By Tayson Reese, University of Chicago Given the global proliferation of and increasing reliance on uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) in emerging global counterterrorism efforts over the 21st century, a contentious debate has emerged among scholars of international relations on the fundamental efficacy of UAVs as tools of counterterrorism. This discourse on the efficacy of drones has become organized into two competing schools of thought: drone pessimism and drone optimism. Drone pessimists argue that UAVs increase terrorism, while drone optimists assert that UAVs effectively decrease terror ..read more

By Jack McGlinn, University of Chicago “War is the continuation of politics by other means” - Carl von Clausewitz, On War  “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” - Sun Tzu, The Art of War The second space race is on. As scientific understanding grows and the potential discovery of extraterrestrial life draws nearer, space is starting to slowly drift from the serene realm of mysterious, breathtaking vastness that it once was into humanity’s next battleground. After all, there’s no better sign that mankind is becoming more and more comfortable with space than the fact tha ..read more

By Francisco Gutierrez, University of Chicago The 2020s can unfortunately be considered a time of immense strife: the University of Chicago’s own Doomsday clock has inched us closer and closer to midnight, or global catastrophe. As of this year, we stand only 90 seconds from midnight. This is due in part to a variety of conflicts reigniting and tensions flaming worldwide with notable conflicts such as Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine, and the possibility of war between China and Taiwan firmly in public view. But, lost in the recent chaos is an intense, ethnic conflict in the Caucasus ..read more

By Tayson Reese, University of Chicago Introduction  On September 7, 2013, at Nazarbayev University In Kazakhstan, Xi Xinping, the President of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CCP), and essentially the preeminent leader of modern China, announced the Chinese government’s intentions to commence a sweeping set of foreign infrastructure development projects entitled One Belt One Road, commonly referred to as the Belt and Road Initiative.1  This complex economic development plan and foreign relations strategy is “arguably one of t ..read more

By Alejandra Sarmiento, University of Chicago In the ever-shifting landscape of global geopolitics, the United States and China find themselves at the forefront of a complex and multifaceted relationship. Recent tensions between these two economic powerhouses have captured the world's attention, with implications reaching far beyond their respective borders. The dynamics of this relationship have been further spotlighted by the recent meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco on November 15, 2023, an encounter that held the promise of easing cu ..read more

By Lindsay Greenspan, University of Chicago The first principle of the World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution reads, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being; and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This statement highlights the WHO’s role in humanitarian global aid and health standards, which the United States has supported since the WHO’s origination in 1948. On average, the United States provides between $400 million to $500 million USD annually, out of the WHO’s biennial budget, which member states set at $6.86 billion USD for the 2024-2025 ..read more

By Jack Wells, University of Chicago As early as the 1990s, companies began shifting their supply chains to China, drawn by the allure of lower production costs, a vast labor pool, and increasingly liberalized trade policies. As a result of significant expansion after China's admission to the World Trade Organization in 2001, the Chinese economy now accounts for 20% of global manufacturing.[1] The move towards China as a manufacturing hub was propelled by the promise of enhanced efficiency and profitability for businesses worldwide, setting the stage for profound changes in how and where good ..read more

By Vivan Das, University of Chicago Since his appointment as Prime Minister in 2014, Narendra Modi has starkly redefined India’s political relationship with the United States. U.S. President Joe Biden has characterized the relationship between the two nations as “the most consequential in the world” (BBC). Modi has made it clear that he wants to take a much more direct approach to India’s relations with the U.S., moving away from how the two countries interacted in the past. But how did we get here? And how exactly is he making these shifts? What are the implications of the current relationsh ..read more

By Samuel Hagood, University of Chicago Today, many machines complete tasks that used to require human intelligence. These machines, known as artificial intelligence or AI, streamline our lives by finding the quickest route through traffic and the best results for our searches. AI can recognize our words and our faces. ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, draws on the collective knowledge of the Internet to present expertise in seconds. Yet artificial intelligence can do as much harm as it can good. This becomes apparent at the crossroads of AI and military innovation. A new class of weapons systems known ..read more

By Sihan Ren, University of Toronto What causes migration to the US from the past to present day? This article attempts to explain the continued Latin American migration to the United States through the lens of historical-structural theories. By comparing Mexico’s Bracero program and the present day, a broader causality between migration to the United States and US-Latin America history emerges. A deeper historical-structural cause of Latin American migration to the United States can be established: the United States’ persistent colonial-like irresponsible exploitation of Latin America – whet ..read more