Schar School News November 2021

What Were We Thinking? Selected Schar School Op-Eds (November 2021)

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 21:01:35 +0000

What Were We Thinking? Selected Schar School Op-Eds (November 2021) Andrew J Schappert Tue, 11/30/2021 - 16:01

In This Story

From the Washington Post:

We Must Protect Our Elections Now. National Security Is at Stake.

The Russians' objective was to breed discord, and they succeeded beyond their wildest expectations. Now others have gone to school on the Russian example and will seek to prey on our country’s state of affairs in just the same way.

—Michael V. Hayden and James Clapper

From the Conversation:

What the 100 Nonprofits That Raised the Most Money in 2020 Indicate About Charity Today

I am also troubled to see so few nonprofits led by people of color on this list. Some notable exceptions include the United Way, Planned Parenthood and Feeding America. But the vast majority are led by white people.

—Mirae Kim, et al.

From Defense One:

The U.S. Can’t Compete with China Without Tackling Climate Change

The great power competition between the United States and China is taking place on a planet that is rapidly changing in unprecedented ways. China’s strategists appear to be taking this broadly into account; U.S. policymakers must do so as well.

—Erin Sikorsky, et al.

From the Washington Post:

Most Americans Support Biden’s Expanded Child Tax Credit, Our Research Finds. But There Are Caveats.

Social science research regularly finds that economic support for families is associated with improved child well-being, including better health, academic performance, and future earnings. Yet, the United States spends significantly less on social supports than do other advanced democracies.

—Mariely López-Santana and Lucas Núñez

From Foreign Affairs:

Triangle of Corruption

The United States cannot deal with these states as though they are democracies. The Biden administration must use sanctions, criminal prosecutions, trade regulation, and support for judicial reform to force change in Central America.

—Claudia Escobar Mejía

From the Hill:

GOP Becoming a Cult of Know-Nothings

One reason right-wing extremism is thriving in the Republican Party is that there is no figure in the party willing to lead the opposition to it.

—Bill Schneider

From the Washington Post:

Glenn Youngkin Won as a Pragmatic Conservative. How Will He Change Virginia Policy?

As with all new governors, there’s a learning curve, and Youngkin’s first lesson in changing Virginia law is that while the governor proposes, the General Assembly disposes.

—Mark J. Rozell

From the Hill:

Expanding Intelligence Oversight Won’t Be Simple

To be blunt, neither of the intelligence oversight committees—the House or the Senate—is really doing the kind of intrusive work that must be done to safeguard the people’s money and our national security interests.

—Ronald Marks

From Higher Ed Dive:

A Fundamental Change in Hiring College Presidents Is Unfolding

The use of search firms to hire executives in the private sector clearly is embedded in higher education.

—Judith Wilde and Jim Finkelstein

From War on the Rocks:

Biden’s Conventional Arms Transfer Policy Review Could Be a Turning Point

The administration is reportedly considering placing a greater emphasis on human rights in the policy’s text, shifting the regulation of firearms and munition sales back to the State Department, and joining and ratifying the Arms Trade Treaty.

—PhD Candidate Jordan Cohen

From the Hill:

2022 and ‘The Passion Gap’—Why Republicans Are More Fired Up

On a lot of social issues, the right is more intensely committed than the left. Call it “the passion gap.” That's why conservatives have often won battles over gun rights and abortion and immigration. They are more watchful, better funded, better organized — and angry. They let politicians know that if they dare to take the wrong position, a posse of voters will come after them.

—Bill Schneider

From the Washington Post:

The Virginia GOP Found a Winning Formula for Selecting Candidates. Will It Hold in the Midterms?

The Virginia GOP for now is on a roll, anchored in part by low job-performance numbers for Democrats in Congress and the White House.

—Mark J. Rozell

From the National Interest:

Integration or Crisis? In the Age of Migration, Those Are the Only Choices

If most countries permitted a larger, more regular flow of migrants and had procedures and capacity to deal with sudden spikes—as are predictable given the sporadic nature of conflict and climate-driven disasters—then disorder would not manifest.

—Jack Goldstone

From War on the Rocks:

Taiwan’s Defense Plans Are Going Off the Rails

As the United States talks more and more of defending Taiwan from an attack from the mainland, Taiwan’s military seems to be taking its defense preparations less and less seriously.

—Michael Hunzeker

From Defense News:

Don’t Give Turkey an F-16 Consolation Prize

A continued partnership with Turkey does more harm than good.

—Jordan Cohen and Natalie Armbruster

From La República:

Nacido Para Combatir el Crimen

But it is striking that a congressman questions Guillén's appointment not because he considers that he is not suitable for the position, but because of his role in obtaining the conviction—in the words of the congressman—of the "best former president of Peru," Alberto Fujimori.

—Jo-Marie Burt

From American City & County:

The Great Resignation in Tech: Can Great Apprenticeships Help?

Hundreds of thousands of tech jobs are open and begging for qualified applicants. Before the pandemic the greatest challenge regarding hiring in the public sector was the inability to be competitive with the private sector in terms of compensation. Now it appears money alone is not the key issue it once was as staff burnout from the pandemic appears to be a leading factor in the great resignation phenomenon.

—Alan R. Shark

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Young Afghan Female Refugees Live in a New World, With a Foot Still in Another

We’ve been here before. It’s a story of clashing cultures, the importance of education and the role of women in society.

—Master’s alum James D. Riggle

From the Washington Post:

Virginia Republicans Take Back the Governor’s Mansion—and the House

This election reminds us, however, that the one-third of the electorate who are independents decide which party wins.

—Mark J. Rozell

From InkStick:

Afghanistan and the Danger of Small Arms Transfers

While U.S. weapons have supported anti-democracy and anti-U.S. organizations in fighting war and committing human rights violations all over the world, these two examples in Afghanistan illustrate how U.S. weapons sales and military training can—and often do—backfire.

—A. Trevor Thrall and PhD Candidate Jordan Cohen

From Federalism:

Artificial Intelligence and Intergovernmental Relations—Connecting More Than Dots

As AI programs advance, there is also a growing and recognized need for AI program oversight and audit for all levels of government.

—Alan Shark

From the Hill:

Biden’s Deficiencies and Strengths Both on Display

To get things done in politics, sometimes you need a warrior and sometimes you need a diplomat.

—Bill Schneider

From Defense One:

Thousands of Afghan Refugees Await Rescue. Here’s What the U.S. Needs to Do

The Taliban are hunting them, making it harder to access basic human services. With winter approaching, freezing and starvation will grow.

—Zak Kallenborn and Mike Edwards

From Taiwan Insight:

What Resolution 2758 Doesn’t Say: Bringing Taiwan in From the Cold of Political Isolation

Unfortunately, this is a cold into which it had been pushed through no fault of its own but by the actions of two repressive regimes more than 50 years ago.

—Gerrit van der Wees

From the Washington Post:

Virginians Might Have to Vote for House of Delegates Members Three Years in a Row

For Virginians who just endured two consecutive years of exhausting political campaigns, there is no rest for the weary. Next year, Virginians may be voting once again for House of Delegates members. And the fall after that.

—Mark J. Rozell

From Foreign Policy:

The UAE’s Bad Behavior Harms U.S. Interests in the Middle East and at Home

Despite the optimism presented by adherents to such a perspective, overlooking the UAE’s rogue behavior has been detrimental to U.S. interests not only within the Middle East but at home as well.

—PhD Candidate Jon Hoffman

From the Washington Post:

Virginia House Outcomes Could Change the Power Balance More Than the Governor’s Race

Because the Democrat-dominated state Senate is not up for election until 2023, the most likely result, if Youngkin wins, would be two years of deadlocked government with each chamber frustrating and stalemating the other’s priorities, reducing legislation to a trickle of bills with rare bipartisan consensus.

—Mark J. Rozell

From Just Security:

No, Former Presidents Cannot Assert Executive Privilege. At Least Not Meaningfully.

On this note, it is important to return to the relief that former President Trump is ultimately asking the court to grant: he is asking the court to substitute its own judgment for that of the head of a co-equal branch regarding whether or not that branch is appropriately protecting its interests.

—Mark J. Rozell and Kel McClanahan

From the Washington Post:

Lessons for Maryland in Virginia’s Elections

But for Maryland Democrats, the results in Virginia represented painful political deja vu.

—Mark J. Rozell and Mileah Kromer (Goucher College)

From Higher Ed Dive:

A Fundamental Change in Hiring College Presidents Is Unfolding

While identifying these is relatively easy, we've been curious about the possible causes.

—Judith Wilde and Jim Finkelstein

From Higher Ed Dive:

The People Hiring College Presidents Don’t Have Experience as College Presidents

We identified only one Black search firm leader. While among the least experienced in the executive search industry, he was one of only two individuals who had been a president, provost, dean, and tenured faculty member. He also had spent more years in higher education than any of the other search executives.

—Judith Wilde and Jim Finkelstein

From Higher Ed Dive:

How to Improve Hiring of College Presidents

First, based on our research, it is essential that the institution, not the search firm, maintain control of the search. Beware of so-called listening sessions conducted by search firms. They often are little more than a cover for ultimately justifying a secret search.

—Judith Wilde and Jim Finkelstein

From DAWN:

Outside Edge: Babar the Captain

For another, Ponting looked disturbingly like George W. Bush, hardly the most endearing figure in the mid-2000s.

—Ahsan Butt

Topics

Schar School News November 2021

College Life Is Not Like the Movies, It’s Better, Says Spanish Exchange Student Clara del Olmo

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 18:50:42 +0000

College Life Is Not Like the Movies, It’s Better, Says Spanish Exchange Student Clara del Olmo Andrew J Schappert Tue, 11/16/2021 - 13:50

In This Story

Eric McGlinchey

Spanish exchange student Clara del Olmo: ‘Students at Mason care about creating a real well-connected community that makes me feel safe to express my own thoughts without feeling judged.’

When Clara del Olmo learned she was coming to America as a college exchange student from her home in Spain, she imagined the experience would be something “like in the movies, where there would be lots of partying.”

The reality, she reports now, turned out to be better.

The junior from the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid arrived at ��AV’s Schar School of Policy and Government on a one-year exchange program this fall to continue her study of politics and global affairs. Much to her relief, Mason and the Schar School were more about academics than the social activities seen in films.

“The university experience is organized better here than in Spain,” she said. “There is a bigger emphasis on learning and on networking and less on studying and memorizing.”

She soon discovered the school increases a student’s sense of community by providing opportunities to become involved in campus life and to explore the school’s culture, something that is not emphasized in her country.

When trying to pick a school, del Olmo’s study abroad advisor pointed her to Mason because of its reputation for having a great government program and a diverse student body. (In fact, Mason is majority minority and the most diverse university in Virginia). Del Olmo also talked with other students who had studied at Mason; they described the school as “very international student friendly” and the community as “very accepting,” she reported.

Since del Olmo is studying politics, she finds it important to be surrounded by a diverse group of people in order to better understand the world. Different cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs give insight into how different world governments work and how people can interact with each other.

Faculty Is a Favorite

Del Olmo says the best part of the school is its professors. Each of her professors, she said, care about what they teach and is very involved with students, which fosters a good environment for sharing ideas.

Associate Professor Eric McGlinchey teaches theory and important background information, but also applies topics to daily life and makes learning fun, she said. He’s the reason why del Olmo decided to join the International Relations Policy Task Force Learning Community, which gives students a chance to become policy experts by researching and crafting policy recommendations in one of three task force areas.

What she likes about the task force is that she is learning about the American political system from insiders with different perspectives on a variety of issues:

“Students at Mason care about creating a real well-connected community that makes me feel safe to express my own thoughts without feeling judged,” she said. “I expected Mason to be an eye-opening experience, and that is what I got. There is time for learning and there is time to have fun, the perfect balance that keeps you motived and engaged with your university life.”

Topics

Exchange Students

International Relations Policy Task Force

Schar School News November 2021

Political Hindsight: Leaders of Youngkin, McAuliffe Campaigns Take the Stage at Mason

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 19:43:07 +0000

Political Hindsight: Leaders of Youngkin, McAuliffe Campaigns Take the Stage at Mason Andrew J Schappert Wed, 11/10/2021 - 14:43

In This Story

Mark J. Rozell

Julie Carey, left, moderates the ‘After Virginia Votes’ panel, featuring Will Ritter, center, and Michael Halle. Photos by Shelby Burgess/Creative Services

Will Ritter: Youngkin’s campaign did not ‘jump on a gaffe’ by McAuliffe.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin’s successful campaign was “a slow march up” while Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe’s was “a slow march down,” compounded by a miscalculation on issues that resonated with Virginia’s voters, said Will Ritter, Youngkin’s media strategist, during a public post-election examination called “After Virginia Votes.”

Ritter shared the stage at ��AV’s Merten Hall Tuesday night with Michael Halle, senior advisor to McAuliffe, during the event, a production of the Richmond-based, nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) and hosted by Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government.

More than 1,000 viewers tuned in via live streams on GMU-TV, Facebook, and YouTube while 50 invited guests listened to the discussion in person, in accordance with Mason’s pandemic protocols. Cox Communications, one of the event’s sponsors, will re-broadcast the 90-minute event in select markets this week.

Flawlessly moderated by NBC4 Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey, the conversation between the upbeat Ritter and the understandably glum Halle provided insights to key moments in the bellwether, $100-million election that led to political newcomer Youngkin’s defeat of McAuliffe, who was running for a second term as governor, by 63,503 votes.

The conversation was followed by a second panel that included veteran Virginia political analysts Quentin Kidd, director of the Wason Center for Civic Leadership at Christopher Newport University, and Mark J. Rozell, dean of the Schar School.

Among other topics, Carey asked how national issues affected the state election, including the pandemic, the election of Joe Biden as president, the teaching of “critical race theory,” the January 6 insurrection, and the withdraw from Afghanistan. For his part, Youngkin, Ritter said, was adamant about keeping the issues local while McAuliffe’s camp continually attempted to attach Youngkin to Donald Trump and the extremist wing of the Republican Party.

Schar School Dean Mark J. Rozell makes a point during a discussion with Julie Carey, left, and Christopher Newport University’s Quentin Kidd.

In particular, the local issue of education became a lightning rod following a heated September 28 debate in Alexandria, partially sponsored by the Schar School, in which McAuliffe suggested, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.” Until then, a Washington Post/Schar School poll showed McAuliffe with a slight lead, 50 percent to 47 percent.

Ritter said his campaign did not “jump on a gaffe” but the line crystalized the direction to domestic issues. “We had a choice to make and we chose to run on Virginia issues,” he said. “We predicted McAuliffe would ‘nationalize’ the race, we anticipated the celebrity endorsements, but we decided to stick with Virginia issues.”

In the end, Ritter said, “We had a secret weapon. We had Glenn.”

Kidd and Rozell, both of whom had been writing about and commenting on the election in the press for months, provided additional insight regarding what Youngkin’s election might mean to the Commonwealth.

“As a new governor, you want some early wins” in the state house, Kidd said, suggesting Youngkin is likely to focus on what Rozell called “kitchen table issues, bread and butter issues,” such as his promise to eliminate sales tax on groceries, lower the gas tax, and raise teacher salaries.

State appointments made by the new governor, Rozell said, might be designed to “appease Trump supporters.”

Youngkin will be sworn in as 74th governor on January 15, 2022.

Topics

Politics

Events

Schar School News November 2021

Campus News

What Is Political Science? We Asked 5 Schar School Professors for Their Definition

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 18:00:44 +0000

What Is Political Science? We Asked 5 Schar School Professors for Their Definition Andrew J Schappert Thu, 11/04/2021 - 14:00

In This Story

Jennifer N. Victor

Jeremy Mayer

Mariely Lopez-Santana

Robert J. McGrath

What exactly is political science? Is it science, politics, or both?

Many of the faculty members of the Schar School of Policy and Government at ��AV specialize in political science, study political science, and teach political science. The Schar School offers bachelor, masters, and doctoral degree programs in political science.

But if we were to explain this field of study to the layperson, how would we begin to define political science? To answer that question, and many more, we sat down with four of our political science professors to give us some insight into what it is they do: What they teach, research, and write about.

Jennifer N. Victor

What Is Political Science? Easy, It’s Science!

Former political science program director Jennifer N. Victor, an associate professor, has a straightforward definition: “Political science is the study of politics and government using the tools of social science.” In a sense, she explained, political science uses the same scientific method—question, theory, hypothesis, gather data, test, and conclude—that natural scientists use. However, political science studies people and the institutions, as opposed to natural science, which studies nature.

“The main subfields in political science include American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory,” Victor said. “Each of these subfields has a rich literature of findings and ideas that have contributed to our broad understanding of what it takes for humans to build collective systems to live together.”

In other words, political science is really about what it takes for us to live together.

Jeremy Mayer

What Is Political Science? Predicting Phenomena.

Solving problems is a major piece of the political science question. As Associate Professor Jeremy Mayer puts it: “Political science attempts to describe, explain, and predict political phenomena.” And, to add to Victor’s point, there are many more subfields within political science, including political theory or philosophy, comparative politics, international relations, and others. Political science also includes the study of the mass of citizens as well as the elite who make decisions.

Associate Professor Mariely López-Santana, another political scientist, would also include the subfield of international relations—an area of political science concerned with relations across countries. “The field of comparative politics examines the internal politics and institutions of these countries,” she said.

Mariely López-Santana

Why Take Political Science in College?

What can signing up for a political science course in college do for you? “At the most basic level,” López-Santana explained, “political science courses will allow you to grasp and assess [with an informed eye] the political world that surrounds us. Beyond that, a degree in political science opens the door to many career opportunities, including a law degree, working in the profit and not-for-profits sectors, becoming a policy-maker, a politician, and/or an academic.”

López-Santana, director of Schar School’s master’s program in political science and the PhD in political science programs, explains her role in the political science field: “As a scholar of comparative politics, I want students to understand that realities are not absolute—there are many political contexts and these are as legitimate as ours. I seek to give students the tools to open their eyes to alternate realities, and explore and comprehend the world that surrounds us.”

Associate Professor Robert McGrath, director of undergraduate programs, explained his view as well for newer students to the field: “To me, politics is all about the inherent conflicts that arise when decisions are made that affect everyone. This includes decisions about who we elect to make decisions on our behalf—presidents, senators, representatives, governors, mayors, city councilors, and others—and the content of their policy decisions themselves.

“Since politics is so consequential, it’s important to understand the process of making these sorts of decisions.”

Indeed, having an understanding of political science can help understand—and guide— these policy decisions.

“That’s what political scientists do,” McGrath said. “We study how aspects of collective decision-making processes can help determine the outcomes.”

“For example,” he continued, “in the U.S., does the process of partisan gerrymandering—drawing boundaries of political districts in biased ways—help protect incumbent legislators and promote partisan polarization? Or, across countries, do political actors elected by proportional representation elections better represent the interests of their constituents than those elected in ‘winner take all’ elections?” Scholars working in the field of political science seek to answer these crucial questions objectively, referencing reliable empirical evidence, he said.

Robert McGrath

What Is Political Science? A Way to ‘Train the Mind’

“Studying political science helps train the mind in areas of quantitative reasoning and analytical thinking, which are eminently useful skills in many job markets,” McGrath said. “In addition, all citizens practice politics in their lives, either contributing to or consenting with collective decisions. So political science, like the conflict we study as political scientists, is in our human nature.”

While the methods of political science are shared by other sciences, it is really the subject of study which differs. “Where political science differs from other sciences is in our focus,” said Associate Professor Eric McGlinchey. “For instance, my running partner is a chemist. He studies how elements and molecules interact to produce new compounds. Political scientists study how individuals interact to produce new outcomes. We share the same method, the scientific method, but the focus of our investigations differs.”

Eric McGlinchey

What Is Political Science? A Sense of Humility

The ambiguity and uncertainty surrounding human nature makes political science complex.

“Problematically for political scientists,” McGlinchey explained, “people are less well-behaved than elements and molecules. Theories are useful in that they allow us to predict the future. But individuals are unpredictable. When two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom get together, the result is water. When the U.S. and Russian presidents get together, the outcome often surprises us.” Due to these uncertainties, McGlinchey added, political science demands a greater sense of humility.

“We use the scientific method to develop parsimonious theories,” McGlinchey concluded, “but we must accept that our theories are always incomplete and that human unpredictability, as well as newly uncovered or overlooked variables, will necessitate constant revision and refinement of our causal stories.”

In other words, the work of those within the field of political science is never quiet finished, but that is what makes political science enjoyable: There are always problems in need of solving, and questions in need of answering.

Interested in studying political science as an undergraduate? Start here. Learn more about the Schar School Master’s in Political Science and PhD in Political Science: https://schar.gmu.edu/prospective-students/programs.

Topics

political science

Schar School News November 2021

Meet the PhD Biodefense Student and Counterproliferation Advisor Who Writes Sci-Fi and Spy Thrillers

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 16:13:27 +0000

Meet the PhD Biodefense Student and Counterproliferation Advisor Who Writes Sci-Fi and Spy Thrillers Andrew J Schappert Thu, 11/04/2021 - 12:13

In This Story

Gregory Koblentz

Sci-fi and espionage romance novelist Laura Denlinger

Fiction writers are often asked what inspires their ideas. In the case of this important plot point, in the new book Interstellar Angel (An Astral Heat Romance) by Laura Navarre, the light-bulb moment for the story came during a real-life biodefense PhD class about genetically modified pathogens. That’s where she cooked up in her mind the fictional Valyrensis novicida, which, in the story, eradicates exactly 88 percent of the Valyrians, who are the galaxy's leading race. The ensuing turmoil across the galaxy causes a pangalactic race war.

The novel, the first of a series, debuted on Amazon’s LGBTQ+ Science Fiction bestseller list when it was released in October. In a bit of apparent family competitiveness, Laura’s “sinister twin sister” Nikki has published The Russian Obsession, one of a trio of espionage thrillers rooted in the realities of high-tech intelligence.

Interesting family, yes?

But wait: There’s a twist. Laura and Nikki Navarre are actually one and the same. Those are the noms de plume of Laura Schmidt Denlinger, a senior counterproliferation advisor and a PhD student at the Schar School of Policy and Government’s groundbreaking biodefense program.

By day, Denlinger is a Department of Energy National Laboratories employee on a long-term rotation to a sister U.S. government agency where she advances cutting-edge cooperative threat reduction work. Once you know what she does for a living, the idea of wiping out 88 percent of a galaxy’s population as detailed in her fiction isn’t so far-fetched.

Denlinger is deputy team chief of a unit “that does capacity building for foreign partners that are looking to do all sorts of things—counter North Korean [weapons of mass destruction] proliferation, keep ballistic missiles out of the hands of Iran, strengthen chemical security around the world; and then also there's a nuclear security program that I manage.”

She came to the Schar School once she learned from program director Gregory Koblentz that the biodefense program aligned with her strong interest in cyber threats. It was in one of her subsequent Schar School classes that she came up with the pivotal plot for her next book.

“I got the idea for Interstellar Angel in Dr. [Katalin] Kiss’ microbiology class in the fall of 2019 when she was talking about genetically modified pathogens,” Denlinger said. “That gave me the idea for the virus that wipes out a galaxy’s leading race.”

Does it surprise anyone that Denlinger’s PhD thesis will be “taking models and paradigms from biological and nonproliferation and applying them to counter state sponsored cyber threats from Russia. Basically, lessons learned from biological nonproliferation for cyber.”

Being two authors, a PhD student, and a vital cog in the protection of the country, if not all humanity, Denlinger’s days are somewhat busy. She has good things to say about the Schar School and its professors when it comes to supporting flexibility in schedules. Still, she sometimes found herself “studying for microbiology exams on a plane at two in the morning with my little light on while everybody around me slept,” she said. But all in all, “I’ve managed to keep those balls in the air.”

An avid writer since fourth grade, Denlinger finally published her first book in 2009 “after 50 rejections,” she said. But once she sold one, she sold a second within the month with the help of an agent. “That was very exciting,” she said.

Her work has been published by romance powerhouse Harlequin Enterprises and other major publishers but now, 10 books into her duplicate career(s), she’s regained the rights to many of her manuscripts and, with her memoirist and nonfiction author husband Steven, is reissuing some of the titles under her own Ascendant Press. So in addition to everything else, she’s president and treasurer of a publishing house.

The next chapters of the Angel saga, which she describes as “Star Wars meets Hunger Games but racy,” come out later this year and early next: Renegade Angel on December 1 and Atomic Angel in February. Information about all the Navarre titles is here: lauranavarrescifi.com.

Topics

Biodefense

Schar School News November 2021

Students

What Were We Thinking? Selected Schar School Op-Eds (October 2021)

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 13:46:09 +0000

What Were We Thinking? Selected Schar School Op-Eds (October 2021) Andrew J Schappert Tue, 11/02/2021 - 09:46

In This Story

From the Hill:

Moscow Won’t Side with Washington Against Beijing Just Because We Think It Should

If Putin—or his successor—ever decides that it is in Moscow’s interests to ally with the U.S. against China, it will not be because Washington convinces him to do so. It will occur, instead, because Putin becomes so fearful of China that he himself seeks cooperation with Washington against it.

—Mark N. Katz

From the Washington Post:

In Nationalizing Virginia’s Tight Governor’s Race, Candidates and Parties Escalate a Trend

Trump, for his part, seems oblivious.

—Mark J. Rozell

From the Hill:

The Root of Joe Biden’s Troubles

A professional politician is expected to have the skills to reconcile competing interests, make deals and get things done. His job is to deliver results. Biden is under enormous pressure right now to do just that.

—Bill Schneider

From the Hill:

America’s Politics May Not Be as Hopeless as We Think

But in democratic countries like the U.S., politicians remain fundamentally dependent on public support. Recent and historical events reveal that shifts in public opinion can rapidly change national politics.

—Frank Manheim

From the Conversation:

A Century After Partition, Ireland’s Churches Are Cooperating More Closely Than Ever

Rather, the recent increase in ecumenical activities is driven by a new generation of church leaders who grew up during the “Troubles,” a three-decade era of political violence in Northern Ireland, and share concerns over current issues.

—Ger Fitzgerald

From Responsible Statecraft:

How Arab Autocrats Benefit from Newfound Friendship with Israel

The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, have begun cultivating relationships with high-profile Jewish leaders and Christian Evangelicals within the United States. Such efforts are part of a broader project pursued by these governments to promote so-called “moderate Islam” (i.e. state-controlled Islam) to appeal to the West and demonize domestic opposition.

—PhD student Jonathan Hoffman

From the Washington Post:

Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor Nominees Couldn’t Be More Opposite on Key Issues

The undercard contest between Ayala and Sears, overshadowed by the gubernatorial race, is among the most remarkable in Virginia history.

—Mark J. Rozell

From Al Jazeera:

Imran Khan’s Talks with the Pakistan Taliban Will Not Bring Peace

Khan was the avatar for a deeply sympathetic position towards the Taliban. Not for nothing did he earn the moniker “Taliban Khan.”

—Ahsan Butt

From the Washington Post:

Virginia’s Election May Show the Potency of Vaccine Mandates as Public Policy

On a follow-up question about whether he felt vaccinations for diseases such as mumps, measles and rubella, currently required for public school attendance, should also be optional, Youngkin said that there has been sufficient data collected over many years on those vaccines to justify making them mandatory but claimed there is insufficient information to require coronavirus vaccinations. Really?

—Mark J. Rozell

From Brookings Tech Stream:

Applying Arms-Control Frameworks to Autonomous Weapons

The global community must now resolve the tension of fear between arms-control and military advocates. That means serious debate on which types of autonomous weapon offer the most military value and which present the most risk to civilians and noncombatants. Weapons with high risk to civilians and low military value should form the basis of conversations around risk reduction.

—Zak Kallenborn

From Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:

Do-It-Yourself Vaccines in a Pandemic: Democratized Science or Home-Brewed Pipe Dream?

Whatever their motivation, it is highly likely that amateurs and untrained citizens will not have the proper biosafety and wet lab skills and knowledge necessary to safely or responsibly home-brew and inoculate themselves with either DIY vaccine.

—Yong Bee Lim (BA, MA, PhD)

From Waste Today Magazine:

A Need for Solid Waste Planners

Despite the need for these professionals, there is a notable absence of undergraduate programs in the U.S. that offer solid waste management planning as a major, minor, or concentration.

—Ashlea Smith (Schar ’10)

From Bearing Drift:

The Case for Terry

You should also know that although Terry McAuliffe invited me often to the governor’s mansion to work on common issues like jobs, education, and support of military families. I was a conservative thorn in his side . . . because I was a lifelong Republican who believes in smaller government, and less taxes.

—David Ramandan

From the Hill:

As Washington Becomes Even More Partisan, All Factions Take ‘Hostages’

Division in the Democratic Party is not exactly new—but it’s having embarrassing consequences, and it’s all because the president’s party did not win a solid majority in Congress. In an unusual situation for a newly elected president, Biden had no coattails.

—Bill Schneider

Topics

Schar School News November 2021