Maxwell School News

As we pass the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine, numerous factors such as the Russian military’s poor performance, Putin’s botched mobilization, mounting casualties, economic challenges resulting from sanctions and export controls, and increasingly visible elite fissures are raising questions about the political stability of the Russian regime. Brian Taylor, professor of political science, weighs in.

Professor Grant Reeher was quoted in the Washington Times article, "Fewer Americans blame Jan. 6 riot on Trump."

Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, spoke with the Washington Times and KCBS Radio about President Biden's emergency summit with NATO allies.

"I would just say an important difference between Biden and Trump, when the smoke clears, is that Biden wants to work with the allies," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely.

"There’s a real question as to the economic capacity in both countries [right now]," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics, adding that "it’s hopeful that the officials are saying that they still intend to meet these obligations." 

Professor of Economics Mary Lovely says the rules governing scientists’ ties to Chinese research institutions are murky and sometimes lead prosecutors to charge people who have made innocent mistakes. "People can stumble into things inadvertently. The rules have to be very clear and if someone violates those clear rules, then you throw the book at them," she says.

"If the White House game plan was based on the premise that imposing more robust sanctions would cause a popular uprising by the Iranian people to bring down the regime, it badly miscalculated," writes Professor of Political Science Mehrzad Boroujerdi. "Instead, the nuclear withdrawal convinced Tehran that ill will should beget ill will."

"The Iranians do have an appetite for negotiating, but I think what is holding things up right now—and that’s the part that the Trump administration perhaps is not really comprehending—is they have to save face," says Professor of Political Science Mehrzad Boroujerdi.

The new Veterans in Politics program is designed to help veterans and military family members who aspire to public office or another form of a political career.

"For a long time, it was in the interests of the Greek government to maintain Shariah for the Turkish-speaking minority because it emphasized their religious identity more than their ethnic and linguistic [Turkish] identity,” says Yüksel Sezgin, associate professor of political science.

"Opioids may have been the spark, but a spark needs kindling in order to ignite," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

"Executive privilege is an amorphous concept," Professor Emeritus William C. Banks says. "It has never been tested the way it could soon be tested."

Miriam Elman, associate professor of political science, says panelists at a recent anti-Semitism forum downplayed escalating anti-Jewish bigotry on U.S. college campuses, "where the problem is not coming from Trump or the alt-Right but from the progressive Left."