Category: International Relations

Conflicts and Terrorism International Relations

Security at Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

By Benjamin Cohen on June 6, 2016 Brazil, national security, Olympics

Brazil is notorious known internationally for its violent crime, which has made the country “the murder capital of the world,” according to Newsweek.

Conflicts and Terrorism International Relations

Civ-Mil relations hinder stabilization operations worldwide

By Meggie Morris on June 6, 2016June 6, 2016 humanitarian aid, post-conflict stablization, stabilization operations, u.s. military, UN, United Nations

As wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on, and as new conflicts emerge, stabilization operations around the world are becoming increasingly crowded and complex.

International Relations

The US Steel industry vs the Obama Administrations trade plan

By Kristen Vake on June 6, 2016June 19, 2016 foreign imports, steel, steel industry, trade

Last year more than twelve thousand steelworkers in the United States were laid off because of unfair trade, illegally imported steel and steel dumping, according to the United Steelworkers Union.

The boom and bust of the steel mining industry is nothing new, it’s a cycle that is anticipated and expected. But the steel industry says it’s up against something bigger now – unfair trade and the Obama administrations trade plan, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Conflicts and Terrorism Domestic Politics International Relations Privacy and Civil Liberties

Democracy, Human Rights in the Federal Budget Request for the MENA region

By Satvika Khera on June 2, 2016June 3, 2016 Egypt, Human Rights, MENA, politics, Syria

Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Tunisia in an act of “desperation” and rebellion against the government. Five years on, the protests in Sidi Bouzid have set a precedent for democratic governance in the region. With the release of FY17 budget requests for assistance for human rights and governance to countries in the region, we analyze the US priorities in Egypt, Tunisia and Syria and break down the idea of an “overly securitized” approach in the MENA region with the FY2015 expenditure on democracy and governance programming reaching an all-time low. With pro-democracy organizations playing a limited role in a “repressive environment,” how can we leverage on the assistance to bring reform in the political scenario in the region and what does this reform look like? We also look at a 14 million USD request in the FY17 proposal for political competition and consensus building in Syria and what that implies for the region.

International Relations

The geopolitics of fracking

By Marisa Endicott on May 26, 2016 conflict, energy, extraction, fracking, fuel, gas, geopolitics, hydraulic fracturing, international relations, Iraq, market, Middle East, oil, politics, shale boom, USA

While recent debates over hydraulic fracturing have remained mostly in the domestic sphere, the significant geopolitical effects of this huge shift in fuel production continue to play out.

International Relations

Medill Student Journalists Cover the News in Pakistan

By Ellen Shearer on May 17, 2016May 18, 2016 Medill students, Pakistan

In February, eight graduate journalism students traveled with Medill Professor Craig Duff to Pakistan to work alongside professional reporters at some of the country’s top newspapers, magazines and television news channels.