Category: International

The Francis Effect and the Fight Over Catholic Identity

Declan Murphy

  It’s a familiar scene: a “radical” speaker is invited to a college campus, until the skittish university decides to rescind the offer to avoid controversy. The twist? The radical figure here is a Jesuit priest, Father James Martin, and the university was Catholic University. Father Martin was scheduled to speak at Catholic University’s seminary Theological College, on September 15, when the seminary decided to cancel his appearance.  In an official statement the following day, Catholic University expressed disappointment that Father Martin had been uninvited. Nonetheless, the offer was rescinded,…

It’s Time for Labour to Pick a Side on Brexit

Truman Stephens

The Labour Party has watched Prime Minister Theresa May get kicked around by European Chief Negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier and her own fraying Cabinet since June of this year. While the party welcomed its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, as a conquering hero at its annual party conference in Brighton in late September for his surprise general election gains, May’s prize for forming a coalition government was the public chance for Conservatives to negotiate Brexit. The Labour Party stayed in the shadows during these negotiations, and their position on Brexit is…

The Polarization of Political Dialogue in the Arab World

Ahmed Youseff

The Arab world has been plagued with a series of corrupt governments for much of recent history. Beginning in late 2010, growing discontent led to a series of popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring. In the streets, the schools, the cafés, the places of worship, there was no refuge from political debate. From Marrakech to Manama, the winds of revolution swept through the region as the people’s frustrations proved to be uncontainable. The mesmerizing changes of the political landscape held the world’s attention, but it is the changes at the…

President Trump’s Climate Change Apathy Threatens the Global Community

Erin Wattley

President Donald Trump isn’t exactly a champion of environmentalism. To this day, he has made no indication, either in word or action, that he supports the goals of environmentalists in any way.  During his campaign, he made great waves by claiming that  climate change was a “hoax” created by the Chineseㅡan unabashed declaration of his disbelief in the scientifically-proven phenomenon. It became clear that Trump was not making idle threats about his opposition to climate change regulation once he assumed office, where he began to put into motion several relevant…

The Cultural Dichotomy: In Defense of Marijuana Legalization

Matthew J. Santucci

Last week, Paul Ingrassia wrote an article reflecting upon the social impacts associated with the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. While he did acknowledge that there are numerous economic benefits resulting from legalization, even conceding that the war on drugs was a failure, he portends that cannabis is a threat to public health and safety. We would, however, be remiss to look at this as a debate on the economic, medical, or social benefits of marijuana. His opposition highlights a larger battle in the U.S., a cultural dichotomy between conservatives…

The Future of a Post-ISIS Iraq

Paul Gargiulo

This March, the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit was deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Inherent Resolve in order to assist local ground forces in retaking the city of Raqqa, the capital of ISIS. Over the past two and a half years, U.S. forces (both conventional and special operations) have been deployed to Iraq and other Middle Eastern nations to assist and train local troops. It must be noted that this is the first time American ground forces will be openly involved in ground combat against ISIS. This…

How to Build a Global Alliance in Protectionist Times

Jacob Floam

Donald Trump’s election capped off a tumultuous 2016 for the globalist ideal. Many foreign policy experts have been sent into a tailspin over what the consequences of a protectionist world would be, especially an isolationist USA. While then candidate Trump promised to roll back America’s global role, his presidency is saying something different thus far. With the exception of the TPP withdrawal, the Trump administration has made several reassurances to alliances worldwide, Japan and NATO being two that stick out. This peculiar policy mix of denying globalist motives while embracing…

The Global Gag Rule: An Impediment To Women’s Health

Madeline Johnson

Donald Trump’s recent reinstallation and expansion of the Global Gag Rule intrinsically hurts women on a global scale. Although the Global Gag Rule’s intention is to decrease abortion rates worldwide, it has historically had far vaster implications, including devastating women in impoverished nations. Without a shift in policy implementation, politicians will continue to play politics at the detriment of women in need of reproductive care. Approximately 830 women died every day in 2015 as a result of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. The majority of these deaths took place in…