The Scholars' Circle

What is reputational security for states? And what exactly do officials do to protect states' reputations? How has social media and other communication technologies affected states and efforts to protect their reputations? This discussion is centered around Nickolas J. Cull's book Reputational Security: Refocusing Public Diplomacy for a Dangerous World. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Nicholas J. Cull is Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at USC. He is the author of The Decline and Fall of the United States Information Agency: American public diplomacy 1989-2001, Public Diplomacy: Foundations for Global Engagement in the Digital Age, and his latest Reputational Security: Refocusing Public Diplomacy for a Dangerous World.

R.S. (Rhonda) Zaharna is a full professor in the School of Communication at American University. She is the author of Battles to Bridges: U.S. Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy after 9/11 and Boundary Spanners of Humanity: Three Logics of Communication and Public Diplomacy

Ilan Manor is digital diplomacy scholar and lecturer and Tel Aviv University and Ben Gurion University of Negev. He is the author of The Digitalization of Public Diplomacy and Public Diplomacy and the Politics of Uncertainty.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

The US Supreme Court overturned Colorado’s State Supreme Court decision to remove Donald Trump from its ballot based on the 14th Amendment’s prohibition on insurrectionists holding office. What might this signal about the court and its role in the 2024 election and in electoral politics more generally?

Polls suggest that voters want to know if Donald Trump is a criminal before voting in November. But the Supreme Court’s decisions make it less likely that this occurs before the election. What does this mean for the future of the US and for democracy and the constitution? [ dur: 58mins. ]

John R. Vile is Dean and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author of, The Writing and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution: Practical Virtue in Action, Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2015, and ReFramers: 170 Eccentric, Visionary, and Patriotic Proposals to Rewrite the U.S. Constitution.

Sanford Levinson is W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School. He is the author of many publications including Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It) and Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance and, with Cynthia Levinson, Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today.

Andrew Koppelman is John Paul Stevens Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. He is the author of The Increasingly Dangerous Variants of the “Most-Favored-Nation” Theory of Religious Liberty and The Supreme Court and the new religious aristocracy in the Hill.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

What does the death of Russia's high profile dissident, Alexi Navalny, mean for the future of the country? Who was Alexi Navalny and what exactly did he stand for? Navalny was not the only political dissident in Russia. Who else is resisting the government and what are their causes?

And what does Alexei Navalny's death portend for Russian leader, Vladimir Putin? Does it suggest he's a strongman or that he is, instead, weaker than he appears? [ dur:58mins ]

Steve Swerdlow, esq. is Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners and Uzbekistan’s Ethnic Minorities: Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind. He writes extensively as a human rights monitor for Human Right Watch.

Robert English is Associate Professor of International Relations and Co-Director of the Central European Studies Program at the University of Southern California (USC). He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

With the massive population growths, cities are facing enormous challenges especially with housing, building climate resilience, transportation networks, and addressing the needs of working people. How are cities facing these challenges? We discuss the 21st Century city. [ dur: 32mins. ]

Stephen M. Wheeler (Steve) is Professor in the Landscape Architecture Program of the Department of Human Ecology at U.C. Davis. He is the co-author of Re-imagining Sustainable Cities: Creating Equitable, Healthy, and Ecological Communities (with Christina D. Rosan) and author of Climate Change and Social Ecology: A New Perspective on the Climate Challenge.

Carmen Sirianni is Morris Hillquit Professor of Labor and Social Thought and Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Public Policy at Brandeis University. He is the author of Sustainable Cities in American Democracy, Civic Engagement in American Climate Policy: Collaborative Models and an upcoming publication on Civic Democracy and Climate Action: Engagement and Policy for a Resilient America.

Across the US, many cities are grappling with an enormous housing crisis, as homelessness reaches unprecedented levels. What are the causes and what can be done to be sure people have adequate housing? [ dur: 26mins. ]

Luis Quintero is Assistant Professor at John Hopkins Carey Business School. He co-directs the Latin American and the Caribbean Economics Association (LACEA) urban economics network. He is the co-author of Measuring the Value of Rent Stabilization and Understanding its Implications for Racial Inequality: Evidence from New York City and Cities and Productivity: Evidence from 16 Latin American and Caribbean Countries.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Colorado disqualified former president Donald Trump from running on its ballot for President, arguing he violated the 14th Amendment's prohibition on insurrectionists from holding public office. What do history and law say about this amendment and its purpose? What would so-called originalism mean as applied to the case? [ dur: 58mins. ]

John R. Vile is Dean and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author of, The Writing and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution: Practical Virtue in Action, Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2015, and ReFramers: 170 Eccentric, Visionary, and Patriotic Proposals to Rewrite the U.S. Constitution.

Frank Bowman III is Floyd R. Gibson Missouri Endowed Professor of Law at the University of Missouri School of Law. He is an expert on the impeachment of the president and other federal officers. Bowman is the author of High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump. His writes the blog “Impeachable Offenses".

Jeremi Suri is Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office and his latest book Civil War by Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight For Democracy. He hosts the podcast This is Democracy.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Climate Change is an existential threat that demands bold action and a transformation of how humanity uses its resources. Concepts like "net zero" and "carbon offset" have done little toward decreasing the amount of greenhouse gases we emit into the atmosphere. Is the current legal and voluntary structure adequate to meet the challenge of climate change? Are we up to the challenge? [ dur: 58mins. ]

William Moomaw is Emeritus Professor of international environmental policy and founding director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. He is the co-founder and current co-director of the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts. Professor Moomaw has been a lead author of five Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Reports. He is the author of Intact Forests in the United States: Proforestation Mitigates Climate Change and Serves the Greatest Good and Scientist Diplomats or Diplomat Scientists: Who Makes Science Diplomacy Effective?

LeRoy Westerling is Professor of Management of Complex Systems at Ernest and Julio Gallo Management Program at the University of California, Merced. He is the co-author of Greater Temperature and Precipitation Extremes Intensify Western U.S. Droughts, Wildfire Severity, and Sierra Nevada Tree Mortality.

Christopher Wright is Professor of Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School. He is the co-author of Climate Change, Capitalism, and Corporations: Processes of Creative Self-Destruction.

Prue Taylor is the Deputy Director of the New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law. She is Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland. She is the author of Opportunity within Failure: Can the Global Pact for the Environment Learn from Responsibility to Protect? and a book chapter on Responsibility for the Ecological Integrity of the High Seas: The Role of Natural Law.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Ethiopia is the first nation to recognize a breakaway region of Somalia called Somaliland since its declaration of independence 33 years ago. Why did Ethiopia recognize it and what does it mean for peace in the region.

Markus Virgil Hoehne is a lecturer at the Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. He is the author of Between Somaliland and Puntland: Marginalization, Militarization and Conflicting Political Visions and is co-editor of Borders and Borderlands as Resources in the Horn of Africa with Dereje Feyissa and Co-Editor of Dynamics of Identification and Conflict: Anthropological Encounters.

Aleksi Ylönen is a researcher at the Center for International Studies, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, a professor at the United States International University-Africa, and an associate fellow at the HORN International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is the author of External power competition in the Horn of Africa: Somaliland’s quest for international recognition and development and Inheriting power: Somaliland’s political institutions and the 2017 presidential election.

Niger's promising democracy was toppled by a military coup last year. We revisit the causes of the coup to remind us of the need for continuing pressure on military governments to return to democracy and the rule of law.

Brett Logan Carter is Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of “Can Western Donors Constrain Repressive Governments? Evidence from Debt Relief Negotiations in Africa” , "Propaganda in Autocracies: Institutions, Information, and the Politics of Belief" ( co-authored with Erin Baggott Carter ).

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

In the summer of 2023, Guatemala elected as President an outsider with a famous last name—Bernardo Arevalo. But his political opponents used ever level of law they could to try to deny his Inauguration. Why was he victorious and what does his election mean for the future of democracy in the Central American nation? [ dur: 28mins. ]

Professor Luis Fernando Mack is a Guatemalan independent political analyst and political science professor at Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. He is the author of “The Electoral Reform System in Guatemala” and Reform of the State, Assessment of the current constitutional period and prospects for 2024.

Guillermo Trejo is professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, faculty fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and Director and Principal Investigator at the Notre Dame Violence and Transitional Justice Lab (V-TJLab). He is the co-author of Containing Large-Scale Criminal Violence through Internationalized Prosecution: How the CICIG Contributed to the Reduction of Guatemala's Murder Rate and Votes, Drugs, and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico (book).

The island of Puerto Rico has a complex relationship with the federal government in the United States. Should it seek statehood or independence? Or is the status quo the best option for the nation. This segment was recorded January 2023. [ dur: 30mins. ]

Amílcar Antonio Barreto is Professor and Chair, Cultures, Societies, and Global Studies Department, and Interim Director of  International Affairs and Political Science at Northeastern University. He is the author of American Identity, Congress and the Puerto Rico Statehood Debate and The Politics of Language in Puerto Rico Revisited.

Jorge Farinacci-Fernós is Associate Professor of Law at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico Law School and Visiting Professor at the University of Buffalo School of Law. He is the author of The ‘New’ Insular Cases and the Territorial Clause: From Temporary Incorporation to Permanent Unincorporation and the book Puerto Rico’s Constitutional Paradox: Colonial Subordination, Democratic Tension, and Promise of Progressive Transformation.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

What responsibilities do occupiers have in their occupation of territories? And is there a legal requirement to eventually end the occupation? [ dur: 28mins. ]

Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco. He is the author of numerous publications including Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism, Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution co-authored with Jacob Mundy.

John B. Quigly is a Professor of Law Emeritus at Ohio State University. He is the author of many publications including The Statehood of Palestine: International Law in the Middle East Conflict and The Six-Day War and Israeli Self-Defense: Questioning the Legal Basis for Preventive War.

In the laws of war, countries do have the right to defend themselves. But what do those laws require in the process of waging war? How does this apply to Israel's war in Gaza? And what legal rights do non-state actors have for self-determination? [ dur: 28mins. ]

Jennifer Trahan is a Clinical Professor and Director of the Concentration in International Law and Human Rights at NYU's Center for Global Affairs. She has published two digests on the case-law of the ad hoc tribunals and is the author of Existing Legal Limits to the Use of the Veto in the Face of Atrocity Crimes.

Gabor Rona is Professor of Practice at Cardozo Law School. He is the author of Is There a Way Out of the Non-International Armed Conflict Detention Dilemma? and State Responsibility to Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights Obligations in Cyberspace.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

To commemorate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. we explore the impact of Dr. King and his memory on contemporary issues, including the role of women in the movement and the security of people of color as embodied in the Black Lives Matter movement. What is the meaning of Dr. King’s dream today? [ dur: 30mins. ]

*This was part of a panel discussion recorded January 2023. To hear the entire discussion please visit: here.

David Garrow is Professor of History and Law at the University of Pittsburgh and Former Senior Research Fellow at Cambridge University. He is the author of Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama, The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography. His website is www.davidgarrow.com.

Keith Miller is Professor of English and Professor, Affiliate Faculty, at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University. He is the author of Martin Luther King's Biblical Epic: His Great, Final Speech and Voice of Deliverance: The Language of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Its Sources. His website is: drkeithdmiller.com.

Jared Clemons is Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University. He is the author of “Freedom Now!” to “Black Lives Matter”: Retrieving King and Randolph to Theorize Contemporary White Antiracism.

Dewey M. Clayton is Professor of Political Science at the University of Louisville. He is the author of The presidential campaign of Barack Obama: A critical analysis of a racially transcendent strategy, African Americans and the politics of congressional redistricting and Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement: A Comparative Analysis of Two Social Movements in the United States .

How did better understandings of mathematical concepts and the rise in numeracy rates change society, politics, philosophy and science? And what did it mean for religion? We explore how educating ordinary people, the adoption of Arabic numerals, alongside related changes transformed early modern England. [ dur: 28mins. ]

Jessica Otis is an Assistant Professor of History and the Director of Public Projects at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. She is the author of BY THE NUMBERS: NUMERACY, RELIGION, AND THE QUANTITATIVE TRANSFORMATION OF EARLY MODERN ENGLAND.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Sudd Dongre and Maria Armoudian.