New York Magazine: Andrew Rice on William Barr
The attorney general is wielding the Justice Department as a weapon to defend President Donald Trump.
NYT Mag: Suzy Hansen on Turkish censorship
The internet restrictions put in place by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration have forced Turks into an online labyrinth, former ICWA fellow Suzy Hansen (Turkey, 2007-2009) writes in The New York Times Magazine.
The American Interest: Paul Rahe on realism’s limits
Hans Morgenthau took the American foreign policy establishment by storm in 1948 with Politics Among Nations, writes board chair and former fellow Paul Rahe (Turkey, 1984-1986) in The American Interest. But the so-called father of realism's own understanding of statesmanship was "rather unrealistic."
WAMU: Tyrone Turner and Mikaela Lefrak tell the story of a deaf DJ
Nico DiMarco has been deaf since birth, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing a side career as a DJ in Washington, DC. Tyrone Turner (Brazil, 1999-2000) and Mikaela Lefrak record his pulsating sound for WAMU radio.
AFP: Robbie Corey-Boulet on
Ethiopia’s border troubles
Residents in both Ethiopia and Eritrea complain of a lack of progress on demarcating their shared border despite a much-lauded peace deal, ICWA fellow Robbie Corey-Boulet (Ivory Coast and Cameroon, 2013-2015) reports for Agence France Presse. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end hostilities, but locals say they don't see the peace.
Johns Hopkins SAIS Magazine: Matt Chitwood profile
Johns Hopkins SAIS Magazine features Matt Chitwood (China, 2017-2019) as a noteworthy alum, who is chronicling the transformation of China from his home in a remote village in Yunnan province. “Changes have been taking place in Bangdong village, where I live," Matt writes. "Spring tea season has come and gone. Some have married, and some have passed... and my neighbors ate their dog.”
Foreign Policy: Karina Piser on Marine Le Pen’s Plan
France's far right party, the National Rally, has turned its attention to aggressively campaigning in local elections, Karina Piser (France, 2017-2019) reports for Foreign Policy. "As the National Rally seeks to shed its image as a political pariah and settle into the mainstream, municipal elections have emerged as an indispensable strategy," she writes. "Although the strategy has yet to translate into national gains, the party has decided that chipping away at local offices will be critical to its long-term success."
Globe and Mail: Neri Zilber on Israel after Netanyahu
The Israeli prime minister's recent loss in the polls on top of his criminal indictments on corruption charges could mark a new chapter in Israeli politics, former ICWA fellow Neri Zilber (Israel, 2011-2013) writes in an opinion piece for The Globe and Mail.
"It’s all a major comedown for a leader who has, in the later stages of his reign, given new meaning to the term l’état c’est moi," he writes. "In addition to the premiership, Mr. Netanyahu has been defense minister, too, and holds three other ministry positions as well. The cabinet has been a rubber stamp for decisions he concludes beforehand with his security chiefs."
NPR: Neri Zilber on Netanyahu’s possible successor
Former ICWA fellow Neri Zilber (Israel, 2011-2013) joins NPR’s Here & Now to discuss how a new Israeli government might look after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition, clearing the way for his rival Benny Gantz to try. Link to Here & Now interview here. Image credits here.
Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow publish new book
We just published a new book, Charging Ahead: Hydro-Quebec and the Future of Electricity. The book has an interesting story: when we started working on it in 2018, we thought we’d be writing a history of Hydro-Québec. But the plan quickly changed when we realized the future of Hydro-Québec was more interesting — much more interesting.