Author: TheConversation

By Neil K R Sehgal, PhD Student in Computer & Information Science, University of Pennsylvania; and Ashwini Sehgal, Professor, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University The legacy of slavery in America remains a divisive issue, with sharp political divides. Some argue that slavery still contributes to modern economic inequalities. Others believe its effects have largely faded. One way to measure the legacy of slavery is to determine whether the disproportionate riches of slaveholders have been passed down to their present-day descendants. Connecting the wealth of a slaveholder in the 1860s to today’s economic conditions is...

By Sefa Secen, Assistant Professor of International and Global Studies, Nazareth University The brutal 54-year reign of the Assad family in Syria looks to be over. In a matter of days, opposition forces took the major city of Aleppo before advancing southward into other government-controlled areas of Hama, Homs, and finally, on December 7, 2024, the capital, Damascus. The offensive was all the more astonishing given that the 13-year civil war had largely been in a stalemate since a 2020 ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkiye. Reports suggest President Bashar al-Assad has resigned and left the country. But what...

By John Joseph Chin, Assistant Teaching Professor of Strategy and Technology, Carnegie Mellon University; and Joe Wright, Professor of Political Science, Penn State Something unexpected – but hardly unprecedented – happened in South Korea on December 3. With little warning, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law, citing the threat from “pro-North Korean anti-state forces.” The move, which appeared more about curtailing efforts by the main opposition – the center-left Democratic Party – to frustrate Yoon’s policy agenda through their control of parliament, left many South Koreans stunned. As one Seoul resident told reporters: “It feels like a...

By Kevin Welner, Professor of Education Policy & Law; Director of the National Education Policy Center, University of Colorado Boulder In her role as former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, Linda McMahon oversaw an enterprise that popularized the “takedown” for millions of wrestling fans. But as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of education, the Trump loyalist may be tasked with taking down the very department Trump has asked her to lead. If Trump does dismantle the Department of Education as he has promised to do, he will have succeeded at something that President Ronald Reagan vowed to...

By Myunghee Lee, Assistant Professor, Michigan State University During a whirlwind few hours in South Korean politics, President Yoon Suk Yeol placed the country under martial law on December 3, 2024, only to lift it just a short while later. It marked the first time that a South Korean leader has imposed the emergency power since 1979. Although short-lived, the measure provoked concerns of the country backsliding into authoritarian rule. Myunghee Lee, an expert on authoritarianism, democracy, and South Korean politics at Michigan State University explains what happened and what it means for South Korean democracy, HOW DID ALL...

By Eric Rosenbach, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School President Joe Biden’s recent approval of a major shift in U.S. nuclear weapons strategy highlights the attention the country’s national security officials are paying to Chinese ambitions for influence in the world. As changes emerge in the types of threats facing the U.S., the American military adjusts its strategic focus, budgets and planning. For instance, after 9/11, the U.S. military refocused away from its Cold War emphasis on preparing for combat against a powerful nation – the Soviet Union – and toward fighting small terrorist and insurgent groups...