Arbitration

For weeks now, the stock market in the U.S. has been topsy turvy. Some are simply dubbing the fluctuations a "correction," but ghosts from the subprime mortgage past are creeping around and hints of a tech bubble loom in the distance. We discuss this and how it might affect different demographics.

Music by 4barrelcarb with a CC0 1.0 license for Freesound (https://freesound.org/people/4barrelcarb/sounds/362832/)

In the first installment of our second season, we review "Darkest Hour," a film that looks into the weeks of Winston Churchill's life prior to the Battle of Dunkirk. We take a look at this film's overall quality, its historical accuracy, and what it means in the 21st century... all while downing pinot noir.

Music: Vanhell Spawn Guitar by AREmedia for Freesound with a CC BY-NA 3.0 license (https://freesound.org/people/AREmedia/sounds/397055/)

Arbiters Sophia Freuden, Drake MacFarlane, and Jordan Paul convene for the final episode of Arbitration's first season to discuss two upcoming SCOTUS cases... all while downing pints of beer. What could go wrong?

Music: "VIva.wav" by martysonic with a CC BY-NC 3.0 license for Freesoung.org (https://freesound.org/people/martysonic/sounds/391105/)

Referendums are all the rage, and we've noticed. We take a look at independence referendums of recent days in Catalonia, Spain and the Kurdish region of Iraq known as Kurdistan. Realism and constructivism butt heads yet again, this time over the likeliness of how successful these referendums will be.

Music: "voyage loop" by zagi2 (https://freesound.org/people/zagi2/sounds/319407/) and Trumpet Fanfare by benjaminharveydesign (https://freesound.org/people/benjaminharveydesign/sounds/350428/)

We tackle the decades-long ethnic tension between the Rohingya Muslims and Myanmarese government that in recent weeks has culminated in what could be a genocide. We specifically take a look at international norm proliferation and why states speak of genocide, but neglect to intervene.

Music: "Shine 1 (loop)" by SkibkaMusic for Freesoung.org with a CC0 1.0 license (https://freesound.org/people/SkibkaMusic/sounds/361139/)

We look at behavioral theory--a weird mix of economic game theory and psychology--to explain what's going on between China, the U.S., North Korea, and the potential trade war between them.

Music: "Intro 1L72" by Setuniman for Freesound with a CC BY-NC 3.0 license (http://freesound.org/people/Setuniman/sounds/274787/)

Is the nuclear buzz between the U.S. and North Korea just a tactic to distract the public in both countries or a legitimate geopolitical move? We take a look at the diversionary theory of war--the sexiest theory--and discuss North Korea, Afghanistan, and Russia within the context of this theory.

Music: "A Second Behind, picked guitar 1, Rec (16).wav" by jo130 for Freesound with a CC BY-NC 3.0 license (https://freesound.org/people/jo130/sounds/17562)

Arbiters Sophia Freuden, Hannah Luzadder, and Drake MacFarlane inspect how constructivism fits into international relations, with a specific discussion on the recent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, white nationalism, and Russian intervention in U.S. domestic affairs.

Sound: "Charlie Chaplin final speech in The Great Dictator" by Writ 3105 for Soundcloud with a CC BY-SA 3.0 license (https://soundcloud.com/writ-3105/charlie-chaplin-final-speech)

Arbiters Sophia Freuden, Drake MacFarlane, and Hannah Luzadder discuss realism's sequel, liberalism, the post-renaissance paradigm that explains cooperation and mutual benefit, and how China's Great Firewall fits into the Liberal International Economic Order.

Music: "Floating Synth Melody at 130 BPM C major loop music" by Lemoncreme on Freesound with a CC BY 3.0 license (http://freesound.org/people/Lemoncreme/sounds/231578/).

Arbiters Alex Kraemer, Sophia Freuden, Jordan Paul and Drake MacFarlane discuss realism, its evolution, prominent realist scholars, and what the paradigm has to say about a border conflict between India and China.

Music: "Sample Melody" by Greek555 on Freesound with a CC0 1.0 license (http://freesound.org/people/Greek555/sounds/260866/)