Maxwell School News and Commentary
Filtered by: Commentary
Koch Quoted in The Hill Article on Saudi Arabian Alfalfa Farms in Arizona
“If they [Saudi Arabia] want to be able to guarantee their population food security, they know that they can’t really do that domestically,” says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment. The Arizonan land was particularly appealing to the kingdom “because you can get more bang for your buck when you buy that farm,” says Koch.
See related: Middle East & North Africa, United States, Water
McCormick Discusses Biden’s Call with Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Politico
“If the U.S. dismissed him wholeheartedly, it’s going to make these conversations—and again some of these are happening behind closed doors—a hell of a lot more difficult to be had,” says Gladys McCormick, Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair on Mexico-U.S. Relations, regarding the immigration talks between the U.S. and Mexico as Title 42 lifts this week.
Murrett Talks to Censor.NET About How the US Cares for War Veterans
"I believe that all three of these areas are important: business support, education and especially taking care of veterans' families. It is very important to support families. And, of course, support in the healthcare sector is fundamental," says retired Vice Adm. Robert Murret, professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Government, State & Local, U.S. Health Policy, United States, Veterans
Jok Comments on the Ongoing Conflict in Sudan on GLOBAL with JJ Green, Newzroom Afika and TRT World
See related: Africa (Sub-Saharan), Conflict, International Affairs
McFate Weighs In on US Developing Portable Laser Weapons in South China Morning Post Article
“Everyone wants light and portable laser weapons but it’s far off. Essentially, you also need a portable power plant, which is unrealistic…Lasers are more hype than reality, and the U.S. is investing US$1 billion a year to bridge this gap. However, it may go on for years,” says Sean McFate, adjunct professor in Maxwell's Washington programs.
See related: China, Defense & Security, International Affairs
Purser Quoted in NPR Article on Worker Safety Standards
“There needs to be greater regulation of the staffing industry,” says Gretchen Purser, associate professor of sociology. “And we need to make it a lot easier for workers to unionize. All of the research has shown that in unionized workplaces, workers are far less likely to experience injury or fatalities.”
See related: Government, Labor, United States
McDowell Comments on the Use of China’s Renminbi as a Global Currency in The Wire China
“China had economic motives to de-dollarize that predate sanction concerns,” says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science. “When the U.S. economy had a financial crisis, China ended up getting hurt. China figured, we should probably promote our own currency now.”
See related: China, Economic Policy, Government, International Affairs
Gueorguiev Quoted in NBC News Article on India Overtaking China as World’s Most Populous Country
What matters to China is consumer and investor confidence, "so it is not hard to see why Chinese officials are pushing back on the argument that a population decline spells economic decline," says Dimitar Gueorguiev, associate professor of political science.
See related: China, India, International Affairs
Campbell Article on the Sudanese Revolution Published in CounterPunch
"Progressive forces internationally must call for the arrest and trial of the military forces that have unleashed genocidal violence on the Sudanese peoples since 1989," writes Horace Campbell, professor of political science. "The Resistance Committees’ and the popular forces are calling for solidarity and non-intervention to push the process of transition from militarism to one where the peoples of Sudan can enter into new relations."
See related: Conflict, International Affairs, Middle East & North Africa
Koch Discusses Saudi Arabian Farms Using Water From Arizona and California in KUSA Article
“If you can invest the capital to drill a deep well that can get deep into the groundwater supply, then you can really pump as much as you want,” says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment. “This was appealing to the Saudis as well to go [to La Paz County], where they’re not being charged for water they extract because there’s no measuring of it.”
See related: Middle East & North Africa, United States, Water