Maxwell School News

“The good news for Ukraine is that...Trump has finally figured out that Putin is the main obstacle to peace,” says Brian Taylor, director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

The chapter, co-authored by Professor of History Albrecht Diem, was published in “The Many Worlds of Otmar: St. Gall and European Monasticism from the 7th to the 9th Century.”

The chapter, written by Professor of History Albrecht Diem, was published in “The Many Worlds of Otmar: St. Gall and European Monasticism from the 7th to the 9th Century.”

“The Europeans were saying how committed they are to Ukraine, especially the British, which is no surprise. But there was also really an attempt to keep controversial issues off the table. Ukraine wasn’t the front and center discussion it has been,” Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, says of the summit.

Modern Venice is “an amusement park,” according to Professor Emeritus of History Dennis Romano, who recently wrote a book on the city. He predicts that the wedding and its attendant publicity will likely just drive more tourists to the city. 

“Among the issues Quinnipiac asked about—immigration, trade, the economy, Israel-Gaza and universities—Trump’s numbers are the worst on Russia-Ukraine, and they also are the worst among Republicans,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.

Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, says that from a tactical military standpoint, they were very effective attacks that had dealt a significant blow to Moscow's military machine.

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.”

“Putin isn’t interested in a ceasefire or an agreement, but rather in victory, understood as the subjugation of Ukraine,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science. “The Russian president has faced zero consequences for stalling Trump over the past four months, and from what Trump has said about the conversation, that hasn’t changed one bit.”

“Social media can be a minefield for divisive commentary, so I imagine he’ll use it sparingly, perhaps for simple, pastoral messages (and yes, delivered on the official pope account) like holiday greetings, but not for anything controversial,” says Margaret Susan Thompson, professor of history and political science.

“There have been a variety of efforts since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 to try and remake the U.S.-Russia relationship...Obviously a lot has happened since then and it hasn't worked out that way and from my point of view, the thing that has broken the relationship most of all has been the Russian war against Ukraine which began in 2014,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.

“Trump’s contention that Ukraine’s hope of joining NATO ‘caused the war to start’ is a claim that is often made, but one that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science. “Given that there was no serious prospect of Ukraine joining NATO between 2008 and 2022, it’s hard to see how Ukraine’s hope of joining NATO at some point in the future caused the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.”

“I think it was simply that across the communist world, they had become really enchanted by Western films. And the main reason that some people point to for this is that in 1960, “The Magnificent Seven,” that film was allowed into the Soviet Union, and it became this instant sensation,” says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment.

“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.”

“For 75 years, America’s NATO allies have relied on the U.S. nuclear arsenal to provide for the defense of Europe. This was never a terribly logical policy. The linchpin of the policy was a firm European belief in the steadfast commitment of Washington to the security of Europe. Today, that no longer holds,” says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

Robert S. Terrell, assistant professor of history, has written A Nation Fermented: Beer, Bavaria, and the Making of Modern Germany (Oxford University Press, 2024). Terrell traces how brewing practices in Germany’s southern region of Bavaria became associated with the nation as a whole from the late 19th to the end of the 20th century.

“I think there are plenty of people in Greenland who would like to have good and close ties with the United States. But that doesn’t mean they want to be part of the United States. They want independence,” says Renée de Nevers, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. 

“If you look at what the Kremlin put out, based upon the phone call between presidents Trump and Putin, their characterization of it was much more sober and it was clear that Putin reiterated his constant talking points about the need to get to what he calls the ‘root causes’ of the conflict,” says Brian Taylor, director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

February marked the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a critical moment of instability and uncertainty for many scholars forced to seek new homes and academic communities abroad. Tetiana Hranchak, visiting assistant teaching professor in the Moynihan Institute, reflects on the impact of the war on her academic work and activism.

Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, says that cooperation in Greenland between the U.S. and founding NATO member Denmark is likely to continue but security in that part of the North Atlantic will remain a concern for Trump.