Author: TheConversation

By Matthew Wilson, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of South Carolina Americans, it seems, can both value the idea of democracy and not support it in practice. Since 2016, academics and journalists have expressed concerns that formerly secure democracies are becoming less democratic. Different measures of democracy, such as scores produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Freedom House and the Varieties of Democracy Institute, have suggested as much based on data over the past decade. The surveys have sounded alarms about the future of democratic governance in places such as the U.S., which the International Institute for Democracy...

By Virginia Raguin, Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita, Visual Arts, College of the Holy Cross The striking Emancipation Memorial statue in Washington DC, shows Abraham Lincoln standing, while a man wearing only a loincloth is appearing to rise from a kneeling position. The face in the memorial is that of Archer Alexander, who had escaped slavery in 1863 by fleeing to St. Louis, Missouri. Fundraising for a memorial was launched in 1864 by Charlotte Scott, who had been enslaved in Virginia before moving to Ohio. She did not design the monument, however. As a historian of art, I argue...

By Joseph G. Amoroso, Assistant Professor of American Politics, United States Military Academy West Point; Lee Robinson, American Politics Program Director, United States Military Academy West Point In general, Americans do not trust their government institutions as much as they used to, and that includes the military. In part, that’s because the military can be used as a tool to gain a partisan advantage rather than as a professional group that should be trusted by both parties. For instance, the day he was inaugurated as president, Donald Trump spoke at a luncheon and pointed to retired Marine four-star generals...

By Nkiru Nnawulezi, Associate Professor of Community Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Lauren Cattaneo, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, George Mason University About 1 in every 3 women, and 1 in 4 men, will experience domestic violence over their lifetime. Since domestic violence can escalate to the point of serious injury or murder, survivors must take action to increase their safety – potentially even fleeing their homes. Of the total homicides that occurred in the U.S. in 2020, 34% of women and 6% of men were murdered by their intimate partners. Research has clearly shown the connection between...