Digital Commons Network^™

Trump's Rise: Will China Disrupt The Current Order Or Maintain It?, Ahmad Nurcholis, Wasisto Raharjo Jati

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

This paper examines the long-term likelihood of a US-China war, particularly in light of Donald Trump's US presidential win. The two nations have consistently experienced strained relations and intense rivalry, especially throughout the Trump and Biden presidencies. Both leaders are worried about China's growing assertiveness. While these nations are still battling over trade, this situation could easily escalate into an armed conflict later on. Due to China's increasing economic power and America's reduced influence in specific areas, there are predictions of a change in how the world is governed. This paper examines the question of whether China will become a …

Education And Inequality:: Shaping Conflict And Peace In Broken Socio-Economic Structures, Anna Zherdeva, Daniel Kamphambale, Lucía Morales

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

This study engages in a critical literature review that offers insights into systemic and structural problems that immigrants face. Being forced, in many cases, to flee from their countries of origin, migrants face many challenges due to a lack of clear educational pathways, cultural integration and social lifts within the world's most advanced countries. For instance, migrants often experience labour-market resistance, as evidenced by consistent, stagnant rates of advancement into higher positions in their host countries and by their limited integration into communities and society. An additional problem is that segregation by country of origin matters significantly, as migrants face …

The Necessity Of U.S. Aid: The Russian-Ukrainian War, Lelin Spriggs

The Dialogue

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the conflict has emerged as a defining foreign-policy challenge of the twenty-first century. In the United States, the war dominates political discourse and continues to shape debates on national security and the appropriate scope of American global leadership. Although President Trump vowed during his campaign to end the war upon entering office, hostilities intensified following his inauguration, prompting renewed policy debates regarding the future and extent of U.S. military and economic support for Kyiv.

This paper argues that the United States must continue providing sustained military and economic …

Seamless Security: Reforming Export Controls For A Stronger Allied Defense Industrial Base, Justin Belcher

San Diego International Law Journal

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s accelerating military modernization underscore the need for the United States and its allies to reinforce their defense industrial bases to deter and prevail in future conflicts. This paper examines the historical and strategic foundations driving the need for export control reform, identifies key U.S. export control laws governing defense coproduction and co-development, and analyzes how current regulations constrain allied industrial integration. It concludes by proposing solutions to streamline export control regulations to improve the strength and resilience of the modern defense industrial base.

Faith On The Frontlines: Exploring The Religiosity Of Ukrainian Soldiers During War, Alexander Karlsson

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Wartime religiosity among Ukrainian Christian soldiers reveals a spectrum of spiritual responses shaped by personal experience, cultural identity, and institutional dynamics. Interview-based evidence indicates that war influences religious engagement in diverse and often contradictory ways. For many, religiosity intensifies during moments of danger, functioning more as a coping mechanism than a transformation of belief. Institutional realignment may also reflect broader socio-political changes, as soldiers gravitate toward religious communities that resonate with their evolving values. For some, the adoption of Norse mythology illustrates the fluidity and adaptability of religious identity in wartime. Simultaneously, confrontations with theodicy may give rise to both …

Solving Global Problems Requires Global Cohesion, Harvey Whitehouse, John, Lord Alderdice, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Peter Gluckman, Hakima El Haité, Lukas Reinhardt

New England Journal of Public Policy

A growing body of evidence from evolutionary anthropology and social psychology suggests that group cohesion can be scaled up beyond the level of nations and even regional blocs and transnational religions to encompass humanity at large. This article brings together insights from globally renowned political leaders, activists, and academics by arguing that this scaling up is not only possible but necessary to address the most pressing collective action problems facing our planet today. Drawing on evidence from experiments, longitudinal studies, and multi-country surveys, along with extensive practical experience—from serving as a head of state to playing leading roles in climate …

What Future For Peace In A World Characterized By Uncertainty And Fear?, Cedric De Coning, John, Lord Alderdice

New England Journal of Public Policy

After World War II the leading victorious powers put in place a series of structures that became known as the ‘rules-based international order.’ Its purpose was to prevent another global conflict, and for Western countries the method was the promotion of liberal democracy. During succeeding decades, the commitment to building and securing a more peaceful world order saw the establishment of political, security, and economic institutions and civil society organizations that worked to implement it. However, the last decade has seen the increasing fragmentation and dissolution of this rules-based order and those who worked to develop it are having increasing …

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

This issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy, again with Lord John Alderdice as guest editor, examined how wars end. The articles complement those in the previous issue on the Changing Character of War and Peacemaking.

Understanding The Underlying Motivations Of The Russia-Ukraine War, John Bell

New England Journal of Public Policy

Conflict resolution often focuses on material interests or trust building rather than the core psychological needs of the sides. Mapping the key emotional red lines of parties and addressing them creatively may offer new opportunities for peace. This article examines such an approach for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with reflection on the Middle East where such a mapping of needs has begun. This approach leads to the concept of mutual needs satisfaction, where all sides’ critical red lines are addressed, if imperfectly. This is discussed regarding Russia, Ukraine, and the West today. As former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat demonstrated by going …

Methodological Analysis Of The Guinea Bissau Nationalist Movement 1963-1974: Amilcar Cabral-Marxist Or Pragmatist Revolutionary?, Aliou Ly

Journal of African Policy Studies

On 24 September 1973, the former Portuguese colony of West Africa, Guinea Bissau, under the leadership of Amilcar Cabral and the PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and the Cape Verde Islands), declared its independence after fighting a national liberation war against their Portuguese colonialists. This was the first and the only war for independence in West Africa, with the complete defeat of a European colonial army. During and after the Guinea Bissau Liberation war; 1963-1974, many social scientists, particularly those using the Marxist framework analyzed this African nationalist struggle as a successful Marxist revolution in West Africa. …

Musical Influence And Propaganda During The Russian-Ukrainian War., Kamil Józef Pedziwiatr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the role of music as a tool of influence and propaganda during the Russian-Ukrainian war, examining its progression both in Ukraine and Russia from the beginning of the conflict to the present. The study traces how music has been employed by both nations to influence and shape public perception, reinforce national identity, and advance political agendas. In Ukraine, music has become a medium for resistance and solidarity. Ukrainian artists bring back the traditions of the Kobzari, the wandering minstrels of Ukrainian folklore, who used song to communicate stories of resistance, national pride and important historical events. Today, …

Casar Public Lecture: Will Trump End The Ukraine War?, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

Trump wants to become the world’s Peace Maker, the Master of the Art of Making Deals. He promised to end this war in 24 hours. Yet the real question is whether Putin wants to end the war, or whether he is ready for a deal ? If so, then what kind of a deal? Could it be that Putin might have a different deal in mind than the deal Trump is willing to offer?? So what happens then??? The lecture deliberated about the possible answers to this very question from several perspectives, analyzing the impact on Egypt, the region & …

Prohibiting Threats Of Aggression, Edward T. Swaine

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Recent events, particularly Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have revived worries about the international regime regulating the use of force. Vastly less attention has been paid to what often precedes such attacks—threats to use force—and the prohibition on them. While the UN Charter and other legal instruments integrate the threats regime with the regime on actual uses of force, the two regimes are increasingly decoupled, in part because only one considers gradations: the use-of-force regime now identifies more serious variants like aggression and crimes of aggression; threats rules, by contrast, do not. This decoupling reflects real differences in the underlying wrongs, …

The Creative Front, Aleksandr O. Barrett

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract

In this paper, I will discuss my thesis exhibition, The Creative Front, focusing on my materials, content, and context as they relate to each piece or body of work. This exhibition is the culmination of my work, which centers on my experience with the Russo-Ukrainian war. My work can be interpreted metaphorically, poetically, and directly through sculpture, installation, sound, and film. I am portraying very human stories and experiences from a full-scale war raging in Europe. My work is immersive, placing the viewer in an atmosphere of war, and conveying a sense of urgency and compassion for those who …

A New Melian Dialogue: Feminist Thinkers On Security Problems Of The 21st Century, Heather Rellihan, Michael Coffey

Journal of International Women's Studies

This essay critically engages with two important works on feminist foreign policy— Kristina Lunz’s The Future of Foreign Policy is Feminist and Cynthia Enloe’s Twelve Feminist Lessons of War—both of which offer useful insights for the evolving field of critical security studies. The authors of this essay have divergent backgrounds—a professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and a defense scholar—which reflect a central tension in feminist foreign policy between feminist principles and the paradigms and exigencies of defense policy makers. Through a constructed conversation between its authors, this essay engages the arguments of Lunz and Enloe to ask …

Treaty Wars And Executive Unilateralism: With A Case Study Of The Korean War, Jack James Warner

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the expansion of presidential power during the Cold War through the lens of International Treaty Organizations (ITOs), using the Korean War as a case study. ITOs enabled US presidents, beginning with Truman, to engage in military conflicts devoid of the traditionally required congressional approval, thereby transforming the nature of American diplomacy and elevating executive authority. By leveraging US obligations to the United Nations treaty, Truman set a precedent for unilateral military action under the aegis of international peacekeeping. Politicians attempted to restrict the president's authority to wage war in Korea, culminating in the introduction of the Bricker …

Casar Panel Discussion: The 2024 Us Elections: Expectations And Implications Around The World, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar, Mark W. Deets

Performances, Events, and Presentations

This panel discussion talked about the possible scenarios of the 2024 US election round from several perspectives, analyzing the impact on the region & the world. The speakers were AUC Faculty: Dr.Alaa El-Hadidi (CASAR) - Dr. Sean Lee (Political Science)- Dr. Mouness Hojairi (History) and the event was moderated by CASAR Director Dr.Mark Deets. Sun. Nov. 3rd, 2024 - AUC New Cairo Campus

Women, Militarism, And Political Representation: The Case Of Armenia, Valentine M. Moghadam, Marisa Goolgasian

Journal of International Women's Studies

How does militarism affect women’s presence in the political process? Through a focus on the Republic of Armenia during the period 1990-2020, we examine the puzzle of women’s political representation. The country’s legacy of communist-era ideology of women’s equality, its democratic transition, women’s high levels of educational attainment and labor force participation, and the 2007 gender quota adoption should have served to place Armenia in the top 50 countries in women’s political representation. Yet for two decades, the country appeared low on international rankings of women’s political empowerment. To unpack this puzzle, we revisit two strands of the women-and-war literature—one …

Book Review: Why War?, Stephen T. Satkiewicz

Comparative Civilizations Review

Pay any attention to current events and it seems that war and conflict are everywhere: from the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to the eruption of conflict in the Middle East in October 2023, to on-going geopolitical tensions in the Pacific over the status of Taiwan. It was only a decade or so ago that many were confidently predicting not only the decline but the outright end of war, as Steven Pinker boldly argued in his The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined.

Climate Science, The Military-Industrial Complex, And The Political Economy Of Knowledge-Making: Beyond The Capitalist Ontology Of Nature?, Daniel Cunha

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

Climate science is one of the main political drivers of today’s world, informing critical scholars and social movements alike. Yet, many scholars associate it with projects of domination (the Cold War, capitalism, imperialism) while relying on it to elaborate a critique of capital. This article proposes a new historical account of climate science. Drawing from archival findings, interpreted with historical sociology combined with the critique of political economy, the article shows that a conflict developed at the National Academy of Sciences during the Vietnam War, between scientists who wanted atmospheric research to be under the auspices of NATO, as proposed …

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

This issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy, with Lord John Alderdice as the guest editor, examines how, with the advent of sophisticated technologies and AI, the conduct of wars and peacemaking in the opening decades of the twenty-first century has changed, with implications for the future of both and society at large.

Echoes Of War In Lithuania, Jokubas Salyga

Political Science Faculty Publications

The chapter explores the impact of the war on the everyday lives of Lithuanians. It begins by addressing the economic challenges instigated by Vladimir Putin’s military adventurism, and the latter’s burden on workers and the poor. This is followed by documenting the unwavering determination of the Lithuanian government and its people to create a hospitable environment for Ukrainian refugees. Subsequently, the chapter delves into the trials and tribulations faced by Ukrainian arrivals in Lithuania, drawing comparisons with the experiences of Belarusian and Russian nationals who have also sought refuge in the country. The latter are currently viewed as a potential …

A Remote Sensing Investigation Of The 2022 Invasion Of Eastern Ukraine On Agricultural Landcover, Michael S. Agbozo, Luke J. Marzen, Chandana Mitra

The Geographical Bulletin

Ukraine-Russian political relations over the years have alternatively experienced periods of tranquility and turmoil with violent conflicts since 1917, including the events of the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 Russian invasion of the entirety of Ukraine. These conflicts remain developmental threats and their assessment requires multi-perspective analysis. Understanding the spatial dimensions of such conflicts and their consequences on physical and social spaces at varying scales could provide credible scientific impetuses on which targeted post-conflict remediations could be built. This preliminary study therefore takes advantage of the capabilities of satellite remote sensing, to provide quick and effective spatiotemporal analysis …

The Impact Of The Russia-Ukraine War On European Union Currencies: A High-Frequency Analysis, Mahmut Zeki Akarsu, Orkideh Gharehgozli

Department of Economics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article examines how the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war has affected the valuation of five European Union currencies: the Polish Zloty, Hungarian Forint, Czech Koruna, Swedish Krone, and Romanian Leu. Using high-frequency time series data and advanced statistical models, we analyze a 522-week period from 1 January 2013, to 24 February 2023, with 24 February 2022, as a key focal point. The Russia-Ukraine war had varying effects on the currencies of non-Eurozone countries. Poland, Hungary, and Sweden experienced significant impacts, while Czechia and Romania remained relatively stable. Our research also highlights the stability of the Euro as a reserve currency, which …

Sticker Shock: The Icj, Russia, And A $300 Billion Price Tag For War, Caitlyn Quinn

American University National Security Law Brief

Ukraine has experienced unprecedented devastation since Russia launched a full scale invasion into its Eastern territory in February 2022. Thousands have been killed, and billions of dollars of infrastructure has been damaged. As a result, over the past three years, the international community has been evaluating ways to hold Russia accountable and to help rebuild Ukraine upon the cessation of the war. Billions of dollars in Russian Central Bank assets have been frozen, and multiple states have proposed seizing Russia’s frozen assets to meet these objectives. However, outright asset seizure presents genuine legal concerns about foreign sovereign immunity and may …

The Impact Of Wars On Us Defense Stock Returns, Viksit Verma

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the financial performance and market impact of defense and aerospace companies during periods of war and conflict. The study examines a sample of 9 firms representing the defense sector, and utilizes an event study methodology to assess stock returns during specific geopolitical events, namely the Russia-Ukraine War and the Israel-Hamas conflict. The study generally reveals positive abnormal returns during conflicts, indicating lower volatility and reduced market risk for the sample of defense firms compared to the broader market. All abnormal returns are statistically significant for the Russia-Ukraine War. For the Israel-Hamas conflict, abnormal returns for 4 out …

The Issue Of War In The Basic Social Concepts Of The Russian Orthodox Church And In The Compendium Of The Social Doctrine Of The Catholic Church: A Comparative Analysis, Olga Nedavnya

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The assessment by the Russian Orthodox Church of the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as a holy war prompts to determine whether this position of this Church is determined by its theological recommendations on social life, recorded in the Basics of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church. The analysis of this current official document of the Russian Orthodox Church revealed that in the central part of its provisions, where the grounds for evaluating this or that war are given, there are references to the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. This fact led to the need …

Belief In War, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Journal Articles

Introductory Statement

Belief in war dominates our world. From Ukraine to Sudan to America’s ‘war on terror’, extraordinary resources are poured into militaries and arms races. The explanation for why belief in war has become prominent in foreign and security policy in Russia, the United States., China, NATO states and many other places is linked to the influence of Realist political theory. Pope St. John XXIII’s encyclical Pacem in Terris argued for honoring the alternatives to Realism – international law and institutions. It is time for an encyclical that responds directly to Realism and teaches belief in the authentic natural …

Vulnerability In Times Of War: The Necessity Of The Moral Third, Hille Haker

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Vulnerability as a critique of the one-sidedness of the principle of autonomy is at risk of overemphasizing the positive dimension of vulnerability. Moreover, in the discourse on vulnerability, the threat of dehumanization (or moral vulnerability) has not been scrutinized enough ethically. Therefore, the ethics of vulnerability is insufficient when faced with the force of war that requires the conceptualization of vulnerability for political-ethics. The Russian war in Ukraine demonstrates this weakness in a striking way: the called-for openness to the other as well as an active form of nonviolence, as promoted by Judith Butler, may not be an option in …

Women In The War: A Gendered Analysis Of Media Coverage Of The Russian-Ukraine War, Ayo Oyeleye, Shujun Jiang

Journal of International Women's Studies

In recent years several commentators have observed the trend of mainstream media ignoring and distorting women’s perspectives and experiences in armed conflicts. Both in the reporting and the wider discourse about conflicts, women tend to be cast less as political actors and more as helpless victims, often paired with children in accounts of war incidents. Carolina Marques de Mesquita (2016), in her study of media coverage of recent wars and conflicts, observed that while major media outlets tend to represent the scale of violence in a conflict through the harm and death inflicted on women, they are otherwise often neglected. …