Maxwell School News and Commentary

“North Korea and Russia signed a joint military assistance agreement last June and they are pursuing cooperation...In terms of what North Korea might get in return, I think the big fear is that Russia would be sharing more advanced nuclear technology, perhaps submarine technology or other conventional weapons technology with North Korea,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.

“You have two states that [we]re the same, were pretty middle-of-the-road in terms of life expectancy, but they take opposite trajectories,” says University Professor Jennifer Karas Montez. Some states, she says, took action to “invest in [the state] population’s overall economic well-being and health. And you had other states that took a...very different approach.”

Matthew Huber, professor of geography and the environment, says the VP debate was “evidence of the sad state of our climate discourse.“

One element is “the return...of class politics, which takes the form of a series of important legislative measure that includes raising the minimum wage, facilitating the formation of unions, but also more specific things like, for example, recognizing the labor rights of domestic workers for the first time in the country,” says Edwin Ackerman, associate professor of sociology. 

“By growing the use of the RMB in cross-border trade settlement directly between China and Russia, U.S. financial sanctions cut targeted actors off from using the dollar system, which forces targets into alternative currencies that are exchanged outside of the U.S. financial system,” says Daniel McDowell, professor of political science.

So much of the response following disasters can feel piecemeal and reactive, says Sarah Pralle, associate professor of poltical science. “Every dollar we put into prevention is going to be a lot more efficiently spent,” she explains. In a world reshaped by climate change, “this idea that there’s safe places you can go hide is unrealistic.”

“The type of damage that you'll see is to property, to infrastructure, to roads and highways, but also to critical infrastructure like hospitals and power stations. And this will be devastating. It will be in the many billions of dollars,” says Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment. 

“Since nonpartisan primaries include candidates from all parties, and many voters are entrenched in their partisan loyalties, fewer voters are susceptible to changing their votes based on persuasion efforts funded by wealthy donors” writes Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs.

“I don’t think we have the conditions for a cease-fire. The U.S. presence will likely need to remain what it is for the foreseeable future,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs. “Shuttle diplomacy can’t move people if they have an interest in keeping the hostilities going.”

“If the appropriations bills are not passed by the end of December, January benefits will still go out because SNAP benefits are obligated in the prior month (December),” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.