Scholars’ Circle – Somaliland and Ethiopia relations affects Horn of Africa region; Niger Coup side steps democracy – February 4, 2024

February 4, 2024 host

Ethiopia is the first nation to recognize a breakaway region of Somalia called Somaliland since its declaration of independence 33 years ago. Why did Ethiopia recognize it and what does it mean for peace in the region.

Markus Virgil Hoehne is a lecturer at the Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. He is the author of Between Somaliland and Puntland: Marginalization, Militarization and Conflicting Political Visions and is co-editor of Borders and Borderlands as Resources in the Horn of Africa with Dereje Feyissa and Co-Editor of Dynamics of Identification and Conflict: Anthropological Encounters.
Aleksi Ylönen is a researcher at the Center for International Studies, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, a professor at the United States International University-Africa, and an associate fellow at the HORN International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is the author of External power competition in the Horn of Africa: Somaliland’s quest for international recognition and development and Inheriting power: Somaliland’s political institutions and the 2017 presidential election.

Niger’s promising democracy was toppled by a military coup last year. We revisit the causes of the coup to remind us of the need for continuing pressure on military governments to return to democracy and the rule of law.

Brett Logan Carter is Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of “Can Western Donors Constrain Repressive Governments? Evidence from Debt Relief Negotiations in Africa” , “Propaganda in Autocracies: Institutions, Information, and the Politics of Belief” ( co-authored with Erin Baggott Carter ).

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Guatemala election and inauguration drama explained; Puerto Rico’s struggle with corruption and self determination – January 28, 2024

January 28, 2024 host

In the summer of 2023, Guatemala elected as President an outsider with a famous last name—Bernardo Arevalo. But his political opponents used ever level of law they could to try to deny his Inauguration. Why was he victorious and what does his election mean for the future of democracy in the Central American nation? [ dur: 28mins. ]

Professor Luis Fernando Mack is a Guatemalan independent political analyst and political science professor at Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. He is the author of “The Electoral Reform System in Guatemala” and Reform of the State, Assessment of the current constitutional period and prospects for 2024.
Guillermo Trejo is professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, faculty fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and Director and Principal Investigator at the Notre Dame Violence and Transitional Justice Lab (V-TJLab). He is the co-author of Containing Large-Scale Criminal Violence through Internationalized Prosecution: How the CICIG Contributed to the Reduction of Guatemala’s Murder Rate and Votes, Drugs, and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico (book).

The island of Puerto Rico has a complex relationship with the federal government in the United States. Should it seek statehood or independence? Or is the status quo the best option for the nation. This segment was recorded January 2023. [ dur: 30mins. ]

Amílcar Antonio Barreto is Professor and Chair, Cultures, Societies, and Global Studies Department, and Interim Director of International Affairs and Political Science at Northeastern University. He is the author of American Identity, Congress and the Puerto Rico Statehood Debate and The Politics of Language in Puerto Rico Revisited.
Jorge Farinacci-Fernós is Associate Professor of Law at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico Law School and Visiting Professor at the University of Buffalo School of Law. He is the author of The ‘New’ Insular Cases and the Territorial Clause: From Temporary Incorporation to Permanent Unincorporation and the book Puerto Rico’s Constitutional Paradox: Colonial Subordination, Democratic Tension, and Promise of Progressive Transformation.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – International Laws on occupation of territories and war crimes by state and non-state actors – January 21, 2024

January 21, 2024 host

What responsibilities do occupiers have in their occupation of territories? And is there a legal requirement to eventually end the occupation? [ dur: 28mins. ]

Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco. He is the author of numerous publications including Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism, Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution co-authored with Jacob Mundy.
John B. Quigly is a Professor of Law Emeritus at Ohio State University. He is the author of many publications including The Statehood of Palestine: International Law in the Middle East Conflict and The Six-Day War and Israeli Self-Defense: Questioning the Legal Basis for Preventive War.

In the laws of war, countries do have the right to defend themselves. But what do those laws require in the process of waging war? How does this apply to Israel’s war in Gaza? And what legal rights do non-state actors have for self-determination? [ dur: 28mins. ]

Jennifer Trahan is a Clinical Professor and Director of the Concentration in International Law and Human Rights at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs. She has published two digests on the case-law of the ad hoc tribunals and is the author of Existing Legal Limits to the Use of the Veto in the Face of Atrocity Crimes.
Gabor Rona is Professor of Practice at Cardozo Law School. He is the author of Is There a Way Out of the Non-International Armed Conflict Detention Dilemma? and State Responsibility to Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights Obligations in Cyberspace.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – MLK legacy on Politics and BLM movement of 21st century ; Book Author interview – By the Numbers – January 14, 2024

January 13, 2024 host

To commemorate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. we explore the impact of Dr. King and his memory on contemporary issues, including the role of women in the movement and the security of people of color as embodied in the Black Lives Matter movement. What is the meaning of Dr. King’s dream today? [ dur: 30mins. ]

*This was part of a panel discussion recorded January 2023. To hear the entire discussion please visit: here.

David Garrow is Professor of History and Law at the University of Pittsburgh and Former Senior Research Fellow at Cambridge University. He is the author of Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama, The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography. His website is www.davidgarrow.com.
Keith Miller is Professor of English and Professor, Affiliate Faculty, at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University. He is the author of Martin Luther King’s Biblical Epic: His Great, Final Speech and Voice of Deliverance: The Language of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Its Sources. His website is: drkeithdmiller.com.
Jared Clemons is Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University. He is the author of “Freedom Now!” to “Black Lives Matter”: Retrieving King and Randolph to Theorize Contemporary White Antiracism.
Dewey M. Clayton is Professor of Political Science at the University of Louisville. He is the author of The presidential campaign of Barack Obama: A critical analysis of a racially transcendent strategy, African Americans and the politics of congressional redistricting and Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement: A Comparative Analysis of Two Social Movements in the United States .

How did better understandings of mathematical concepts and the rise in numeracy rates change society, politics, philosophy and science? And what did it mean for religion? We explore how educating ordinary people, the adoption of Arabic numerals, alongside related changes transformed early modern England. [ dur: 28mins. ]

Jessica Otis is an Assistant Professor of History and the Director of Public Projects at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. She is the author of BY THE NUMBERS: NUMERACY, RELIGION, AND THE QUANTITATIVE TRANSFORMATION OF EARLY MODERN ENGLAND.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Book interview, Abundant University, remaking higher education for a Digital World; Why is liberal arts education necessary? – January 7, 2024

January 7, 2024 host

For many people, access to universities for study and degrees is a means to future economic success. So families sacrifice to pay for this education, or often take out substantial loans to cover the cost. But what if universities opened their access and became truly abundant as a societal resource. Economist Michael Smith, in his new book The Abundant University, makes the case for rethinking access to higher education. [ dur: 28mins. ]

Michael D. Smith is a Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III College and Tapper School of
Business. He is the author of The Abundant University: Remaking Higher Education for a Digital World.

Universities want to appeal to their students, who increasingly look to their schooling as a training period for future employment. But this puts traditional liberal arts departments like philosophy at risk. We examine the future of liberal arts education in light of the trend to silo student training into pre-professional programs at the undergraduate level. [ dur: 30mins. ]

Robert E. Williams, Jr. is Professor of Political Science at Pepperdine University. He is the co-author of Seeking Security in an Insecure World and the co-editor of Arms Control: History, Theory, and Policy.
Alexandra Monchick is Associate Professor of Musicology at California State University, Northridge. She is the author of Critical Thinking and Writing Strategies in the Music Bibliography Classroom.
Michael Theune is Professor of English and University Writing Program Director at Illinois Wesleyan University. He is the co-author of We Need to Talk: A New Method for Evaluating Poetry.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Knowledge of politics in a democracy and Insight into trees as a way to mitigate CO2 in the atmosphere – December 31, 2023

December 30, 2023 host

Why do people seem to know so little about politics? And what does that mean for democracy? We speak with Arthur Lupia author of Uninformed: Why People Know So Little About Politics and What We Can Do About It. [ dur: 27mins. ]

Arthur Lupia is the Gerald R Ford Distinguished University Professor at the University of Michigan. His research clarifies how people make decisions and form or break coalitions in complex, political environments. He is the co-author of The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Need to Know?, Elements of Reason: Cognition, Choice, and the Bounds of Rationality and the author of his latest book Uninformed: Why People Know So Little About Politics and What We Can Do About It.

Governments and others have advocated to offset carbon emission by planting more trees. But is this really the long term solution? Our experts say it won’t be enough. And in some cases, in can make matters worse. [ dur: 31mins. ]

George Perry is Professor of Ecology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is the co-author of Green firebreaks as a management tool for wildfires: Lessons from China and Gametophyte niche differences among sympatric tree ferns.
Kevin Trenberth is Professor of Physics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is the author of The changing flow of energy through the climate system.
Cate Macinnis-Ng is Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She is the author of
Forests for a Better Future: Sustainability, Innovation and Interdisciplinarity and Current knowledge and potential impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s biological heritage.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – COP28 meeting outcome – December 24, 2023

December 24, 2023 host

The latest climate change meetings, Cop-28, just ended in Dubai. After an initial pessimism about an agreement, with controversies over leadership and the location of the meetings, there were some intriguing breakthroughs. The meeting yielded new agreements on a loss and damage fund and a transition from fossil fuels. But many of previous agreements have yet to be implemented. What does that mean for addressing climate change? What exactly was accomplished by this meeting, and what remains on the agenda for future meetings. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Pamela Chasek is Professor of Political Science at Manhattan College. She is the co-founder and Executive Editor of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin. She is the author of Transforming Multilateral Diplomacy: The Inside Story of the Sustainable Development Goals, Global Environmental Politics, and The Global Environment in the 21st Century: Prospects for International Cooperation.
Shannon Gibson is Associate Professor of Political Science, International Relations, and Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California. She’s also the author of a recent article in the Conversation Throwing soup on a Van Gogh and other ways young climate activists are making their voices heard over Egypt’s climate summit protest suppression.
Lauren Gifford, Associate Director of the Soil Carbon Solutions Center and faculty in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at Colorado State University. She’s the author of numerous articles published in Safe and Just Earth System Boundaries and impacts of meeting minimum access on critical Earth systems amidst the great inequality and “You can’t value what you can’t measure”: a critical look at forest carbon accounting.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Henry Kissinger forging memorable trail of destruction when he pursued foreign policy for United States and others – December 16, 2023

December 18, 2023 host

Henry Kissinger was perhaps among the most influential people on US foreign policy and global events, fr which some consider him a war criminal. How should Kissinger be remembered? What does this answer say about the US in the world?

Jeremi Suri is Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office and his latest book Civil War by Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight For Democracy. He hosts the podcast This is Democracy.

In 1979 Vietnam invaded Cambodia, a country ravaged by a war partly caused by US bombings, and overthrew the genocidal Khmer Rouge government. What have been the consequences of that decision? We explore the reasons for this invasion with the author of a new book.

Kosal Path is Associate Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College and International Relations Faculty at the Graduate Center, CUNY. He is the author of the book Vietnam’s Strategic Thinking During the Third Indochina War.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Democracy is eroding in United States, why and how to stop the decline – December 10, 2023

December 10, 2023 host

Democracy is eroding in the United States? What are the causes and what should be done? Is the erosion of democracy because of political elites and specifically the reaction of the Republican Party to the 2020 election? Or does it run deeper? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Jacob S. Hacker is Stanley Resor Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He is the co-author of Let Them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality, American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us to Forget What Made America Prosper and the 2010 bestseller Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class, all books co-authored with Paul Pierson.
Sigal Ben-Porath is a professor in the Literacy, Culture, and International Education Division of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. She also holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Political Science. She is the author of Making Up Our Mind: What School Choice is Really About, Free Speech on Campus, Varieties of Sovereignty and Citizenship, and Citizenship under Fire: Democratic Education in Times of Conflict .
Martin Gilens is Chair of the Department of Public Policy and Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Social Welfare at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. He is the author of Affluence & Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America and co-author, with Benjamin I. Page, of Democracy in America?: What Has Gone Wrong and What We Can Do about It.
Larry M. Bartels holds the May Werthan Shayne Chair of Public Policy and Social Science at Vanderbilt University. He is the Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. He is the co-author of Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government (with Christopher Achen) and Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age.

Recorded February 2022.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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The Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Somaliland and Ethiopia relations affects Horn of Africa region; Niger Coup side steps democracy – February 4, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Guatemala election and inauguration drama explained; Puerto Rico’s struggle with corruption and self determination – January 28, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – International Laws on occupation of territories and war crimes by state and non-state actors – January 21, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – MLK legacy on Politics and BLM movement of 21st century ; Book Author interview – By the Numbers – January 14, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Book interview, Abundant University, remaking higher education for a Digital World; Why is liberal arts education necessary? – January 7, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Knowledge of politics in a democracy and Insight into trees as a way to mitigate CO2 in the atmosphere – December 31, 2023

Scholars’ Circle – COP28 meeting outcome – December 24, 2023

Scholars’ Circle – Henry Kissinger forging memorable trail of destruction when he pursued foreign policy for United States and others – December 16, 2023

Scholars’ Circle – Democracy is eroding in United States, why and how to stop the decline – December 10, 2023

By Maria Armoudian