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Global

China’s Secret Genocide

“Never again” came sooner than expected. Kidnapped by their oppressive government, religious minorities are carted from their homes and held inside political prisons, where they are indoctrinated, tortured, raped, and experimented on. This is not Nazi Germany. This is Communist China, where up to 2 million Muslims currently reside inside concentration camps, the largest mass […]

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Global Global Policy Studies & International Security LBJ School

Young, Scrappy, Hungry, and Waiting: The Case for Reforming Security Clearances

Last December, I was offered my dream internship — working with the U.S. Department of State — after a two-month application and interview process. As a master’s student in global policy studies, the opportunity to work for a summer at the U.S. Mission to the UN in Geneva would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It would […]

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Global Global Policy Studies & International Security

Ethnic Cleansing in a Nobel Laureate’s Backyard

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Complicity in the Persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.” She was given the award for her involvement in the 1988 pro-democracy uprisings in Myanmar, in which she helped found the […]

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Global Global Policy Studies & International Security Politics and Governance

Recent Quakes in Mexico Echo Similar Nostalgic Political Frustration

Photo of citizen rescuers in 1985 earthquake: United Nations (CC) Recent earthquakes in Mexico City have reinvigorated grassroots organizations’ appeals for municipal transparency and financial accountability. Civilian groups such as Los Topos and Transparencia Mexicana are placing pressure on federal and local officials as affected areas begin rebuilding. Grassroots platforms were similar catalysts for emergency management […]

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Global Global Policy Studies & International Security

Saudi Arabia Gives Women the Wheel: Why Now, and What Now?

Photo: Mattia Panciroli (CC) On Tuesday, Sept. 26, Saudi Arabia announced via televised royal decree that it will finally allow women to drive, marking a watershed moment in the fight for women’s rights. The verdict gives Saudi Arabian women both the literal and metaphorical wheel: as they are handed the keys, they will reach an […]

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Global Policy Studies & International Security

Empowering Innovators to Tackle the World’s Most Pressing Issues

Photo: Indi Samarjiva CC 2.0 2017 Crook Fellow Samer Yousif is interning this summer with Ashoka, a nonprofit that supports a worldwide network of social entrepreneurs in their mission to address development issues in their own localities. Here he updates us on his work evaluating the impact of these entrepreneurs’ initiatives: The capitalist structure has […]

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Energy & Environmental Policy

Niger Delta – a time-sensitive but hopeful situation

Photo: Jurgen 2017 Crook Fellow Amara Uyanna is interning with Sustainability International this summer in Nigeria, and updates us here on the environmental conditions of the Niger Delta region, where among other responsibilities she is coordinating bioremediation efforts in the area: “Time is an illusion” just as much as “time is of the essence.” Either of the […]

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Global Policy Studies & International Security

Living amongst poverty: does it get easier?

Photo: elaine faith 2017 Crook Fellow Jessi Stafford shares her observations on the effects of poverty on daily living conditions in La Paz Centro, Nicaragua, seen as she works this summer for Artists for Soup: I’ve seen it many times. Volunteers come to help missionaries, non-profits, or other organizations working with the impoverished. They’re trying to do […]

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Global Policy Studies & International Security Philanthropy & Non-Profit Organizations

4 Reasons Why Global Food Security is Necessary for U.S. National Security

Photo: European Commission One million children die each year from hunger. This statistic is staggering, but it is about to get much worse. Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N (FAO) Director-General Jose Graziano De Silva warns that without emergency food aid over the next 6 months, “20 million people will starve to death in […]

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Technology Policy

Cyber Sirens: Heed the Warnings Before it is too Late

Photo: Yuri Samoilov At 11:48pm on April 7, 2017, every tornado siren in Dallas went off at the same time.  The sky was clear, but the shrieks from 156 sirens wrenched residents from their slumber. As the sirens blared on for 95 minutes, terrified callers flooded 911 phone lines, leaving people experiencing real emergencies waiting […]