Critical State

July 28, 2020

Critical State, our weekly global security newsletter, takes a deep dive into new research on how the scars conflict leaves on regular civilians express themselves in post-conflict politics. In a new working paper, political scientists look into the long-term effects of Japanese internment camps in the US.

Critical State

Conflict researchers on the COVID-19 era

Inkstick Media

July 21, 2020

In this week's Critical State, Sam Ratner takes a deep dive into the latest thinking by leading qualitative security researchers on what conflict studies can teach us about understanding the effects of COVID-19.

Critical State

Illiberalism isn't just rising — it's spreading (Part II)

Inkstick Media

July 14, 2020

The International Department is the diplomatic wing of the Communist Party of China. It has zeroed in on training foreign parties in its own image, using tools that allow the CPC to teach the blocking and tackling of its approach to governance to a wider audience than ever before. Critical State's Sam Ratner looks into new research on the ID-CPC's global reach.

Critical State

Illiberalism isn't just rising — it's spreading (Part I)

Inkstick Media

July 07, 2020

Why does there seem to be a global rise in illiberal laws that restrict nongovernmental organizations and civic life? Critical State's Sam Ratner looks at research on how policies that restrict civic life spread.

Critical State

Biology will play ‘a key role in the response to future crises,’ says health security scholar

Inkstick Media

June 30, 2020

Translating science into policy has been challenging in the COVID-19 era. It is now critical to "expand biology expertise in government from the silos it is currently in to much more prominent policymaking roles," says health security scholar Gigi Gronvall in conversation with Sam Ratner of the Critical State newsletter.

Critical State

When reform hasn't worked: Part II

Inkstick Media

June 23, 2020

Does de-escalation training for police reduce violence? A survey of 64 evaluations of de-escalation training programs conducted over 40 years says … we have no idea. Critical State's Sam Ratner looks at why police reform can feel like a mirage.

Critical State

When reform hasn't worked: Part I

Inkstick Media

June 16, 2020

The recent history of police reform in America is not encouraging. One area of policing that draws special attention from anti-violence advocates is the stationing of police in schools — especially in schools where the students are majority black.

Critical State

The power of protest: Part II

Inkstick Media

June 09, 2020

Critical State looks at the power and impact of protests over time. As today’s protesters lay out their demands for public safety systems that severely curb police capabilities for violence, economists Jamein Cunningham and Rib Gillezeau offer insight into the stakes of their struggle.

Critical State

The power of protest: Part I

The World

June 02, 2020

Critical State looks at the power of protest to lead to lasting change. According to new research by Omar Wasow, the power of protests to set agendas is high, it seems, but its power to persuade is limited.

Critical State

It’s time for the US to rethink Huntington’s philosophy: Part II

May 26, 2020

It would no doubt be a bitter irony for Sam Huntington that his main idea on a "clash of civilizations" has been taken up with such gusto by ISIS: The idea of conflict between a single Islamic civilization and a single Western civilization is a key tenet of ISIS thinking.

Critical State

The long-lasting scars of Japanese American internment

Conflict researchers on the COVID-19 era

Illiberalism isn't just rising — it's spreading (Part II)

Illiberalism isn't just rising — it's spreading (Part I)

Biology will play ‘a key role in the response to future crises,’ says health security scholar

When reform hasn't worked: Part II

When reform hasn't worked: Part I

The power of protest: Part II

The power of protest: Part I

It’s time for the US to rethink Huntington’s philosophy: Part II

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