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Russian Universities During and After Putin – The War in Ukraine is a Turning Point

John Aubrey Douglass, Senior Research Fellow and Research Professor - Public Policy and Higher Education, Center for Studies in Higher Education | March 31, 2022

The invasion and brutal attack by Russian forces on Ukraine has brought tremendous suffering to millions of Ukrainians, including those in higher education sector. Dozens of universities have been bombed, and hundreds of thousands of students and academics have fled their homes. Research and teaching have been disrupted almost everywhere across Ukraine. The global academic … Continue reading »

Erasing the Ukrainian Holocaust site of Babi Yar. Again

Rebecca Golbert, Executive Director, Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies | March 22, 2022

Babi Yar is the single most symbolic site of the Holocaust in Ukraine and across the former Soviet Union; it captures the predominant way in which the Germans and their allies massacred Jews on Soviet and Ukrainian soil, what priest and author Patrick Desbois has called “the Holocaust by bullets”.

We must offer Putin an offramp from his war in Ukraine ASAP

David Levine, professor of business administration | March 16, 2022

The risks of escalation between NATO and Russia—a nuclear superpower with a potentially unstable leader—are clear. It’s crucial that we negotiate with our foe, no matter how distasteful. We must give Russia an attractive path to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.

All the times Trump and Putin have proved me wrong

Robert Reich, professor of public policy | March 15, 2022

Putin and Trump have convinced me I was wrong about how far we had come in the 21st century. Technology, globalization, and modern systems of governance haven’t altered the ways of tyranny. But I, like millions of others around the world, have been inspired by the Ukrainian people — who are reteaching us lessons we once knew.

Putin’s Invasion: Imperialism after the epoch of Lenin and Wilson

Cihan Tugal, professor, sociology | March 6, 2022

We need to resist Putin’s invasion of Ukraine with all responsible tools at our disposal, and not only out of humanitarian concern for Ukrainians. Just like the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Russian invasion is both symptom and precipitator of a much more global (and fatally destructive) process. It is as historical a turning point as 2003, which in fact aggravates dynamics initiated by the latter.

The EU response to Ukrainian refugees is a model for handling mass aid efforts

Katerina Linos, professor of law | March 5, 2022

The EU’s Ukraine measures go much further than any generous initiatives in the recent past. The plan applies to all Ukrainians seeking protection, not just recognized refugees, and to their family members broadly defined. It also applies, on the same terms, to stateless persons and refugees from the Ukraine. Individual EU member states are also extending these protections to permanent residents of Ukraine.

The moral bankruptcy of buying Russian energy

Yuriy Gorodnichenko, professor of economics | March 4, 2022

Putin rattles nuclear weapons to scare the world. And yet money from Russian oil and gas exports are flowing to Putin’s coffers to pay for death and destruction. History will judge harshly those who have enabled Putin’s regime.

Why I’m in mourning for hope and democracy in Ukraine

Rebecca Golbert, Executive Director, Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies | February 25, 2022

This has been the worst month of my 50 years of life. My mom died suddenly and unexpectedly a few weeks ago, my cousin’s 26-year-old son took his own life last week, and now Russia has invaded Ukraine. I know these may seem like unrelated events — personal, tangential, global — but they are inextricably … Continue reading »

Putin’s war and its economic and geopolitical realities

Robert Reich, professor of public policy | February 24, 2022

Putin’s means of keeping Western liberal democracy at bay isn’t just to invade Ukraine. It’s also to stoke division inside the West by fueling racist nationalism in Western Europe and the United States. In this, Trump and Trumpism continue to be Putin’s most important ally.

Radicalism or pragmatism? The divide in racial justice advocacy

Stephen Menendian, assistant director, Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley | February 16, 2022

Policy advocacy and racial equity proposals exist on a spectrum, with many areas of disagreement or differences in emphasis. And it would be an oversimplification to describe one camp as simply “moderate” and the other as “progressive.”

How Will “Benedict” Trump Be Remembered? The January 6 Coup Attempt in Historical Perspective

John Aubrey Douglass, Senior Research Fellow and Research Professor - Public Policy and Higher Education, Center for Studies in Higher Education | February 3, 2022

In the annals of American history, Benedict Arnold has held the title of the most infamous traitor. But he is about to be eclipsed by a more devious and consequential seditionist, Donald (“Benedict”) Trump. Such will be the judgment of historians and hopefully a mindful public, if not the current boosters of his autocratic desires. … Continue reading »

The Fight over Teaching in Schools About Race and Racism

Stephen Menendian, assistant director, Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley | January 28, 2022

Nearly a century ago, the state of Tennessee prosecuted a high school teacher for instructing students on the theory of evolution in violation of a state law. The state law was based on a fear that teaching evolution would undermine religious observance and traditional morality. The trial, known as the “Scopes Monkey Trial,” became a … Continue reading »

If Ukraine falls, the world becomes more dangerous

Yuriy Gorodnichenko, professor of economics | January 26, 2022

The ripples of a catastrophe in Ukraine will be felt in many parts of the world. If the Syrian refugee crisis brought the European Union to an existential crunch, what will happen if the wave of refugees becomes 10 times larger? Nuclear power plants generate 60 percent of Ukraine’s electricity. Who will control nuclear materials and technology in a war zone?  Does anyone want chaos in the middle of Europe?

What’s New About Neo-Nationalism, Anyway? How Globalization, Migration, and Technology is Giving Autocrats Fresh Power

John Aubrey Douglass, Senior Research Fellow and Research Professor - Public Policy and Higher Education, Center for Studies in Higher Education | January 6, 2022

While the 1st anniversary of the January 6 coup attempt in the U.S. weighs heavily on the minds of most, if not all, Americans, it is important to understand the international nature of a political movement gaining speed. Led by a new breed of demagogues and autocrats, Neo-Nationalism describes the emergence, and in some cases … Continue reading »

A promising new direction for Chile

Harley Shaiken, professor emeritus in education and in geography | January 5, 2022

Chile experienced the political equivalent of an 9.5 earthquake after the polls closed at 6:00 PM on Sunday, December 19, 2021 in the final round of a presidential race many had felt too close to call. Gabriel Boric, a charismatic 35 year old congressman and former student leader who hails from the left politically and … Continue reading »