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In 2005, the government of Israel relocated approximately 9,000 Jewish settlers from 25 settlements in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The Israeli government offered monetary compensation to those it relocated, but the kind of compensation offered did not align with the settlers’ sense of themselves as model...

Democracies are less likely to violate the human rights of their citizens than non-democracies, as scholarly research on government repression documents. But democracy is not a panacea. My research on government torture suggests that democratic institutions intended to limit state repression do not always prevent violations of human rights, and...

In January 2012, Apple became the latest in a long line of transnational corporations such as Nike, Addidas, and Liz Claiborne to contract with a private social auditing organization to inspect employment practices at its foreign suppliers. Privatized workplace inspection has grown for more than a decade, and today garment...

Appalling gang rapes in places ranging from New Delhi, India, to Steubenville, Ohio, ignite public outrage and raise concern about violence against women. The problem is persistent and widespread. In the United States, one in six women is sexually assaulted during her lifetime, and one in five experiences domestic violence...

When a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was brutally raped and beaten after she got on a public bus in India, the world reacted with appropriate horror. Yet we should not imagine that assaults directed against women using public transportation are unusual or isolated to one nation. In fact, a severe attack...

Women make up over half of the world’s population – but they hold only about one-fifth of the seats in national legislatures across the globe. American foreign policies are pushing to increase this important form of women’s representation, using tactics ranging from training programs for female politicians to constitutional assistance...

Hard times can push social movements toward new strategies, and American trade unions have certainly seen their share of adverse economic and political trends in recent decades. One result has been a turn toward building global alliances. By reaching out to fellow workers across national boundaries, and at times working...

The partially autonomous northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir is my homeland, a beautiful part of the world – and also one of three areas of Kashmir divided into areas of control by India, Pakistan, and China and marred by a history of violent political and ethic struggles. Women...

Citizen engagement is essential for democracy, but an increasing number of regulatory policies are formulated by international organizations beyond the reach of established national democratic processes. For example, member nations negotiate agreements regulating investments through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. These rules may seem technical, but they directly...

As violence rages in Egypt, unpacking the domestic and international forces influencing American foreign policy in the Middle East is vital. Despite attempts by U.S. foreign policymakers to "pivot" toward Asia, the Middle East remains a focus of both opportunity and frustration in Washington. “Arab Spring” – implying a new...