The Scholars' Circle

With the news that Elon Musk intends to purchase Twitter and with promises that the social media company will allow a wider range of content, including some that was previously banned as hate speech, disinformation, or conspiracy-centric, concerns over disinformation in political discourse have been heightened. But the challenge of democratic discourse in light of misinformation and disinformation is a historic challenge. Social media just speeds the process. Yet a significant concern is discerning who best to regulate what constitutes disinformation, in light of the political power of censorship.

We look at how disinformation has spread worldwide, shifting politics and challenging democracies. What are the most effective ways to counter disinformation? How might it be different for states, than for individuals? [ dur: 58mins. ]

* Elzbieta Drazkiewic is Senior Research Fellow at the Slovak Academy of the Sciences. She is the author of “Taking vaccine regret and hesitancy seriously. The role of truth, conspiracy theories, gender relations and trust in the HPV immunisation programmes in Ireland” and co-author of “What Should Academics Do About Conspiracy Theories? Moving Beyond Debunking to Better Deal with Conspiratorial Movements, Misinformation and Post-Truth” (with Jaron Harambam).

* Nora Benavidez is Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice & Civil Rights at Free Press. She also serves as Faculty Associate at Arizona State University’s Cronkite Institute. She is the author of “Now What? Fixing Facebook to Protect Us All” and “Facebook Ought to be Protecting Democracy Every Day.”

* Corneliu Bjola is Associate Professor in Diplomatic Studies at the University of Oxford and Head of the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group. He is the author of Digital Diplomacy and International Organizations: Autonomy, Legitimacy and Contestation (with R Zaiotti) and Countering Online Propaganda and Violent Extremism: The Dark Side of Digital Diplomacy (with J. Pamment).

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

Former President Trump’s administration took the presidential documents to Mar-a-Lago instead of submitting them to the U.S. archive. Why does this matter? [ dur: 26mins. ]

In recent months, investigators discovered that a significant number of records from the Trump White House were relocated to his personal residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. This removal of official papers from the White House poses a significant threat for the security of classified information. But perhaps most importantly, it serves as a major concern for future historians to write accurate and detailed histories of the presidency. We explore the Presidential Records Act and how the law is applied.

* Jeremi Suri is Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at University of Texas, Austin. He holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the co-author of “Problems with President Records are Not Just About Trump” with Kenneth Osgood. His publications also include The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office and Foreign Policy Breakthroughs: Cases in Successful Diplomacy. He is host of the podcast This is Democracy

We turn our attention to a country rarely in the news, Uzbekistan. What do we know about the country, particularly its religious freedoms? Uzbekistan is an Islamic country. But does it respect the rights of its Muslims? If so, why does the country imprison its people considered prisoners of conscience and religious prisoners? We discuss a new report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom on Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners. [ dur: 32mins. ]

* Steve Swerdlow is Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC). He was Senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. He has conducted extensive field work internationally with a particular focus on Central Asia and the Caucuses. He was Senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. He has conducted extensive field work internationally with a particular focus on Central Asia and the Caucuses. He is the author of Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

The French are electing a new President. On today’s show we explore French politics and society and the potential of a French election of a far right candidate as President. [ dur: 58mins. ]

On April 10, 2022, French voters went to the polls for Presidential elections. Like so many countries, the first round of elections are multi-party. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote, then a second round of elections is held with the top 2 finishers. In a repeat of the 2017 elections, Emmanuel Macron received the most votes but fell short of the 50% threshold. He will once again run against National Front candidate Marine Le Pen. This election will be held April 24. What is at stake is French participation in the European Union and NATO. French identity is at stake as well, with Le Pen’s well known white nationalist appeal to French voters. We will discuss political and social developments in France, and what we are watching in the outcomes on April 24.

* Martin A. Schain is Professor of Politics, Emeritus, at New York University. He is the author of The Politics of Immigration in France, Britain and the United States: A Comparative Study, and co-author and editor of Comparative Federalism: The US and EU in Comparative Perspective and Shadows Over Europe: The Development and Impact of the Extreme Right in Europe.

* Patrick Chamorel is Senior Resident Scholar and a lecturer at the Stanford Center in Washington. He is the author of France’s Vanishing Center and The French Presidential Election: Can Macron Stay Ahead of the Pack?

* Fleur Macdonald is a freelance journalist who works in print and radio. She is the author of The Malaise Poisoning French Politic

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

After mass atrocities and crimes against humanity, how can societies reconcile? How is justice performed and how should we recognize these crimes? And what of the clash between international interests and local needs when dealing with the punishment and acknowledgment of atrocities?

President Biden has called Russia’s attack on Ukraine a war crime. What does that mean in term of legal remedies? When and how are war crimes adjudicated? Prosecuting those who commit crimes against humanity or war crimes is one part of justice, the other part is redressing the victims and survivors. What can be done to redress them? [ dur: 58mins. ]

* 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.

* Rebecca Hamilton is Associate Professor of Law at American University, Washington College of Law. She is the author of Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop Genocide and co-author of Social Media Platforms in International Criminal Investigations.

* Kate Mackintosh is the inaugural Executive Director of the Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law. She was Head of Humanitarian Affairs for Doctors Without Borders. She is the author of How long until the planet’s destruction is an international crime and the forthcoming The crime of ecocide through human rights: new tools for Climate Justice.

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

In what ways is the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson historic? What impact will having a former criminal defense attorney on the Supreme Court have on future rulings or on dissents? [ dur: 58mins. ]

* Danielle Holley-Walker is the Dean and Professor of Law at Howard University School of Law. She is the author of “A New Era for Desegregation” and “After Unitary Status: Examining Voluntary Integration Strategies for Southern School Districts.”

* Abbe Smith is Director of the Criminal Defense and Prisoner Advocacy Clinic and Professor of Law at Georgetown University. She is the author of Guilty People and co-author of Beyond the Rodney King Story: An Investigation of Police Conduct In Minority Communities.

* Olu Orange is the Director of the USC Dornsife Trial Advocacy Program and also the Director of the USC Dornsife Agents of Change: Civil Rights Advocacy Initiative. A practicing attorney, he has won several important cases, including B.B. (Burley) v. County of Los Angeles — a knee-on-neck police death case which established that police officers who intentionally cause harm cannot offset their own liability with their victims’ negligence. The case has been referred to “George Floyd without video.” And in 2018, A.G. v. County of Los Angeles which established that non-biological children have standing in California to sue for the wrongful death of persons who raise them as parents.

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

What role have black women played in the civil rights era and black empowerment in addressing issues of white supremacy? We explore the importance of black women intellectuals, the way in which they have framed the scholarship, the analysis, and policies. [ dur: 34mins. ]

* Ashley Farmer is Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies & History at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of Remaking Black Power: How Black Women Transformed an Era and co-editor of New Perspectives on the Black Intellectual Tradition. She is also the Co-Editor and Curator of the Black Power Series with Ibram X. Kendi.

Several states have passed legislation barring teaching critical race theory in public schools. Today we explore critical race theory and how race is taught. How should academics proceed in light of the political backlash to teaching about race? [ dur: 22mins. ] This was originally recorded July 21, 2021. This is an excerpt, the complete version can be heard here.

* Utz McKnight is Chair of the Department of Gender and Race Studies and Professor of Political Science at the University of Alabama. He is the author of Race and the Politics of the Exception: Equality, Sovereignty, and American Democracy and Everyday Practice of Race in America: Ambiguous Privilege.

* Laura E. Gómez is Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. She has taught the Critical Race Studies Program in the law school’s upper-year curriculum. Professor Gómez has co-founded and served as the first co-director of UCLA School of Law’s Critical Race Studies Program. She is the author of Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism and Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race. 2nd ed.

* David Livingstone Smith is Professor of Philosophy at New England University. He is the author of Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others, On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It, and the forthcoming Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization.

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

Just how effective are sanctions? How are they used and what exactly do they entail? Can sanctions be applied in a way that they would not cause harm to citizens? And what does sanctions research suggest about their impact on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

* Erica Moret is Senior Researcher at the Centre for Global Governance and Visiting Lecturer at the Department of International Relations/ Political Science at the Graduate Institute, Geneva. She is the author of “When should the United States use hard-hitting sectoral and financial sanctions?” and “Sanctions on Russia: Impacts and Economic Costs on the United States.”

* A. Cooper Drury is Senior Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Science and Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri. He is author of “Neo-Kantianism and Coercive Diplomacy: The Complex Case of Economic Sanctions” and “Media-driven Humanitarianism? News Media Coverage of Human Rights Abuses and the Use of Economic Sanctions.”

* Timothy Peterson is Associate Professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University. He is author of “Sanctions and Alternate Markets: How Preexisting Trade and Alliances Affect the Onset of Economic Coercion.” And the forthcoming “Does Punishing Sanctions Busters Work? Sanctions Enforcement and U.S. Trade with Sanctioned States.”

* Bryan Early is Associate Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean for Research at the University at SUNY Albany’s Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. He is the author of “Using the Carrot as the Stick: U.S. Foreign Aid and the Effectiveness of Sanctions Threats” and “Still Unjust, Just in Different Ways: How Targeted Sanctions Fall Short of Just War Theory’s Principles.”

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

We discuss the situation on the ground in Ukraine, human rights violations, such as war crimes, and what is needed to end the war. [ dur: 29mins. ]

* Sasha Romantsova is the Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine. She joins us from Kiev, Ukraine.

* Steve Swerdlow is Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC). He was Senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. He has conducted extensive field work internationally with a particular focus on Central Asia and the Caucuses.

Ukrainian refugees are fleeing the war by the hundreds of thousands. Poland is their most common destination. How is Poland responding and what does this mean for its refugee policies? We explore the refugee crisis and its impact on Poland. [ dur: 29mins. ]

* Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska is a freelance journalist who covers covers politics and societies across the post-Soviet space, South Asia and the Middle East. Her articles are published on Al Jazeera English, the Guardian, Eurasianet, the Diplomat and many other English and Polish language media. She is the co-editor of Ukraine and Russia: People, Politics, Propaganda and Perspectives and Migration and the Ukraine Crisis: A Two-Country Perspective..

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

Russia attacked Ukraine this week. What does this mean for the region and the world? What are the international reactions to this invasion? What should be the international response? [ dur: 58mins. ]

* Anna Ohanyan is the Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Stonehill College, and a two-times Fulbright Scholar in the South Caucasus. She is the editor of Russia Abroad: Driving Regional Fracture in Post-Communist Eurasia and Beyond, and her latest book “The Neighborhood Effect: The Imperial Roots of Regional Fracture in Post-Communist Eurasia“. Professor Ohanyan is also a nonresident senior scholar in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

* 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.

* Serhiy Kudelia is Associate Professor of Political Science at Baylor University. He is the author of When Numbers Are Not Enough: The Strategic Use of Violence in Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution, “The Donbas Rift” and the op-ed “Breaking the Russia-Ukraine Stalemate“.

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