International Relations Commons^™

Where Are The Women Memorialized? Commemoration Of Women In The U.S. Congress, Deborah Saki, Alexander Leasure

The Journal of Social Encounters

In the United States, a study of the memorialization of political actors through monuments reveals the disgracefully small number of women memorialized. We find little effort to preserve the memory of trailblazing women in the U.S. Congress. By 2021, as the National Monument Audit indicates, only two congresswomen were memorialized in public spaces across the country: Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-T.X.) and Rep. Millicent Fenwick (R-N.J.). Drawing on frameworks of historical memory and theories of reputational politics, we examine the public conversations that led to the memorialization of these women. We find motive, institutional power, and clarity of narrative in …

Sanitation System Options For Public Health Promotion For Post-War Khartoum, Sudan, Gazi Nouman

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Frontline Medicine During War In Sudan: Confronting Health System Collapse, Mogahed Halaly

The Journal of Social Encounters

Since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, the country’s fragile health system has deteriorated rapidly. As hospitals closed, medical supplies vanished, and millions were displaced, frontline health workers were forced to make impossible choices. This essay recounts my experience as a young physician during the collapse of Sinnar Teaching Hospital, my displacement to White Nile State, and the creation of a community-led humanitarian initiative that provided clinical care, shelter, food, and livelihood support to thousands. It reflects on the intersection of war, displacement, public health collapse, and …

Emergency Response Rooms In Sudan: From Revolutionary Grassroots Organization To The Management Of Life In A Context Of Political Collapse, Salih Mustafa

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Webinar: Sudan: Possible Paths To Peace?

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Essay: Welcoming Iranian Refugees And Immigrants To Toronto, Canada, Paul Pynkoski

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Shia Islam And Politics: Iran, Iraq, And Lebanon, Christopher Anzalone

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Essay: The Islamic Moses And Muslim-Jewish Relations, Kareem Rosshandler

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Festival Diplomacy (Ceremony Diplomacy) As A Lesser-Known Form Of Cultural Diplomacy By Emerging Non-State Actors: The Newroz Legacy Of The Kurdish Regional Resistance In Iraq And Syria, Khaled Sheykholeslami

The Journal of Social Encounters

Kurds as the second largest ethnic groups in Iraq and Syria are the only nation in these two major-Arab countries that celebrate Newroz every year. However, as a minority community divided among different Middle Eastern countries, the arrival of the new year and the celebration of Newroz seem to have taken on a political significance beyond merely celebrating spring and the end of winter. This essay argues that Newroz has evolved from a cultural celebration into a strategic instrument of non-state cultural diplomacy used by Kurdish actors in Iraq and Syria to resist centralizing state power and project transnational identity. …

Islamic Relief As A Transnational Advocacy Network In Building Global Solidarity For Gaza, Nura Alanda Nabila, Zhafirah Fatin Azzah, Nuraeni -, R. Dudy Heryadi

The Journal of Social Encounters

This article examines the role of Islamic Relief in supporting Palestine from the perspective of the Transnational Advocacy Network. The conflict in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, raises the central question of how non-governmental actors contribute to global advocacy efforts amid the large-scale civilian suffering. The article is based on qualitative research, utilizing a literature review as a data collection technique, with constructivism as the theoretical framework. This study positions Islamic Relief as a transnational humanitarian organization whose work is shaped and rooted in Islamic values. The findings showed that the efforts to address the crisis in Gaza are carried out …

Food, Faith, And Sustainability: Rethinking Ramadan Consumption Practices In Qatar, Tamim Raihan

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay examines the paradox that Ramadan’s ethical horizon of restraint and moral accountability often coincides, in contemporary Qatar, with heightened provisioning and recurrent food waste. Bringing Émile Durkheim’s sacred–profane distinction into dialogue with Nancy Ammerman’s “lived religion,” the analysis treats commensality as a privileged site where religious meaning is socially produced, renewed, and contested through embodied practice. It further mobilizes Benjamin Smith’s critique of Market Orientalism to caution against culturalizing narratives that frame Gulf “excess” as moral deficiency while obscuring political-economic conditions, labor arrangements, and infrastructures that normalize surplus. Methodologically, the article is a theory-driven, interpretive conceptual essay grounded …

United States Middle East Policy In The Age Of Donald Trump, Gary Prevost

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay on the foreign policy of the United States in the Middle East in the middle of the second Trump administration and the continuing conflict in Gaza and the West Bank makes the case for decades of consistency in US policy but also some nuances from the current US administration. The author makes the case that there have been three constants in US policy since the era of the Second World War. First, is the guarantee the flow of reasonably priced oil to the United States and its allies.  Second, the maintenance of the state of Israel as a …

Geopolitical Transformation In The Post-October 7 Middle East (2023–2025): Power Shifts Vs. Structural Shifts, Nael Shama

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay investigates the geopolitical shifts that unfolded in the Middle East from October 2023 to the end of 2025, stimulated by the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent events it triggered. These included military confrontations between Israel and each of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The essay demonstrates that these developments have reshaped power positions and alliances in the Middle East, leading to a more complex and unpredictable geopolitical landscape. It sketches out the new regional balance of …

Countering Social Encounters: Darwish’S “Speech Of The Red Indian”, J. Kristen Urban

The Journal of Social Encounters

In June 2025 the Washington D.C. Arab Center held a conference at the National Press Club titled, “A Historic Juncture: Israel’s Destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian Future.”  The discussion sparked an incisive question: Would such a future follow a Palestinian-owned trajectory?  Incisive, because Palestinians have not owned their trajectory since the 1915 Sykes-Picot Agreement, have consistently been defined in negative terms, and have lived with the ambiguity of existing while remaining unrecognized.  Growing up within Israel, Palestine’s national poet, Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008), experienced this paradox firsthand, and explored it directly in “Speech of the Red Indian,” a poem written …

Gender Justice Lessons From North-East Syria Amidst Patriarchal Perpetuation In The New Syrian Arab Republic?, Theresa Wagner

The Journal of Social Encounters

The overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, whose family had ruled Syria for over sixty years, and his government by Hai’at Tahrir asch-Scham (HTS) signified for many the beginning of a new era of democracy and freedom after thirteen years of civil war. People in the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), a self-governing region that had not been ruled by the Syrian state since 2012, joined in with the celebrating crowds. However, they remained skeptical of HTS, which originated as a branch of al-Qaeda, known back then as Jabhat al-Nusra. Since taking on government responsibilities in the new …

Introduction: The Arab World And Middle East In An Age Of Dynamism And Change, Eslam Elbahlawan, Mawa Mohamed, Ron Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel began a massive joint military attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran to which Iran has responded. At the time of the publication of this issue, the fighting continues and could become more widespread; the ultimate outcome of the conflict is unknown.  This conflict highlights the importance of a deeper understanding of the region.

In the shadow of these events, people of the Middle East once again find their lives reordered by decisions taken far above their heads and far beyond their borders. The current war not only devastates cities, infrastructure, …

The Cyber Deterrence Dilemma: Parallels Between Cyber And Intelligence Special Operations, Jorge R. Kravetz Msc

Joint Force Quarterly

The dilemma of cyber deterrence, alongside its potential failures, has gained increasing academic attention, though its parallels with traditional special operations remain less examined. Cyber and special operations—often covert activities involving espionage, sabotage, and subversion, generally linked to strategic or military intelligence—typically evade standard deterrence mechanisms. Drawing on a theoretical framework of deterrence, academic literature, historical cases, and qualitative analyses, this article argues that deterrence tends to fail when deterrers manage to destabilize an adversary without causing significant strategic impacts on the target’s power, economic, or social dynamics, as well as on international relations. Retaliation, shaped by implicit agreements or …

From The Editor In Chief, C. Anthony Pfaff

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Spring 2026 issue of Parameters, which consists of an In Focus special commentary, three forums (Clausewitz and Modern Warfare, Operational Considerations, and Historical Studies), and the Strategic Competition Corner.

Strategic Rivalries: How Are They Won?, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues strategic rivalries—distinct from general strategic competition—are best understood as contests in which states prioritize weakening a specific opponent’s capacity to compete. It departs from existing work by critiquing the Joint Concept for Competing’s narrow definition and by emphasizing rivalry termination as a central but understudied dimension. Drawing on decades of international relations scholarship and historical datasets of interstate rivalries since 1815, the article analyzes how rivalries end and identifies strategic preclusion as a proactive approach for winning them. Its insights offer policy and military practitioners guidance for shaping competitive strategies short of war.

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Parameters Spring 2026, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Imitating Us Doctrine Cost Europe Its Heavy Combat Power, Bence Nemeth

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that Europe’s loss of heavy combat power is primarily the result of doctrinal shifts influenced by the United States, rather than underfunding alone. Unlike existing research that focuses on defense budgets or burden-sharing, this study isolates the opportunity costs of adopting US-based expeditionary and counterinsurgency doctrines. Using force structure data for Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom (1990–2022), it conducts a counterfactual analysis of lost tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and heavy artillery pieces. The article shows that Europe’s shortfalls are doctrinal as much as fiscal and highlights the relevance of maintaining balance in future doctrinal choices.

Approaching The Military As A Profession Through The Clausewitzian Trinity, Adam T. Biggs

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The Clausewitzian trinity (people, government, and military—or passion, reason, and chance) can enhance existing scholarship and discussions about military professionalism by emphasizing the fundamental purpose of military forces. Specifically, managing chance incorporates elements of reducing uncertainty and applying creativity as individuals develop coup d’oeil. Junior personnel manage chance by reducing cognitive load while enhancing cognitive skills needed to quickly assess battlefield conditions as they progress to becoming senior leaders. This article contrasts these ideas against the various roles assigned to civil-military forces in the Clausewitzian trinity to emphasize professionalism in developing military leaders.

Spezialpropaganda: The East German Military’S Covert Information-Warfare Program, Joe Cheravitch

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article details the East German military’s extensive, innovative covert-propaganda program, which was designed to influence West German attitudes for almost two decades during the Cold War. Unlike existing scholarship that primarily addresses intelligence-led disinformation, this study exclusively analyzes military-led information warfare. The article uses previously classified East German military records to examine capabilities and tactics ranging from fake conscription notices to radio broadcasts. The findings offer contemporary US military planners and practitioners insight into the complexities of integrating information-warfare capabilities, measuring the effectiveness of propaganda, and understanding adversarial influence campaigns, with direct implications for current Joint Force planning and …

Strategic Theory And Clausewitz’S Trinitarian Test, Lukas Milevski

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Carl von Clausewitz’s trinity represents a qualitative test for strategy in both theory and practice. With the trinity, Clausewitz transforms competing influences into a mark of theoretical quality. Synthesizing several translations of Clausewitz’s On War and interpretations by experts such as Hew Strachan, Antulio J. Echevarria II, and Frank G. Hoffman, this article suggests that Clausewitz believed that good theory encompasses and accounts for all fundamental forces of war, whereas bad theory emphasizes the extremes of one force. The trinity compels mandatory considerations for students of theory, war planners, and practitioners.

Whose Rules, Whose Rights?: Conflict-Related Sexual Violence And Legal Protections In Wartime, Sadaf Shabbir

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article critically analyzes conflict-related systematic sexual violence (CRSV) within the frameworks of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols. Moving beyond viewing CRSV as an isolated atrocity, it situates sexual violence within the historical and political roots of conflict, using case studies from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Syrian Arab Republic. The analysis demonstrates how sexual violence operates as a weapon within exploitative wartime economies, where institutional collapse and illicit resource networks enable the commodification and control of women’s bodies. Furthermore, the article introduces a sectarian lens to the study of CRSV, …

Moment Of Recognizability: Askancing And The Global South, Pedro Lange Churion, Tanu Sankalia

Global Studies Faculty Publications

This article introduces askancing as an epistemic strategy for the Global South to challenge the Global North’s construction of the Global South’s alterity. Askancing is a neologism we propose by engaging with Jacques Lacan’s speculations on the gaze as it pertains to the construction of “the other.” We argue that this strategy of askancing might already be implicit in postcolonial theories, from the notion of the subaltern, through “decoloniality,” to “ecologies of knowledge.” Central to askancing—and contrary to the decolonial call for an epistemic break with modernity—we agree with Dipesh Chakrabarty’s assertion that modernity’s rational discourse is both “indispensable and …

Literature Review: Crowdfunding And Political Fundraising, Saiful Ahmad, Palupi Lindiasari Samputra

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Crowdfunding is an effort to raise relatively small amounts of money involving many individuals to support a specific project. Typically, crowdfunding is conducted online through fundraising platforms. The aim of this paper is to identify and analyse the utilisation of crowdfunding in fundraising activities that are related to or have political goals carried out by certain organisations or political groups. The method used in this paper is qualitative in the form of narrative analysis carried out through in-depth reading of several scientific literatures that discuss political fundraising through crowdfunding. The sources of scientific literature collection were obtained through the Google …

How A Stay-At-Home Father Plays A Role In Family Resilience?, Fatimah Fatimah, Eko Daryanto

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

One of the impacts of modernization is the loss of barriers between job and particular gender. This also happens in the family unit, more specifically in the role of husband and wife. The husband's job which is identical to earn money and the wife's job is to manage the household should be able to be done more flexibly according to family conditions. This adaptation process is needed in order to strengthen family resilience. Non-traditional family composition that usually consist of a stay-at-home father and a working mother can be used as a family adaptation strategy. This study uses the results …

Implementation Of Zero Trust Architecture On Local Server Management In Educational Institutions, Joko Purwanto, Safar Dwi Kurniawan

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

Educational institutions are facing increasingly complex cyber threats, particularly as they continue to rely on on-premises servers with limited cybersecurity resources. Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) offers a security model that rejects implicit trust and requires strict verification of each access request. This study aims to examine the applicability of ZTA in managing local servers within educational institutions through a qualitative literature review approach. Relevant literature from 2014 to 2025 was analyzed using thematic synthesis to identify recurring concepts, strategies, and gaps. The results show that ZTA, when integrated with Identity and Access Management (IAM), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), …