Maxwell School News

“I think Putin's strategy is unlikely to work and unlikely to change the basic trajectory of the war, which is still that his strategic objectives that he set out at the very beginning of the invasion, which is basically to control Ukraine will not be achieved. And he's only made the Ukrainian population more resistant to any kind of submission to Russian political domination,” says Brian Taylor, director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

The originality of Associate Professor of Political Science Glyn Morgan’s book “lies in its claim that European unification—first the European Coal and Steel Community, in 1951, then the European Economic Community, in 1957, and finally the European Union, in 1993—was more an American creation than a European one. Postwar Europe, he argues, was made in America’s image,” says reviewer Ian Buruma.

“Russians generally are tired of the war and want it to end,” says Brian Taylor, director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs. “They are well aware that the full-scale war against Ukraine started in 2022 has already lasted longer than the ‘Great Patriotic War’ against Nazi Germany.”

The article, co-authored by Professor and Chair of Political Science Seth Jolly, was published in the Journal of Politics.

“We’ve known for decades that extreme heat and drought are becoming more common due to anthropogenic climate change. So the general outline of these events, if not all the details, was tragically predictable,” explains Jacob Bendix, professor emeritus of geography and the environment.

Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, says he isn't terribly surprised by the long-range drone capabilities that Ukraine has been able to develop based on “the technology that Ukraine has brought to the battle so far and their ability to pivot very quickly and to do both short-range, medium-range and now long-range strikes over the vastness of the Russian land mass.”

“I think his strategy now is the same as it's really been from the very beginning, which is to try and figure out how to subjugate Ukraine. And that's the goal he's been after. And he's using really most of the means at his disposal to try and achieve that. If you look at his recent interviews, he does not want to concede at all that Russia is facing any serious problems,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.

Glyn Morgan, associate professor of political science, writes on CapX how the trade deal the U.S. and EU agreed to during meetings in Turnberry, Scotland, in 2025 exemplifies the changing relationship between the two from one built on mutual benefit to one that is fully transactional.

Glyn Morgan, associate professor of political science, has written The Rise and Fall of American Europe (Polity Press, 2026). The book traces how the post-World War II American-led project of European integration—a political order grounded in U.S. military protection and transatlantic trade—came to be, and why it is now unraveling. 

“In his short but incisive account, he [Glyn Morgan, associate professor of political science] argues that the decisive shove for postwar European integration came not from Europeans but from America. It was the U.S., alarmed by Soviet domination of eastern Europe, that saw integration as key to turning Europeans into prosperous and stable allies,” says reviewer Simon Nixon.

“The book is a story about what happened to the common citizen, and the common soldier. It is a splendid example of how to do a fully rounded work on a people at total war, of how to use a vast mix of sources, and to keep the story going,” writes reviewer Paul Kennedy, Dilworth Professor of History at Yale University.

Washington’s peace efforts are largely on hold while the White House is “totally distracted by Iran,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs. The Kremlin has “never come off (its) maximalist demands” for a settlement, and it would take “overwhelming” Western military and financial support for Ukraine for Putin to back down.

Oxana Shevel’s lecture reflects the Maxwell School’s ongoing scholarship, policy engagement and support for those affected by the conflict. 

The war likely won't end anytime soon, says Brian Taylor, professor of political science. “The simple reason is [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is not interested in a deal, he wants to control Ukraine and Ukraine wants to remain free and independent and sovereign. And there's no real overlap between those two positions at this point,” Taylor says.

“This EU-level response is being replaced by individual country responses, which is withdrawing support,” says Lauren Woodard, assistant professor of anthropology. “In Poland, where many people live, the Polish government this month announced that they would not be extending that temporary protection status to Ukrainians.”

The study, authored by Assistant Professor of Anthropology Amanda Hilton, was published in Social Science & Medicine.

The article, authored by Assistant Professor of Anthropology Amanda Hilton, was published in Italian Studies.

“Any mass sale of Treasurys like that would likely cause severe disruptions that not only impact the U.S., it would also impact European banks and the entire global economy,” says Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs.

“The executive power is less hampered than we normally see, but that doesn't mean that there are no constraints,” says Ryan Griffiths, professor of political science.

“At one point, we had over a dozen ..military bases across the country, and that was because Greenland was pretty important in terms of defense against subs and any sort of attack from the north,” says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.