Maxwell School News and Commentary

Talk of a BRICS common currency is “really a reflection of a desire among some segments of the world to have some counterweight to the U.S., the U.S. economy, the dollar,” says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science. But “I think most of this is just in fantasy land, because I don’t see any world in which it is really going to emerge in the way some people might hope.”

High level military contact sends a message “that we’re not looking for anything that might lead to an incident. And if you do have a dustup that does call for national level dialogue, it’s available and something you can fall back on,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

The position was created with a gift by Syracuse University alumni Yang Ni and Xiaoqing Li to strengthen connections between Maxwell faculty and scholars in China and Asia.

“Suicide was always a men’s issue,” says Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. During the pandemic, “suddenly, women’s suffering became visible.” For the first time, “the government was forced to confront an approach to suicide prevention that had previously focused exclusively on middle-aged men.” 

George Kallander, professor and director of graduate studies for the history department, has written his third book, “Human-Animal Relations and the Hunt in Korea and Northeast Asia” (Edinburgh University Press, 2023). 

Yingyi Ma, professor of sociology, says that around 2018-2019, American universities began to see a slight decrease in the number of Chinese students. “And then the pandemic hit,” Ma says. “And with the rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China...[it] made Chinese students hesitate to come to the United States to study.”

Sean McFate, adjunct professor in Maxwell's Washington programs, says the North's satellite launch is mostly for "domestic political consumption" and unlikely to have a substantial impact. "Kim’s autocracy is legitimized by the 'enduring threat' of the U.S., and this demonstration shows he’s fulfilling his social contract with North Koreans."

“North Korea’s recent development and initial testing of a long-range solid-fuel ICBM does represent a significant step forward in its ongoing development of potentially nuclear-capable delivery vehicles,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs. 

“To me, de-dollarization just means a government’s ability to reduce its dependence or reliance on the dollar,” says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science. “I think the key thing here is to try to distinguish or separate the concept of de-dollarization from the end of dollar dominance. I don’t think those two things have to go together.”

"Over the last 15 years or so, we've seen some policies aimed at promoting its [renminbi] international use, but we've also seen a lot of policies that make it less attractive," says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science.