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Turkey needs a new path

Cihan Tugal, professor, sociology | May 11, 2023

The Turkish opposition has never been as hopeful as it is today. Despite the many difficulties of the past two decades, never have so many factors lined up against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party, or A.K.P. The economy, after the lira spiraled downward in 2018 and none of the government’s … Continue reading »

Ranking Fatigue is a Worldwide Phenomenon

John Aubrey Douglass, Senior Research Fellow and Research Professor - Public Policy and Higher Education, Center for Studies in Higher Education | May 8, 2023

Ranking fatigue has finally set in, and its a worldwide phenomenon. A number of high-profile law schools in the US recently announced they will no longer participate in one commercial ranking; Dutch universities have begun a move away from using rankings and citation indexes for evaluating university performance, and that of their faculty. China, home … Continue reading »

Equity vs. Equality: What’s the Difference?

Stephen Menendian, assistant director, Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley | March 29, 2023

There is a clip of US Senator Bernie Sanders making the rounds from a recent episode of Bill Maher’s HBO program, in which the host asked Senator Sanders to distinguish “equality” from “equity.” Senator Sanders explained that “equality” refers to “equality of opportunity,” but admits he is not sure what “equity” means. The host says he thinks … Continue reading »

Russian aggression against Ukraine meets the criteria for genocide

Anastassia Fedyk, Assistant professor of finance | February 20, 2023

Co-authored with Ilona Sologoub (VoxUkraine) and James Hodson (AI for Good Foundation) Cemetary in Ukraine; source: individual diary entry on Svidok.org As early as April 2022, when atrocities in Irpin and Bucha (Kyiv region) became widely known, Western media began discussing whether Russia’s actions in Ukraine constitute a genocide. Some of them noted that the … Continue reading »

Higher Education Policymaking in the US After the Mid-Terms – Blue Versus Red States, Culture Wars and Budgets

John Aubrey Douglass, Senior Research Fellow and Research Professor - Public Policy and Higher Education, Center for Studies in Higher Education | January 23, 2023

The mid-term elections in the US brought a sort of victory for President Biden and Democrats, including the retention of a slim majority in the Senate and suffering only a marginal majority of Republican in the House of Representatives. Avoided was an expected much bigger electoral victory by Republicans and a clear majority in both … Continue reading »

German Auto Corporations and the Holocaust: Why are Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen Suppressing Accountability for their Nazi Pasts?

Noam Schimmel, Lecturer, International and Area Studies and Development Practice | December 12, 2022

Many German corporations benefited enormously from supporting and advancing Nazi persecution, particularly through the use of abusive forced labor often entailing torture and frequently leading to injury, illness, and premature death during World War 2 and the Holocaust. While some German corporations have acknowledged their crimes fully and sought to direct funds towards public education … Continue reading »

Accountability, Ethics, and Integrity in the Human Rights, Development, and Humanitarian Aid Sector

Noam Schimmel, Lecturer, International and Area Studies and Development Practice | August 22, 2022

Human rights NGOs are often subject to relentless criticism by those they critique, and this is particularly the case when authoritarian regimes grow furious with them for making these abuses public, demanding an end to them, and affirming the importance of justice and accountability. Non-state actors who are also criticized for human rights violations will … Continue reading »

Publishers are blocking digital humanities research

Catherine Crump, Clinical professor of law | August 16, 2022

Last fall, to little fanfare, the U.S. Copyright Office granted an exemption to a longstanding restriction on digital access to copyrighted books and movies, allowing academic researchers to bypass encryption so they can apply sophisticated datamining techniques to contemporary books and films. These same techniques have yielded powerful insights in the financial, science and medical … Continue reading »

Understanding ‘Replacement Theory’

Stephen Menendian, assistant director, Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley | July 26, 2022

Most Americans probably encountered the insidious notion of “replacement theory” for the first time in the wake of the horrific mass murder of 10 African Americans in Buffalo, New York in May. The shooter targeted a Black neighborhood for reasons detailed in a crude 180-page “manifesto” posted online shortly before his attack, which emphasized a … Continue reading »

After Roe: Governing Abortion through Crime?

Jonathan Simon, professor of law | June 27, 2022

Jonathan Simon and Sarah DiMagno Last week’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, the overturning of Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), on June 24, 2022, is a stunning result notwithstanding the unusual warning it was coming (in the March leak). It is hard to think of another Supreme Court … Continue reading »

Overturning Roe: The Supreme(ly Colonial) Court

Nazune Menka, JD, Environmental Law Clinic Attorney at Berkeley Law | June 26, 2022

  The United States Supreme Court’s history and jurisprudence is rooted in a colonial violence, Indigenous land dispossession, genocide, and slavery, but we are still surprised when, in 2022,  it determines a woman no longer has a constitutional right to bodily autonomy. Why? I turned this question inward and now share my thoughts about it … Continue reading »

For the Jan. 6 hearings, let’s salute the courage of Congresswoman Liz Cheney

Robert Reich, professor of public policy | June 8, 2022

To a large degree, the success of the hearings of the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 insurrection will depend on the Wyoming Republican congresswoman and vice-chair of the committee, Liz Cheney. Although I have disagreed with almost every substantive position she has ever taken, I salute her courage and her patriotism. And I wish her success.

Turkey, the belligerent NATO member?

Cihan Tugal, professor, sociology | May 26, 2022

Turkey’s treatment of the Kurds is now center stage — but not because allies have woken up to the injustice of Kurds’ systematic oppression. Instead, it’s because Turkey is effectively threatening to block the admittance of Finland and Sweden to NATO unless they agree to crack down on Kurdish militants. For President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seeing an opportunity to further cement his nationalist agenda, it’s a bold gambit. The tepid response from NATO allies so far suggests he might be successful.

Towards an Ethic of Friendship in Academic Research: A Reflection on Rwanda and Survivors of the Genocide Against the Tutsi

Noam Schimmel, Lecturer, International and Area Studies and Development Practice | April 21, 2022

Since the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi and, in particular, since the mid-2000s, there has been a growing and considerable amount of academic research taking place in Rwanda by global researchers, particularly from Europe and North America. Few countries in Africa have achieved such academic research attention, and much of it pertains to the genocide … Continue reading »

What Caused the Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi?

Noam Schimmel, Lecturer, International and Area Studies and Development Practice | April 20, 2022

As we commemorate the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi—which took place 28 years ago in April of 1994—it is essential to reflect on the failures of many different individuals, organizations, and governments that enabled the genocide. We are commemorating the genocide because of the decisions with catastrophic consequences that U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Madeleine … Continue reading »