Maxwell School News and Commentary

"The survival of our democracy requires public confidence in the country's institutions—a confidence that has been shaken by this election. Cynicism promotes resignation and non-participation and a dangerous and thoughtless acceptance of facile, misleading and false promises," writes James Roger Sharp, professor emeritus of history.

Andrew Cohen, professor of history, argues that looking at early 19th century American trade policies, and the effort to police smuggling goods and contraband, gives us some telling insight about the transformation of America into what it is today.

"Diplomats in Washington I’m sure want to make sure that if nothing else, that American-Japanese relations are very good,” says Alan Allport, professor of history.

Osamah Khalil, assistant professor of history, says that "President Obama rhetorically argues that he is in favor of democracy in the region...and yet, the actual reality on the ground is that the United States is siding with very conservative forces in the region, particularly those in the Persian Gulf."

The Tenth Decade Scholars award demonstrates how citizenship cuts across the disciplines.