Faculty Commentary

On January 22, the White House released a statement on its website: “Today, in an historic ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, President Donald J. Trump formally ratified the Charter of the Board of Peace—establishing it as an official international organization. President Trump, who is serving as the Board’s Chairman, was joined by Founding Members representing countries [...]

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The global security system is creaking under the weight of crises it can’t seem to manage. Wars grind on in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere. The Security Council is paralyzed by veto politics. The Secretary‑General is criticized from all sides. And into this moment of institutional fatigue steps a new player: President Trump’s “Board of [...]

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During the very week of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the Israeli Knesset continues to debate a monstrous proposed bill to resurrect capital punishment in the ostensible Jewish state. Such a spectacle is nothing short of an abject desecration of that sacred day. Drawing directly on his Holocaust experience, Nobel Laureate and acclaimed [...]

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The cold winter weather cut across the National Mall this past weekend as thousands of pro-life marchers filed past the Capitol dome, many clutching signs against the threat of a winter storm. At one end, near the stage where US Vice President J.D. Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed the crowd, banners declared “Equality [...]

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“Armies are equipped and trained to vanquish enemies. If turned inward, they can easily become an instrument of tyranny.” —Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director for Liberty & National Security, Brennan Center for Justice The United States has long drawn a bright line between military power and civilian law enforcement. The Posse Comitatus Act (PCA) embodies that [...]

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December 2025 saw a whirlwind of events in the health corridors of Kenya. On December 4, Kenya signed a landmark five-year aid deal with the United States: a $2.5 billion Health Cooperation Framework. Under the Framework, the United States plans to support priority health programs in Kenya—including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, polio [...]

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Friction is the difference between war on paper and war as it actually is. —Carl von Clausewitz, On War North Korea is not Venezuela. While US President Donald J. Trump characterized his recent military actions against Venezuela as “an assault like people have not seen since World War II,” that description was exaggeration prima facie. [...]

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Iran’s protest wave is no longer defined only by street clashes. It has entered a phase in which the state governs visibility itself. Days of near-total internet shutdown have reduced national connectivity to a sliver of ordinary levels. This is not a technical failure. It is a governing tactic that makes violence harder to document, [...]

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Across the past eight decades, the international community has experienced successive “waves” of atrocity accountability—periods in which global norms either strengthened or eroded in the face of mass violence, authoritarian resurgence, and geopolitical disruption. Today, the world stands at the threshold of a fourth wave: the Age of Aggression, a moment defined by the collapse [...]

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There are moments in everyone’s life when it feels as though everything has come to an end—overwhelmed by pressure, stress, and problems. As a woman living in Afghanistan under the systematic violence of the Taliban, I have experienced this deeply. I remember the day my younger sister walked toward school with her books, only to [...]

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