Maxwell School News

There’s been “a real rupture in the way we think about how the world order, if we want to call it that, functions,” says Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs. In moments of instability, he explains, buying gold has historically been a sort of “psychological reaction” for some hoping to find a safe place for their money.

While the strikes on alleged drug boats have raised questions about the use of military force, Trump’s seizure of the tanker and other actions against sanctioned entities are consistent with past American policy, says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

“Chinese officials have let the issue fester for years, holding it in reserve as a problem they could one day solve to defuse pressure from Washington,” says Dimitar Gueorguiev, associate professor of political science. “A deal now costs Beijing less than when negotiations started, while still yielding the maximum optics of compromise.”

“It was a useful navigation tool in the 16th century, because it has straight lines, giving navigators a line of constant direction to sail along,” says Mark Monmonier, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography and the Environment. “But outside of that very narrow navigation application, there is no point in using it.”

“It’s a mystery to me why they [Camp Mystic] weren’t taking proactive steps to move structures away from the risk, let alone challenging what seems like a very reasonable map that shows these structures were in the 100-year flood zone,” says Sarah Pralle, associate professor of political science.

“This report doesn’t change any of the underlying evidence—in fact it doesn’t even address any of that evidence,” says Brian Taylor, director the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs. Taylor suggests the report may have been intended to reinforce Trump’s claims that investigations into his ties to Russia are part of a Democratic hoax.

“If I’m a Republican, I want this guy to win,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. “Because I want to be able to compare and contrast my campaign as a Republican, in a national election, to the idea of, ‘This is where the Democratic party is.’”

China and other nations will try to take advantage of such lapses, and national security officials must take steps to prevent them from recurring, says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. “They all have access to a variety of secure communications platforms. We just can’t share things willy-nilly.”

Margaret Susan Thompson, professor of history and political science, says she doubts Leo will renounce his U.S. citizenship. “I think he wants to stress that he is the pope of the universal Catholic Church,” Thompson says, “and not an American holding that position.”

Wildfires driven by climate change contribute to as many as thousands of annual deaths and billions of dollars in economic costs from wildfire smoke in the United States, according to a new study. Jacob Bendix, professor emeritus of geography and environment, says he is “dismayed” by the findings but not surprised.

“We don’t know what the U.S. is doing. We don’t know why they’re doing it, and they seem to revel in the fact that they’re causing trouble, economic pain and consternation all across Europe and the world,” says Ryan Monarch, assistant professor of economics.

“I challenge the notion that there is a tsunami of support for Le Pen on this issue,” says John Goodman, assistant professor of political science by courtesy appointment. “Her appeal has been fast-tracked so it can be heard in the summer of 2026, well before the 2027 presidential election, and significantly faster than a typical criminal case.”

“There are people whose lives are literally on the line, whether that's service personnel, whether that's intelligence personnel,” says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. “These guys are supposed to be leaders of the free world, the responsible leaders of the military, the greatest country in the world, and they can't perform basic operational security.”

“Russia clearly interfered in this election,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science and expert on Russian politics. He says Russia’s objectives were to “help Trump and to sow chaos more generally—although there is no evidence that their activities changed the outcome.”

“In some ways, you almost have two generic candidates running, one more conservative and one sort of more mainstream. And you’ve got a district that just seems more built for people who are closer to the center, in either party,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“The situation is still highly fluid, but with clear signs that the Russian command and control of responding units is still coming together, with all-important unity of command not yet achieved,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

“There is a quite substantial lag between addition of atmospheric carbon due to wildfire and the eventual removal of at least some of it by the regrowing forest. So, over the course of those decades, the net impact of the fires is a contribution to climate warming,” says Jacob Bendix, professor emeritus of geography and the environment. 

Though this fire is nearly contained, in general, fire burns hotter when the weather is hotter, says Jacob Bendix, professor emeritus of geography and the environment. He adds that drought contributes to dangerous fire seasons, but paradoxically, wetter years can too.

“The war in Ukraine is central to his current political project, and I don’t see anything to suggest that that will change. And that affects everything else,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science and director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.