Paul Lorenzo Johnson, independent researcher, USA, holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Davis. His research interests include civil–military relations, grayzone warfare, and genocide prevention. Recently, he was a co-editor of the Routledge publication Militias, States and Violence against Civilians, and his research has appeared in the journals Armed Forces and Society and Conflict Management and Peace Science
When I was in middle school I loved history: ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, the Middle Ages always fascinated me. Often during the summer vacation, I would read the history books in advance to prepare for the upcoming history classes (big surprise, I am a nerd). Old habits die hard, so this summer I picked up - actually, clicked on - the updated version of the Russian history book for high-schoolers "Russian history 1945 - beginning of 21st...
For nearly three decades, a pervasive, unspoken fear of civil war created an "ugly stalemate" in Israel, a 'public secret' that pervaded its electoral politics and foreign relations. Thanks to the government's attempted "judicial overhaul," that fear is now very much in the open, Almost overnight, the Israeli public has developed a shared imaginary in which a civil war is not only thinkable, but familiar. How did this happen? What does it mean...
Daniel Bertrand Monk holds the George R. and Myra T. Cooley Chair in Peace and Conflict Studies at Colgate University, where he is a professor of Geography and Middle East Studies. He is the [co] author/editor of An Aesthetic Occupation, The Global Shelter Imaginary, The Post-Conflict Environment, and Evil Paradises, as well as a number of other studies on the Israel-Palestine conflict, neoliberal spatial practices, and humanitarian reason....
Earlier this week, a boat carrying migrants fleeing Afghanistan sank in the English Channel, killing six. Earlier this month, 41 died after a ship sailing from Tunisia sank near Italy. There are many more examples of such tragedies I could point to, and, sadly, there will be many more in the future. These are not acts of God, like hurricanes or earthquakes. They are created, both through the conflict and repression producing the crises and the...
I recently had the good fortune to participate in a week-long academic exchange to Israel, along with 20 or so other political scientists and historians. Because Israel isn’t one of the countries I have a lot of knowledge of, I thought this might be an opportunity to learn more about the country and wider region. My mom’s side of the family is Jewish, and I have distant relatives who died in the Holocaust and some who escaped death from...
You feel the gentle touch of the sea breeze on your face. Seagulls squawk overhead whilst waves crash against the shore. You glance at the book by your side, but its pages have lost their battle against the summer heat. You go for a swim. The feel of the cold salt water against your body brings back childhood memories of family trips to the seaside. When you return to your beach blanket, you catch sight of a hulking shadow cutting across the...
Bruno Carvalho is a doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham. His research examines how the ocean has shaped Britain’s foreign policy and national identity through the theoretical lens of ontological security. Before starting his PhD, Bruno spent 13 years in the Brazilian Navy, as a Surface Officer. After serving on the Brazilian Frigate “Defensora”, submarine “Tikuna”, and Corvette “Julio de Noronha”, he worked as a staff officer in...
On Wednesday, protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, setting part of it on fire. This was in retaliation for the burning of the Quran during protests in Sweden. In response, the UN Human Rights Council called for restrictions on "anti-religious expression." Some may welcome this as a means to limit religious strife and stop Islamophobia, but they should be wary. These calls, in addition to being ineffective, often represent...
Back in 2019, Uri Friedman wrote that we “find ourselves—as you will have heard in the corridors …
Despite existing international regulations advising countries to coordinate and minimize border restrictions, an overwhelming number of countries closed and restricted their borders during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A report in April 2020 showed that 91% of the world’s population lived in a country with COVID-19-related travel restrictions, restrictions on people from other countries who are neither citizens nor residents. Strong...
William Christiansen, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of political science with a focus on international relations. Before joining Mount St. Mary's, he worked as a full-time instructor in Virginia Commonwealth University's Political Science Department while completing his dissertation at the University of South Carolina’s Department of Political Science. In addition to teaching at VCU, he taught international relations and comparative politics...