Donald Trump’s ‘I’ Presidency And American Foreign Policy

By Allie Spensley ‘20 According to a database of President Trump’s tweets, the issues that Trump has claimed he and he alone can fix include the situation in Israel, illegal immigration, U.S. infrastructure, unemployment, ISIS, the movement of jobs to Mexico, slow GDP, and global terrorism. This individualism rewrites the history of the executive’s relative power in American government. In Trump’s view, America’s policies—for better or worse—often hinge … Continue reading Donald Trump’s ‘I’ Presidency And American Foreign Policy

ptdiplomatOctober 29, 2019May 26, 2020Leave a comment

Europe and Eurasia, Policy By Region

End Capital Punishment: The Short-Sightedness of Magnitsky Act Sanctions on Kadyrov

By Misha Tseitlin After the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi under dubious circumstances that mirror human rights abuses and the eventual death of Sergei Magnitsky in Russia, the lack of an international response has prompted calls for sanctions—often grounded in the justification of the Global Magnitsky Act. However, while many are ready to jump on this new crisis and leverage existing tools, they are quick … Continue reading End Capital Punishment: The Short-Sightedness of Magnitsky Act Sanctions on Kadyrov

ptdiplomatOctober 28, 2019May 26, 2020Leave a comment

Asia, Europe and Eurasia, Policy By Region

A Moral Balancing Act: The Vatican’s Deal With the CCP

By Maggie Baughman ‘21 In late September, the Vatican and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) finalized an agreement that both allows for the Vatican to regain some degree of legitimate access to Chinese Catholics, and for the CCP to gain the Pope’s stamp of approval on state-nominated Catholic bishops. The deal can serve as a case study in Xi Jinping’s “Sinicization,” a process of altering ideologies, products, or … Continue reading A Moral Balancing Act: The Vatican’s Deal With the CCP

ptdiplomatOctober 28, 2019May 26, 2020Leave a comment

Europe and Eurasia, Middle East, Policy By Region

CH-Ч-Changes: The Geopolitics Behind Kazakh Alphabet Reform

By Leora Eisenberg ‘20 It almost seems like a given that alphabets are a core part of a culture. What some may not understand is that language laws are a tense issue in post-Soviet space. Alphabets are integral to a language and its speakers, in spite of whatever historical revisionism an empire might seek to impose. They are inextricable from a country’s identity, history and culture. … Continue reading CH-Ч-Changes: The Geopolitics Behind Kazakh Alphabet Reform

ptdiplomatOctober 28, 2019April 20, 2020Leave a comment

Asia, Policy By Region

Bumps Along The New Silk Road: Are They As Big As We Think?

President Xi Jinping wasn’t exaggerating when he hailed it the “project of the century” at a Beijing summit in 2017. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) involves multi-trillion dollar investments in infrastructure development spanning 68 countries throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa, with the aim of promoting regional connectivity and economic growth. Given the diminishing hegemony of the US in the geopolitical sphere, China’s ambitious undertaking … Continue reading Bumps Along The New Silk Road: Are They As Big As We Think?