Politics
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America’s Most Enduring Foreign Relationship
America’s longest unbroken foreign relationship is with Morocco, which was technically the first country to recognize the U.S. as an independent nation. Sultan Muhammad III—who had just consolidated his reign after years of instability and turmoil—wanted to establish fruitful trade relations; so, in 1777, just as the American Revolution was heating up, he declared Morocco’s… Continue reading
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France Calls for More Global Unity
Following what turned out to be a literally laughable speech from Trump at the U.N.–which had the usual anti-globalist rhetoric, albeit with soft praise for the U.N. overall–France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, followed right after with an indirect but clear rebuke of nationalism and insularity. “What will bring a real solution to the situation in Iran… Continue reading
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How Al Qaeda Reinvented Modern Terrorism
It’s easy to forget that until 1993, until the World Trade Center was a target [by Ramzi Yousef, terrorism and assassination and guerrilla warfare stood in direct antithesis to slaughter on an industrial scale. The specificity of the target had been at the heart of political murder for nearly a millennium. The original assassins were… Continue reading
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How Iranians Use New Media to Empower Civil Society
The tenacity and resourcefulness of the Iranian people–and indeed of oppressed people the world over–is incredible. One of the latest apps is Hafez, which translates as “to protect”. Named after the famous Persian poet whose words frequently targeted religious hypocrisy, the app offers users a collection of human rights-related information. Foremost, it is a virtual… Continue reading
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Delegative Democracy and Presidentialization
There is no shortage of think pieces out there diagnosing the state of American politics and conjecturing as to where things are heading. But one recently caught my attention presenting a pretty interesting, if disconcerting, analysis and thesis about the changes unfolding in American democracy. It came to me via The Interpreter newsletter, named after the New… Continue reading
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The Rights of Immigrants in the U.S.
How America treats foreigners, regardless of their legal status, is of supreme importance morally, politically, and even diplomatically. It speaks to our values, impacts our standing in the world, and may even influenced the way our own citizens are treated abroad. This is not a bleeding heart talking point, but the sober and matter-of-fact conclusion… Continue reading
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Humanist | Bibliophile | Writer | Wiki Editor | World Citizen | Esquire (J.D. / LL.M.)