Archive

Safety at a Price: The Effect of Israel’s Security Culture on Palestinians in the West Bank

From the 25-foot tall concrete barrier wall to the hundreds of military checkpoints, Israel employs a pervasive security culture in the West Bank. Since Israel’s controversial creation, it has faced numerous security risks, from terrorist attacks to foreign invasions, all of which potentially pose a threat to Israel’s sustained national security. These external risk factors […]

Net Neutrality and the Monopoly on Information

The Internet today is a vast ocean of data being downloaded, uploaded and transmitted all over the world at lightning fast speeds.  Our current dependence on technology has become so fundamental that we are now considered to be living in the “Information Age.” Not only is the breadth of information seemingly limitless, but is also […]

Military Politicization in the Arab Spring

The Arab Spring in Northern Africa and the Middle East is arguably the first widespread  liberal democratic uprising in the history of the region.  While nearly every country in this area  of the world experienced backlash against the government in one form or another, the North African Arabian belt, specifically Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria, […]

4 Years of Citizens United: The Damage and Its Solution

January 2014 marked the 4th anniversary of the highly controversial Citizens United v. Federal Electoral Committee verdict, in which the Supreme Court granted corporations and unions complete first amendment rights. The Court ruled that these entities are allowed to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advocacy as long as that money is not given […]

A Letter to Kerry on Afghanistan

  Dear Secretary Kerry: The women of Afghanistan need your help. As head of the diplomatic service of the United States, you have the power to shape US bilateral relations with Afghanistan and therefore direct US involvement in the country. Your recent participation in Afghan peace talks shows that Afghanistan is a top priority; I […]

Syria’s Frontlines: Creative Resistance as a Tool to Challenge the Official Discourse

The Syrian uprising is not merely an armed struggle between regime forces and different opposition groups, as the mainstream media and politicians describe it. When looking closer at the uprising, something becomes clear; there is also a cultural struggle with words as the primary weapon in music, literature, humor, slogans and theatre that is taking place […]

Lebanon vs. Jordan: Refugees and Instability

The Middle East has experienced some of the worst refugee crises in modern world history. The repeated floods of refugees, from Palestinians to Iraqis to Syrians, have heavily impacted both Lebanon and Jordan in particular. In many ways, these states have addressed refugees in a similar institutional manner, yet Lebanon has experienced turmoil and violent […]

Prisoner of Conscience: The Story of Mam Sonando and the Future of Journalists in Cambodia

On May 16th, 2012 the Cambodian government conducted a raid of Kratie Province, located in northeast Cambodia. Hundreds of police officers and soldiers bombarded the province, armed with weapons and the help of a military helicopter. Hundreds of Kratie residents were displaced from their land during this government-supported raid, which the government defended by claiming […]

Buying Our Security: The Actual Risk of Terrorism

The United States is in a perpetual state of alert, forced to contend with a question that never seems to receive an answer: are we safer than we were before the fall of the Twin Towers changed everything? The effort to provide a positive response to this question comes with considerable cost. The Department of […]

Kenya’s 2013 Presidential Election: Recurring Violence or a Peaceful Transition?

Between 2002 and 2007, Kenya was an African leader. In one of the most hostile areas of the world, where Islamists had taken control of neighboring Somalia, Sudan faced constant ethnic conflict, and rebel groups were attacking civilians in nearby Uganda and eastern Congo, Kenya managed to flourish. The economy grew at an average of […]