All Contributions
Children of Central American Turmoil and the U.S. Reform Impasse
Many Americans are wondering how the current influx of unaccompanied immigrant children crossing the southern U.S. border is connected to the larger political impasse over immigration reform. A longer perspective is necessary to see the relationships. The roots of the current crisis of Central American children at the border go...
Three Pathologies in U.S. Immigration Policy
The influx of Central American child refugees is just the latest revelation of serious and enduring problems in U.S. immigration policy. Earlier this year, many media outlets highlighted the record number of deportations conducted under the Obama administration, amounting to the removal of a city of two million, equal to...
Why Meeting the Global Warming Challenge is So Difficult
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently released its Fifth Assessment Report, presenting the latest accumulation of scientific evidence about the threat of global warming and calling for urgent actions to meet the threat. Earlier reports have pointed in the same directions, but the political, economic, and simple human obstacles...
Can Economic Development Improve Human Well-Being in an Environmentally Sustainable Way?
Governments around the world promote economic growth as a way to improve life and well-being for their citizens. Now that human-produced carbon emissions are known to spur climate change and destabilize the environments in which people live and work, it makes sense to ask whether economic growth and associated improvements...
Targeting Muslim Americans in the Name of National Security
Years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the daily lives of American Muslims continue to be affected by the anxieties and policies those attacks unleashed. Because so many of their fellow citizens see them as both physically threatening and culturally inferior, Muslim-Americans endure regular expressions of hostility at...
Lessons from Rwanda's Quest for a Just Response to Genocide
The United States grapples with tough issues of crime and punishment, but the challenges pale next to those faced by the small, poor nation of Rwanda following state-sponsored genocide in 1994. In the wake of atrocity, Rwanda had to bring massive numbers of wrongdoers to justice, even as it tried...
Attacking Iran's Nuclear Facilities Would Likely Radicalize the Islamic Republic's Government and Politics
As the international community pressures the government of Iran to forego the possibility of developing nuclear weapons, the United States and Israel are both considering air strikes to cripple Iran’s nuclear infrastructure if a negotiated solution fails. All participants in the current debate recognize that there would be repercussions in...
History Shows that President Obama is Wise to Retain a Military Option to Cripple Iran's Nuclear Facilities
The deadline of July 20, 2014 looms as a watershed for international negotiations with Iran over the future of its disputed nuclear program. Will Iranian authorities agree to put meaningful constraints on its nuclear capabilities – and do so in a way that is internationally verifiable? Nearly all observers are...
In Dealing with Iran, the Best Option for Israel is to Strike First - Diplomatically
Searching for a solution to curb Iran’s nuclear military ambitions, the United States is leading international negotiations likely to come to a head before long. As these discussions have proceeded, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken almost every opportunity to express consternation over the possibility of any agreement enshrining...
Why Admitting Women to Combat May Not Ensure Career Equality in America's All-Volunteer Military
With great fanfare on January 23, 2013, then Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced that women serving in the U.S. military would henceforth be permitted to serve in combat. This was seen as opening the doors for full women’s advancement in military careers, because combat experience was widely viewed as...