Tag Archives: Politics and Activism

Scholars’ Circle – When democracies prosecute corruptions of its former political leaders – July 7, 2024

July 7, 2024 host

The criminal indictments of former President Trump have created a political crisis in their unprecedented nature. Historically, U.S. presidents have not faced criminal charges, even in cases where there is a high likelihood of guilt, in large part due to respect for the office. Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon embodies this norm.

What can the U.S. learn from other countries that have prosecuted former presidents? And what can we learn from American history about the prosecutions of political figures? Is the prosecution of former heads of state simply the weaponization of justice mechanisms? And how common is this political charge? [ dur: 58mins. ]

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.
Tom Ginsburg is Leo Spitz Professor of International Law and Ludwig and Hilde Wolf Research Scholar at the University of Chicago Law School. He is the author of the books The Endurance of National Constitutions, Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes,and co-author of the paper The Comparative Constitutional Law of Presidential Impeachment.
Ezequiel González Ocantos is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations, and a Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College, at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Shifting Legal Visions: Judicial Change and Human Rights Trials in Latin America, The Politics of Transitional Justice in Latin America: Power, Norms and Capability Building, and co-author of Prosecutors, Voters, and the Criminalisation of Corruption in Latin America(w/ Paula Muñoz, Nara Pavao & Viviana Baraybar).

This interview was recorded August, 2023.

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Scholars’ Circle – How Christian Nationalism affects elections in US ; Faith based Communities, a study – June 30, 2024

June 30, 2024 host

The rise of the religious right or Christian Nationalism aided in the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, and has been a significant voting bloc ever since. How much is this movement driving American politics? How organized are the groups that comprise the movement? And what exactly is its political agenda? [ dur: 35mins. ]

Katherine Stewart is the author of a new book, THE POWER WORSHIPPERS: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. She is an investigative reporter and author who has covered religious liberty, politics, policy, and education for over a decade. She is also the author of The Good News Club: The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children.

Book cover : Faith and Community by Rebecca Glazier

Churches and congregations are facing decreased attendance and low enthusiasm from younger populations. How has civic engagement built their numbers? Doug Becker explores with the author of a new book – Faith and Community: How Engagement Strengthens Members, Places of Worship, and Society.on the topic. [dur: 23mins. ]

Rebecca A. Glazier is Professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She is the Director of the Little Rock Congregations Study and author of Faith and Community: How Engagement Strengthens Members, Places of Worship, and Society.

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Scholars’ Circle – Book Author interviews: Presidential Vetoes an historical view; Paradox of Free Speech – June 23, 2024

June 29, 2024 host

We discuss with John Vile his book Encyclopedia of Presidential Vetoes from Washington through to Biden – History, Subjects, and Procedures. [ dur: 29mins. ]

Book cover : Encyclopedia of Presidential Vetoes

John R. Vile is Dean and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author of, The Writing and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution: Practical Virtue in Action, Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2015, and ReFramers: 170 Eccentric, Visionary, and Patriotic Proposals to Rewrite the U.S. Constitution.

Book Cover of Civil War by Other Means has an red X on the title of the book

What are its legal, social, and political limitations of free speech? How does the advent of social media and concerns over misinformation have an impact on the exercise of free speech? And how do the new developments of free speech and its limits have an impact on the First Amendment protections? We discuss a new book You Can’t Always Say What You Want: The Paradox of Free Speech with its author Dennis Baron. [ dur: 29mins. ]

Dennis Baron is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a frequent commentator on language issues in the national media and has written a number of popular books, including What’s Your Pronoun? (2020).

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Scholars’ Circle – Votes counted in India, Mexico and South Africa – June 16, 2024

June 17, 2024 host

While much of the world is in a democratic backslide, some nations’ democracies are thriving. What do the elections in Mexico, South Africa, and India portend? We will examine the election of these three leading Global South nations, the impact of dominant parties losing some support, and the general state of democracy in each nation. How might the policies change? What was the impact of leadership personalities in the democratic developments in Mexico, South Africa and India? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Emily Edmonds-Poli is Professor of Political Science and International Relations, and Director of the Chapman Family Foundation International Program at the University of San Diego. She is the author of Contemporary Mexican Politics.
Ritu Mathur is Professor of International Relations at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is the author of Civilizational Discourses in Weapons Control.
Carin Runciman is Senior Lecturer in the School Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh and Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg. She is co-author of Decolonising and re-theorising the meaning of democracy: A South African perspective.

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Scholars’ Circle – Trump’s conviction of Felony charges affect his candidacy for President in 2024 – June 9, 2024

June 9, 2024 host

For the first time since the nations founding a former President was convicted of a felony. What does the criminal conviction mean for Trumps ability to run for President and to govern if he wins? And why does the US have such a challenge in prosecuting former Presidents, when it has a history of prosecuting other former office holders? What does the term lawfare mean? And does this conviction make the US democracy more fragile or stronger? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Alan Z. Rozenshtein is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School..He is the author of The First Amendment Is No Defense for Trump’s Alleged Crimes and The Virtuous Executive. He is the Editor of Constitutional Commentary and Senior Editor and Book Review Editor for Lawfare.
Peter M. Shane is Distinguished Scholar in Residence and Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University School of Law. He is also Professor and Chair in Law Emeritus at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. He is the author of The Originalist Myth of the Unitary Executive and Democracy’s Chief Executive: Interpreting the Constitution and Defining the Future of the Presidency and He is the host and creator of the podcastDemocracy’s Chief Executive: The Podcast.

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Scholars’ Circle – Iran Presidential election, for whom does it matter. – June 2, 2024

June 3, 2024 host

What challenges and crises are the sudden death of Iran’s president and his succession revealing? What’s happening inside the country? What’s happening with Iran internationally?
We speak with four Iranian scholars on Iran’s political system, internal politics, social and political repression and alienation between state and society. How much of Iran’s foreign policy is driven by domestic issues and how much of it is a reaction to external actors, most notably the United States? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Saeid Golkar is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is the author of Captive Society: The Basij Mobilization and Social Control in Post-Revolutionary Iran” (Columbia University Press, 2015) and Personalization of Power in Iran: Regime Incompetency and Protests in Iran.
Siavush Randjbar-Daemi is Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern History in the School of History at the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of The Tudeh Party of Iran and the peasant question and The quest for authority in Iran: a history of the presidency from revolution to Rouhani.
Nayereh Tohidi is Professor Emerita in the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at California State University, Northridge. She is the author of Women’s Rights and Feminist Movements in Iran.
Ervand Abrahamian is Professor Emeritus at City University of New York. He is the author of A History of Modern Iran and Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran and Syria.

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Scholars’ Circle – Insights into student protests at university campuses – May 26, 2024

May 26, 2024 host

With massive protests on university campuses over the war in Gaza, universities have chosen to aggressively and violently break up the protests putting student protesters at risk. How does non-violent protest turn to violence at the hands of the police? How have national politics driven the responses to student protests? As university space has become more contested, particularly by political forces on the right, what do violent responses to protests mean for university values of free speech?

We speak with three university professors and one student about their experiences at their respective campuses. [ dur: 58mins. ]

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.
Mark LeVine is Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History in the Department of History at UC Irvine. He is the author of Why They Don’t Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil and Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance and the Soul of Islam. He is also the co-editor of One Land, Two States: Israel and Palestine as Parallel States and Religion and Social Practices and Contested Hegemonies: Reconstructing the Public Sphere in Muslim Majority Societies.
David S. Meyer is Professor of Sociology, Political Science, and Planning, Policy, and Design. He is the author of The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America and co-editor of The Resistance: The Dawn of the Anti-Trump Opposition Movement.
Jack Leff is Post Doc and instructor of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His PhD dissertation is An Alchemy of Smoke and Flame: The Politics of Tear Gas Use Against Social Movements in the United States. He is an active political organizer interested in prison abolition.

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Scholars’ Circle – Politics and Elections in India – May 19, 2024

May 19, 2024 host

With its 1.4 billion population and a billion registered voters, India stands as the world’s largest democracy and 5th largest economy. India is holding national elections, which will decide its leaders for the next five years. What are the role of its institutions in supporting democracy and how are their elections conducted? What is the state of India’s democracy and what are its big challenges? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Ritu Mathur is Professor of International Relations at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is the author of Civilizational Discourses in Weapons Control.
Sandipto Dasgupta is Assistant Professor of Politics at New School of Social Research. He is the author of Legalizing the Revolution – India and the Constitution of the Postcolony
Amit Ahuja is Assciate Professor of Political Science at UC Santa Barbara. He is the author of Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties without Ethnic Movements and Internal Security in India – Violence, Order, and the State

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Scholars’ Circle – Armenias have taken legal action against Azerbaijan claiming genocide and numerous violations of international law – May 12, 2024

May 14, 2024 host

Since 2020, Azerbaijan has attacked the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh, or Artsakh, and in September 2023 ethnically cleansed them from their historic homeland.

Armenia has taken legal action against Azerbaijan claiming numerous violations of international law. What legal actions have been taken at both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. What are the causes of action and what might the consequences and impacts of these legal actions be?

Armenia is under intense pressure to negotiate a permanent peace with Azerbaijan. How could this normalize and legitimize Azerbaijan’s aggression? And what does it signal to aggressors internationally about the likelihood of punishment for this aggression? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Tamara Voskanian is a cofounder of the Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ), a nonprofit organization that documents atrocities and uses the evidence to bring perpetrators to justice. Last month Tamara represented CFTJ at the UN Committee Against Torture.
Talin Hitik is an international human rights advocate focused on seeking accountability for war crimes and human rights violations. She also has worked as a legal officer at the Hague Conference on Private International Law and the Permanent Court of Arbitration and has served at the Ministry of Justice of Armenia, managing the European Court of Human Rights litigation department. She was a professor of international human rights and humanitarian law at American University of Armenia and Yerevan State University and most recently, was an Academic Affiliate at the University of Michigan Law School.
Steve Swerdlow, esq. is Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California. He writes extensively as a human rights monitor for Human Right Watch in both the Central Asian region and in the Caucuses.

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Scholars’ Circle – Book Author Interview – Exit Wounds : How Americas Guns Fuel Violence Across the Border – May 5, 2024

May 5, 2024 host

Beyond asylum seekers heading north, the problems of US/Mexico Border are also about the flow of guns and drugs. How can we understand the totality of problems related to the US southern border? What are the solutions?

We speak with Ieva Jusionyte the author of a new book Exit Wounds: How America’s Guns Fuel Violence Across the Border. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Ieva Jusionyte is a legal and medical anthropologist and associate professor at Brown University. She is also the author of award-winning ethnography Threshold: Emergency Responders on the US-Mexico Border. She has been studying borders, violence, and security in Latin America and the United States for over fifteen years.

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Tag Archives: Politics and Activism

Scholars’ Circle – When democracies prosecute corruptions of its former political leaders – July 7, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – How Christian Nationalism affects elections in US ; Faith based Communities, a study – June 30, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Book Author interviews: Presidential Vetoes an historical view; Paradox of Free Speech – June 23, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Votes counted in India, Mexico and South Africa – June 16, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Trump’s conviction of Felony charges affect his candidacy for President in 2024 – June 9, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Iran Presidential election, for whom does it matter. – June 2, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Insights into student protests at university campuses – May 26, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Politics and Elections in India – May 19, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Armenias have taken legal action against Azerbaijan claiming genocide and numerous violations of international law – May 12, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Book Author Interview – Exit Wounds : How Americas Guns Fuel Violence Across the Border – May 5, 2024

By Maria Armoudian