In Defense of Development – A Response to “The Case for Unconditional Aid”

The following piece is a response to a recent blog post by staff contributor Ben Silvian. by JAKOB URDA, '19, and ZACHARY LEMONIDES, '19 In his recent piece, ‘The Case for Unconditional Aid,’ Ben Silvian claims that “the problem is that structural adjustment programs are unequivocally bad”— but history rarely speaks in such absolutes. The...

Untangling a Diplomatic History – An Analysis of American Interventionist Policy in Iran from 1951-1954

by KATIE GARCIA, Columbia University '20 The nationalization of Iranian oil and the subsequent emergence of nationalist leader Mohammad Mossadegh as prime minister signify a watershed moment in the history of diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran.  Domestically, Mossadegh represented constitutionalism, resource autonomy, and popular nationalism.  In the eyes of United States officials,...

The Last Hundred Days

by SARAH MANNEY, Stanford University '18 At the end of the French Revolution of 1789, historian R. R. Palmer wrote that “The wars of the kings were over; the wars of the people had begun.”[1] Today, this maxim threatens to be reversed. Although increasing Chinese and Russian assertiveness towards the West leads many to question...

Freezing Hot: Escalating Tensions in the Arctic

by SARAH McKELLAR, American University '19 The Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force Report, Arctic Imperatives: Reinforcing U.S. Strategy on America's Fourth Coast, stated, "The United States, through Alaska, is a significant Arctic nation with strategic, economic, and scientific interests.”[1] For a significant amount of time, the U.S. government has put the Arctic region...

We Don’t Negotiate With Terrorists – But Should We?

by REBECCA MOONEY, University of Rochester '18 Abstract This study analyzes the efficacy of the no-concessions policy used against terrorist groups during hostage crises and related incidents. Specifically, I address whether conceding to a terrorist organization’s ransom demand influences the frequency of future attacks committed by the group. Existing research evaluates the effect of a...

The Effectiveness of Cash Transfers

by GABRIEL BROSHY, '20 Many argue that we ought to refrain from giving money directly to the poor. Since it was their faulty decision-making that caused their current predicament, giving money directly to these individuals would only perpetuate the cycle of poverty. At least in developing countries, this line of reasoning has been brought into...

An Empirical Examination of Boko Haram’s Female Suicide Bombers

by EMMA MADDEN, '18 On December 9th, 2016, two schoolgirls entered a crowded marketplace in Madagali, Nigeria. The young girls, posing as customers, paused to shop at a stall selling grain and second-hand goods. Suddenly, they detonated the two suicide vests hidden under their clothing, killing and wounding over 100 civilians.1 Instances like this have...

The String of Pearls and The Mine of Jewels: Evolving Strategic Dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region and Lessons from the South China Sea

by GAURAV KALWANI, '19 In May of this year, Chinese forces deployed surface-to-air and anti-ship cruise missiles on its occupied reefs in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea (SCS).[1] China’s actions, though certainly concerning to the international community, were hardly surprising. The placement of missiles was simply another (albeit a dramatic) escalation in...

UNDRIP: The Recognition of Indigenous Peoples through Acknowledging the Past, Present and Future

by CARSON SMITH, Stanford University '19 In 2007, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples acted as the first signed piece of formal, international policy to provide indigenous peoples worldwide with a set of specific rights, including self-determination, economic development, governance, the protection of cultural practices, and land rights. Although the document...

From Prague to Putin: An Analysis of Czech-Russian Relations and their Echoes in Eastern Europe

by ANNA STONEMAN, University of Chicago '21 The democratization of the Czech Republic has long been predictive of the political and ideological leanings of Eastern Europe. For a brief period during the heart of the Cold War and the decades following, the nation became widely perceived as bastion of the West, and the ideology it...