Author: TheConversation

By Topher L. McDougal, Professor of Economic Development & Peacebuilding, University of San Diego The 2.2 million people who live in Gaza are facing economic isolation and experiencing incessant bombardment. Their supplies of essential resources, including food and water, are quickly dwindling. In response, U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged US$100 million in humanitarian assistance for the citizens of Gaza. As a scholar of peace and conflict economics who served as a World Bank consultant during the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel, I believe that Biden’s promise raises fundamental questions regarding the delivery of humanitarian aid in a...

By Torivio Fodder, Indigenous Governance Program Manager and Professor of Practice, University of Arizona Director Martin Scorsese’s new movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” tells the true story of a string of murders on the Osage Nation’s land in Oklahoma in the 1920s. Based on David Grann’s meticulously researched 2017 book, the movie delves into racial and family dynamics that rocked Oklahoma to the core when oil was discovered on Osage lands. White settlers targeted members of the Osage Nation to steal their land and the riches beneath it. But from a historical perspective, this crime is just the...

By Allison M. Prasch, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Politics and Culture, University of Wisconsin-Madison U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to travel to an active war zone and the scene of an unfolding humanitarian crisis spoke volumes, even before his arrival. The White House has stated that Biden’s purpose is to “demonstrate his steadfast support for Israel” after Hamas’ “brutal terrorist attack” on October 7, 2023. But Israel was not meant to be his only stop. The president was also scheduled to travel to Amman, Jordan, to meet with Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Palestinian...

By Peter Mansoor, Professor of History, General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair in Military History, The Ohio State University In the wake of the shocking invasion of southern Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas. “We are fighting a cruel enemy, worse than ISIS,” Netanyahu proclaimed four days after the invasion, comparing Hamas with the Islamic State group, which was largely defeated by U.S., Iraqi and Kurdish forces in 2017. On that same day, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant went further, stating, “We will wipe this thing called Hamas,...

By Avner Cohen, Professor of Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies Living for 75 years within a hostile neighborhood has required the state of Israel to provide security against external threats to all its citizens. That responsibility is a social contract between citizens and the state: The state is obligated to provide security for its people, especially those who live near its borders, that makes living there safe. In return, young Israelis must serve in the army. That unwritten contract was abruptly shattered for Israelis in the morning hours of October 7, 2023. And with it, the very...