Maxwell School News and Commentary

In a choice between basic necessities, often, food is the first expense to be slashed, a decision that can result in adverse health effects for high-risk people. "This could put a further strain on the non-COVID health care system," says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

Why write a book that appears to be calling for greater self-focus, for the cultivation of more "inwardness," when we appear to have a surfeit of damaging self-centered introspection as it is? Because, Professor of History Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn says in her new book, "Ars Vitae," today’s self-obsession entails "a false kind of inwardness. It’s a sham, It’s not the real thing."

"It's likely that most are rolled back by Biden administration," says Mark Jacobson, assistant dean of Washington programs, about Trump's changes at the Pentagon. "But the point is all of these cost money, waste time and hamper the ability of the national security establishment to focus on the real threats the United States faces," he adds.

"The restoration of the State Department is critical," says University Professor James Steinberg. "That's particularly important with China because it is such an all-encompassing challenge for the United States. So we need to have our best people and we need to have...a comprehensive approach that makes clear what we can live with with China and what we can't," he says. 

"The Mexican attorney general may follow through on the pretense of investigating Cienfuegos, but nothing will come of it because he is untouchable," says Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history and Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations.

Earlier this week, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn promoted the idea that the U.S. military should oversee a new nationwide presidential election, ordered under martial law by President Donald Trump. Professor Emeritus William C. Banks calls  the idea "preposterous" and adds, "martial law has no place in the United States absent a complete breakdown of civil governing mechanisms."

"We know to expect, clearly from his history, that President-elect Biden will work more closely with Western allies and use international institutions to promote new global initiatives," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. 

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks assesses that "the world is out there, and our adversaries are all aware... that we're more vulnerable as a nation and national security apparatus than any other time during the last four years." He adds, "without a coordinated effort between the outgoing Trump people and incoming Biden people, things could quickly lose control."