political figures of all stripes have been tripping over one another to prove that their hawkish Cold War fever is unmatched. Failed presidential candidate Evan McMullin claimed in McCarthyite fashion that President-Elect...
David Sanger, Chief Washington Correspondent for the New York Times, gave a lecture on Tuesday at Cornell entitled, “What Happened to the ‘Light Footprint’ Strategy? President Obama and Interventions Around the World.” His visit was sponsored by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. Sanger, an experienced journalist with expertise in foreign policy, nuclear proliferation...
On Thursday, the Cornell International Affairs Review (CIAR) sponsored a discussion about the highly controversial nuclear agreement reached between Iran and a group of world powers, including the United States, which is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The discussion consisted of a panel of Cornell faculty: Iago Gocheleishvili, Near Eastern studies, Elizabeth...