Unintended Consequences: Why France’s Impossible Expectations Will Shake Its Future
On Sunday, May 6th, François Hollande of the French Socialist Party defeated his opponent, Nicholas Sarkozy, with 51.6% of the popular vote. Tough economic times and recent “terrorist” attacks in Toulouse were the foremost discussions during the 2012 electoral campaign. François Hollande, the first Socialist president in the nearly two decades since François Mitterrand, benefited […]
An Un-United Nations: How the International Body Is Failing the Syrian People
The deterioration of the human condition through violence mars history. Crimes such as slavery, forced deportation, and genocide have extinguished and defined populations. Unfortunately, crimes against humanity are not exclusive to ancestral pasts; humanity continuously faces grave challenges. During the first ten days of December 2011, one thousand Syrians lost their lives to political persecution. […]
Symptoms of Cold Warfare Between Saudi Arabia and Iran: Part 3 of 3
This is the final installment in a three-part series that examines the historical foundations, current dynamics, and future prospects of the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Parts I and II provided historical and contemporary accounts of the two countries’ often turbulent relationship since 632 and 1979, respectively; part III is an analysis of the […]
Interview With Vali Nasr: Analyzing the Iranian Nuclear Threat
On March 6, 2012, the NUPR’s International Editor Dominic Contreras sat down with Tufts University Professor Vali Nasr, one of the world’s foremost experts on Iran and the Muslim world, to discuss the Iranian nuclear program and possible responses to it. Below is an excerpt of that interview. Q: Over the past year we’ve heard […]
Powder Keg in the South China Sea
With the launch of China’s newest naval vessel, a 1000 foot – 67,500-ton ex-Soviet aircraft carrier, it becomes a member of an elite group of nations. Only nine other nations operate these capital ships, of which only 20 exist worldwide. All nations on the United Nations Security Council, including China’s rival, India, operate and maintain […]
America, in the Age of Drones: Reconfiguring International Relations
The recent loss of a United States RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Pakistan’s removal of a United States UAV base in its territory have brought the issue of remotely piloted drones to the forefront of international relations. New developments in drone capabilities, including longer flight distances, the […]
UK Energy Policy, Nuclear Optimism, and the Future
The prospect and pursuit of long-term sustainable energy security has caused progressive anxiety among fossil fuel dependent countries as they come to grips with dwindling supplies and an unstable Middle East. Increases in the cost of uranium and fossil fuels, expanding populations, finite energy supplies, and the globally swelling demand for energy factor into a […]
Incident Blown Out of Proportion: A Deeper Look into U.S. Policy Abroad
As video recently surfaced showing four U.S. Marines urinating over the bodies of three deceased Taliban fighters, U.S. government officials became concerned that this could incite anti-American sentiment around the world. This public outcry made me realize just how flawed some American’s outlook on the world really is. This fear is especially focused on Afghanistan […]
The Iron Lady: Lloyd’s Thatcher Shows the Strength Necessary to Lead
The Iron Lady is a film that has been engineered to win Academy awards, but behind the artsy appeal, the glitz and the glamour lies a solid critique on the modus operandi of western political systems, wherein the events of Margaret Thatcher’s life echo our current political situation. Phyllida Lloyd’s film portrays Margaret Thatcher through […]
Symptoms of Cold Warfare Between Saudi Arabia and Iran: Part 2 of 3
This is Part II in a three-part series that examines the historical foundations, current dynamics, and future prospects of the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Part I provided a historical account of the relationship between the two countries and their people from 632 until the Iranian Revolution in 1979; Part II examines the relationship […]