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What Were We Thinking? Selected Schar School Op-Eds (September 2022)

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From Foreign Policy:

Although many governments acknowledge the security risks that climate change poses, this summer’s scramble to manage climate threats suggests few are moving quickly enough to take action.

—Erin Sikorsky

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From TIME:

If so, it is doubtful that a post-Putin leader will be able to restore Russia’s influence in the face of a rising China and India, a permanently hostile Ukraine, and a post-Soviet space where conflict only seems likely to increase.

—Mark N. Katz

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From Brookings:

Political appointees are expected to be the most loyal advocates of a president’s policy agenda, riding herd on the many bureaucracies of the executive branch. Yet Trump’s appointees in the White House, cabinet, military, and intelligence community refused to carry out many of the president’s directives to an extent unprecedented in the modern presidency.Ìý

—James Pfiffner

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From Inkstick Media:

The collective rejection of the veil serves as a great unifier and helps protestors feel they are not alone in resisting the government’s unjust laws and practices. This sense of solidarity is demonstrated through a common slogan chanted at street protests: “Don’t be afraid, we’re all together.â€

—TraCCC Analyst Layla M. Hashemi

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From La República:

Created by the government of Valentín Paniagua, the CVR worked for two years to fulfill its mandate to investigate the causes and consequences of the political violence that plagued Peru between 1980 and 2000 and make recommendations so that such atrocities would never happen again.

—Jo-Marie Burt

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From the Washington Post:

In some elections, it has made it difficult for candidates on the far left or right, who could muster a plurality, to win a majority.

—Mark J. Rozell

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From the Atlantic Council:

If President Vladimir Putin fails there, those regimes are looking at a return to decades past, when Russia was less active in the region and therefore unable to support them against either the United States or its regional allies.

—Mark N. Katz

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From Real Clear Policy:

To be clear, nothing in this research suggests that we should haveÌýnoÌýpolicies to boost retirement saving. On the contrary, such policies could benefit middle-aged workers. But the idea that more retirement saving is always better—regardless of age and circumstance—needs to be challenged.

—Sita Slavov

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From the Defense Post:

The answer to this question is, unfortunately, less accurate missiles and more cannon artillery. This means an increase in accidental civilian casualties due to prolonged indiscriminate bombardment.

—Master’s Student Christopher Gettel

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From the Washington Post:

The big differences in the two: Youngkin, barely more than half way through his freshman year in elective office, has a broad and elastic constituency within the GOP, and thus a credible path to a presidential nomination, whereas Hogan, having built a significant policy record in two terms as chief executive, has little chance to top a GOP primary field.Ìý

—Mark J. Rozell

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From the National Interest:

Despite its meager resources andÌýchronic economic problems, including rising import bills and increasing inflation, Pakistan has managed the Covid-19 pandemic relatively well. ItÌýreturned to normalcyÌýrelatively quickly by employing a multi-pronged policy centered around an effective communication strategy, thanks to its high mobile phone use.

—Muhammad Salar Khan and Farah Latif

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From the Hill:

Putin is now looking for ways to jump over his enemies. In my opinion, Putin is now at his most dangerous.

—Ronald Marks

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From Africa Up Close (Wilson Center):

Lastly, advancing positive narratives can optimize confidence, credibility, and how both populations think about each other as the war progresses.Ìý

—Pearl Matibe

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From New York Daily News:

The prospect of a Russian military collapse may seem far-fetched, but it is something that has happened before.

—Mark N. Katz

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From the Hill:

In other midterms, the opposition party has typically been the angrier party. This year, theÌýpresident’s party is angrier.

—Bill Schneider

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From the Arab Center:

Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain interpreted Biden’s Middle East venture in a more subtle and nuanced manner than did Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

—PhD Candidate Jon Hoffman

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From the Hill:

President Biden is nowhere near those peaks of popularity. But he has something else going for him: the Trump threat.

—Bill Schneider

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From Leuven Transitional Justice:

The All-Out Assault Against Guatemala’s Post-Conflict Justice Efforts

Since the peace accords,ÌýGuatemalan courtsÌýhave handed down 28 sentences in 23 cases of conflict-era state-sponsored human rights violations, with more than 75 retired military officials, ex police officers and members of the civil defense patrols (PACs) sentenced.Ìý

—Jo-Marie Burt