News | Maxwell School

Khalil weighs in on end of Israel PM Netanyahu's career in USA Today

Israel's parliament cast a historic vote on Sunday that ended Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year tenure as prime minister and ushered in a "change coalition" that includes hardline factions, centrists and an Arab party, the first ever in an Israeli government. "It is a watershed moment," says Osamah Khalil. It may be a "Nixon-goes-to-China" pivot in Israeli politics—making it easier for future Israeli politicians to join forces with Arab parties after the hardline Bennett took that first step, he adds. Read more in the USA Today article, "'Watershed moment': Netanyahu’s fate on the line as Israel prepares for historic vote." Khalil was also quoted in the USA Today article, "Who is Naftali Bennett, Israel’s next prime minister if Benjamin Netanyahu is ousted?"

6/14/2021

Internship Brings ‘Full Circle’ Moment

Student Connor Muldoon watched the opening arguments in the trial of George Floyd’s convicted killer, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, on a television in the Syracuse Police Department. His viewing companions—three police officers. It was a moment provided by an educational opportunity; Muldoon was hired to intern in the police department in the spring semester. The opportunity was made possible by a gift from Syracuse University alumnus and Maxwell Advisory Board member David Kelso ’68.

6/14/2021

Reeher quoted in The Hill article on Biden, success of democracies

President Joe Biden is casting his first international trip as an opportunity to prove to the world that democracies work—but Americans are just as polarized as their elected representatives. "Biden does have a challenge," says Professor Grant Reeher. "He is arguing, 'I am here as the American president to be the leading voice.' But then he is subject to people saying, 'Wait a minute, look at what you folks have been going through. Why is it you? Why isn’t it [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel? Or one of the other leaders?' And it’s a legitimate criticism," he says. Read more in The Hill article, "The Memo: Biden says democracies work; the US is not helping his case."

6/10/2021

Gadarian comments on upcoming NYS mayoral races in City & State

Incumbent mayors are facing challenges in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse—Upstate New York’s four largest cities. These races are largely following a pattern found in recent Democratic primaries in New York, especially in New York City: More moderate incumbents are being challenged by opponents who say they have failed to address injustices like police brutality and income inequality. "I think what you’re seeing in upstate is pretty similar to what the discussion is at the national level in the Democratic Party, which is the progressive wing being more prominent than what you’ve seen in the past, and progressive Democrats running quite clearly on being progressive," says Professor Shana Gadarian. Read more in the City & State article, "Upstate incumbent mayors face challenges from the left."

6/8/2021

Abdelaaty talks to NBN about her book Discrimination and Delegation

Lamis Abelaaty, assistant professor of political science, spoke with the New Books Network about her recently published book "Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees" (Oxford University Press, 2021). Abdelaaty develops a two-part theoretical framework in which policymakers in refugee-receiving countries weigh international and domestic concerts. At the international level, policymakers consider relations with the refugee-sending country. At the domestic level policymakers consider political competition among ethnic groups. When these international and domestic incentives conflict, shifting responsibility to the UN allows policymakers to placate both refugee-sending countries and domestic constituencies.

6/8/2021

Lovely discusses India's COVID crisis, US textile imports with NBC

As the coronavirus pandemic tears across India, forcing garment factories to shut down or work at half capacity to stem new cases, retail suppliers are scrambling to move production to China. While India constitutes a smaller fraction of imports as compared to China, it still plays a significant role in certain sectors which makes it difficult to move supply chains outside the country, says Professor Mary Lovely. "If India dropped off the face of the world, where you would notice an impact is certainly in manufactured goods, textile and mill products and things like cloth and towels," she says. "You don't just move supply chains. They’re not like pins on a map." Read more in the NBC News article, "India's COVID crisis has ripple effects for garment industry worldwide."

6/3/2021

Faricy quoted in MarketWatch article on Child Tax Credit payouts

The U.S. government is preparing to send up to $300 a month per child in expanded Child Tax Credit payouts to millions of families this summer. The payouts are due to start July 15 and stem from March’s $1.9 trillion stimulus law. "The Child Tax Credit isn’t new," says Christopher Faricy. "What might be new is the motivation driving this in the Biden administration, which is a real understanding about how outdated the social safety net is—and recognizing the dual-earner status as becoming much more common since the post-World War II era, when a lot of the safety net was built." Read more in the MarketWatch article, "Monthly payments of up to $300 per child are starting for most families — and could keep coming for years."

6/1/2021

Reeher comments on probes into Gov. Cuomo allegations in Newsday

Inquiries regarding the Cuomo administration's handling of nursing homes and deaths from COVID-19, the governor's possible use of state personnel and resources to help produce his most recent book and the multiple allegations of sexual harassment leveled at the governor are advancing. "You’ve got three different institutions looking at accusations and he’s going to have to have clean bills of health on all of them to survive," says Professor Grant Reeher. "And the state-level institutions are all in his (Democratic) party, so he can’t claim partisan politics. That makes it tougher for him." Reeher was quoted in the Newsday article, "Cuomo probes move toward critical points with his tenure, legacy at stake."

6/1/2021

Heflin discusses food insecurity in military, veteran families in MT

Professor Colleen Heflin and other advocates participated in a roundtable discussion of hunger in the military and veteran communities before the House Rules Committee on May 27. They discussed the stigma in asking for help that’s perceived by service members, veterans and their families; difficulties families face in qualifying for assistance; and lack of real data to quantify the extent of the problem. Heflin suggests providing automatic SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, to service members in the lower ranks as they separate from the military. "It’s a small dollar item that could really help service members during this critical transition period." Read more in the Military Times article, "‘A national outrage’: Lawmakers seek solutions to food insecurity in military, veteran families."

6/1/2021

Flores-Lagunes discusses open jobs, unemployment on Syracuse.com

At a time of high unemployment, CNY businesses are having trouble finding workers to take their low-wage jobs. That’s because an additional $300 a week in unemployment benefits means people who made minimum wage when working earn the equivalent of $15 an hour for sitting at home. “Workers have a little more power for a change,” says Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, professor of economics. Flores-Lagunes says he does not think the unemployment benefits are the only factor keeping people out of the workforce. But, he says, they are making it easier for people on the margin to stay home or to come back to work at a slower pace. Read more in the Syracuse.com article, "An epidemic of open jobs and the unemployed in CNY; for many, work doesn’t work anymore."

5/27/2021

Lasch-Quinn explores useful philosophy of Bridgerton in Zócalo

In her piece published in Zócalo, "Can 'Bridgerton' Teach Us How to Live?," Professor Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn looks at whether the "voguish Netflix show that also carries strong resonances from the philosophical past" can help us learn how to live. "Even if renewed interest in ancient philosophies of living has reappeared on the horizon, this does not mean new references or allusions resemble anything more than bits and pieces, no longer recognizably related to a conversation about how to live a morally good life," writes Lasch-Quinn. "While 'Bridgerton,' like many other expressions of all kinds, might refer vaguely to Epicureanism, anyone reading the ancient texts, or about them, will see the difference," she says.

5/27/2021

Zeira quoted in Vox story on solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Exclusive national identities on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict run deep, making a one-state solution difficult. Yael Zeira, associate professor of political science, says identities can be altered: that "physically separating ethnic groups in conflict is not necessarily required to achieve peace." She was quoted in the Vox article, "In defense of the two-state solution."

5/27/2021

McCormick comments on violence ahead of Mexico elections in Al Jazeera

There have been 34 candidates murdered nationwide in Mexico ahead of the June 6 legislative elections that will fill thousands of local seats and nearly half of the country’s governors. "There’s always been violence with elections and electoral cycles especially at the mayoral level where you really see things get heated, but this time it feels like it’s way more than ordinary," says Gladys McCormick. "It’s a testament of the influence of organized crime with these local elections trying to sway the institutions,” McCormick says. "Organized crime has infiltrated municipalities, law enforcement at the municipal levels,” she says. "This is working its way up." Read more in the Al Jazeera article, "Another candidate assassinated in Mexico ahead of June 6 vote."

5/27/2021

Thompson talks to CNY Central about the Jan. 6 commission

An independent, bipartisan commission plans to investigate the Jan. 6 riot, providing new insight into how and why it happened and the security vulnerabilities it exposed of the Capitol complex. "The group of people responsible for this is pretty extensive," says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. She was quoted in the CNY Central article, "Bipartisan commission to investigate January 6 attack on U.S. Capitol."

5/26/2021

Faricy explains popularity of US's complex tax code in Fortune

Tax experts and economists have long thought the U.S. tax code is inefficient, inequitable and full of opportunities for evasion. Christopher Faricy argues that, despite the complaints, Americans want it that way. "The tax code is so complicated because it is filled with myriad deductions and exclusions that Americans can take for engaging in certain activities, such as buying a home, saving for retirement and paying down student loan debt," writes Faricy and co-author Christopher Ellis. "Rather than spending money directly by subsidizing or providing these things, the government instead places incentives in the tax code for individuals to engage in these activities in private markets." Read more in the article, "America’s messy tax code is actually quite popular," published in Fortune.

5/26/2021

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