Maxwell School News and Commentary

Brian Taylor, professor of political science, says that the authorization given by the U.S. and Germany to Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil with weapons they supply could have an impact on the balance of power on Ukrainian territory.

The world is now reaching the point “where it’s kind of the twilight of lived experience, where from this point onwards, D-Day is going to be just a historical event that nobody who participates in commemorations had any personal memory of,” says Alan Allport, Dr. Walter Montgomery and Marian Gruber Professor of History.

“Each of the possible changes in the current conflict in Gaza looks improbable, until steps are taken to make it happen,” says Louis Kriesberg, professor emeritus of sociology and Maxwell Professor Emeritus of Social Conflict Studies.

“I think this is actually a significant—you know, it moves the needle. I think it sends an important signal to the civilian population in Gaza that we are concerned about them,” Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, says of the U.S. military's use of a floating pier to get food and other supplies to the people in Gaza.

“Taking advantage of the delay in aid and the fact that the Ukrainians could not respond adequately, the Russians intensified their shelling of our power plants, and today Ukraine is forced to resort to blackouts to preserve electricity,” says Tetiana Hranchak, visiting assistant teaching professor in the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

“There are 1.4 million Palestinians now who have been displaced for the second or third time in seven months. ...They're living in camps, disease is rampant, we have famine spreading throughout Gaza, and the reality is unless the international community, led by the United States, steps in and brings a halt to this, we could be looking at a major disaster,” says Osamah Khalil, professor of history.

“Carrying the Cross: Popular Christian Communities and Religious Protest during Pinochet's Dictatorship, 1973–90,” authored by Assistant Professor of History Denisa Jashari, was published in the Journal of Latin American Studies.

"The public hand-wringing versus the actual demonstrative support for Netanyahu's government, politically, diplomatically, militarily is going to be difficult for Biden," says Osamah Khalil, professor of history. "It would be very difficult for him to explain that to the base and energize the base to come out in November," he says.

"I hope that the change in the rhetoric of Speaker Mike Johnson will become the first step in a rethinking of the Russian threat by American politicians," says Tetiana Hranchak, visiting assistant teaching professor in the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

Brian Taylor, professor of political science, says a key feature of Trump 2.0 would likely be that the president would not have as many Russia-sceptics in his sphere. "If Trump is elected in 2024, he will surround himself with people who adhere to his worldview and are therefore less hostile to Russia and more sympathetic to Putin."