Author: TheConversation

By Juris Pupcenoks, Associate Professor of Political Science, Marist College Oleg Morozov, a member of the Russian parliament and an ally of President Vladimir Putin’s, made what sounded much like a threat in May 2022. Poland should be “in first place in the queue for denazification after Ukraine,” he said. Just days earlier, pro-Putin Moscow city assembly member, Sergey Savostyanov, asserted that after Ukraine, Russia needs to drive alleged Nazis from power in six more countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova and Kazakhstan. Just a few months following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was made under the false...

By Nicole Martins, Associate Professor of Communication Science, Indiana University; and Erica Scharrer, Professor of Communication, UMass Amherst Over 100 mass shootings have taken place in the U.S. since the rampage in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. Not a single week in 2022 has passed without at least four mass shootings. With gun violence, war and other tragedies in the news, children are often exposed to scary images and information. Parents and caregivers are faced with the dilemma of wondering how to speak with their children about the unspeakable. How can adults help children feel safe when imagery...

By Joshua Holzer, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Westminster College After Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many countries quickly responded by imposing sanctions on Russia and by sending weapons to help Ukraine defend itself. But so far, the U.S. and its NATO allies have said they will not send troops. Nonetheless, many non-Ukrainians want to fight for Ukraine for a variety of reasons, whether ideological, personal or political. To take advantage of that support, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has set up the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine for those who wish to volunteer...

By Patrick Parenteau, Professor of Law, Vermont Law School In a highly anticipated but not unexpected 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled on June 30, 2022, that the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act. The ruling does not take away the EPA’s power to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, but it makes federal action harder by requiring the agency to show that Congress has charged it to act – in an area where Congress has consistently failed to act. The Clean Power Plan, the policy at the heart...