Maxwell School News and Commentary

“It is something that is done in other democracies when it really, really has to be done. It’s never ideal, and it should only be done in the U.S. or in any other democracy when it’s a true emergency, when there’s no other solution, and it should always be temporary,” says Matt Cleary, associate professor of political science.

“In the situation and climate President Trump has created, it won’t be surprising if both India and China find this a mutually beneficial transaction,” says Devashish Mitra, Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs.

“Americans today may not regard luxury as inimical to republican virtue in the way that they did in 1840. But prolonged inflation or a recession could reawaken those attitudes. In that context, Trump’s tacky and risible affection for gilded moldings and glitzy ballrooms could become a serious political liability,” writes Mark Schmeller, associate professor of history.

“There have also been arguments that DNI (Director of National Intelligence) has grown beyond its original intent. There is always a process of streamlining and covering the priorities effectively, but this doesn’t seem to be an effective way to do it,” says Kristen Patel, Donald P. and Margaret Curry Gregg Professor of Practice in Korean and East Asian Affairs.

“India did consider the U.S. an ally,” says Devashish Mitra, Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs. “It was a country that the U.S. was relying on as a counter to China in that region. So it had a huge geopolitical importance, but it doesn’t seem like Trump values any of that.”

“It’s part of what scholars would call the authoritarian playbook—undermining factual information and falsifying things that you know to be true,” says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment.

“After Trump and Putin met for more than two hours Friday, and then praised each other to the media for about 12 minutes, it was clear that Trump, in his rush to meet with Putin, not only risked whatever was left of his image as a dealmaker-in-chief, but he also may have damaged the United States’ image as a global champion for democracy,” writes Nayyera Haq, assistant dean for Maxwell-in-Washington.

“This will be the first U.S.-Russia summit brought about by sheer ignorance and incompetence: The U.S. president and his chosen envoy mistook a Russian demand for a concession,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science and director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

Gladys McCormick, associate dean and professor of history, has written a new book, The Last Door: A History of Torture in Mexico's War against Subversives (University of California Press, 2025). The book explores how the Mexican government increasingly used torture to suppress dissent as guerrilla movements spread across Mexico in the 1970s. 

Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, says that Trump has advocated for a ceasefire in Ukraine “at the expense of other strategic priorities such as stability in Europe and punishment of Russia through increased aid to Ukraine.”