Author: TheConversation

By Ernesto Castañeda, Associate Professor of Sociology, American University Ernesto Castañeda is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at American University and the Director of the Immigration Lab. Castañeda explains why immigration is an important force counteracting population decline in the U.S. and why that matters to the economy and America’s global power. I direct the Immigration Lab where we conduct research around migration – in all its aspects. For example, emigration – people leaving their countries of origin; or internal migration – people moving within a country. There are millions of people living in a different...

By Linda C. McClain, Professor of Law, Boston University; Nicole Huberfeld, Edward R. Utley Professor of Health Law and Professor of Law, Boston University; and Morgan Marietta, Associate Professor of Political Science, UMass Lowell After half a century, Americans’ constitutional right to get an abortion has been overturned by the Supreme Court. The ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, handed down on June 24, 2022, has far-reaching consequences. The Supreme Court decided by a 6-3 majority to uphold Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. In doing so, the justices overturned two key decisions protecting access...

By Daniel Macfarlane, Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability, Western Michigan University The Great Lakes cover nearly 95,000 square miles and hold over 20% of Earth’s surface fresh water. More than 30 million people in the U.S. and Canada rely on them for drinking water. The lakes support a multibillion-dollar maritime economy, and the lands around them provided many of the raw materials – timber, coal, iron – that fueled the Midwest’s emergence as an industrial heartland. Despite their enormous importance, the lakes were degraded for well over a century as industry and development expanded around them. By the...

By Eve Darian-Smith, Professor of Global and International Studies, University of California, Irvine Around the world, many countries are becoming less democratic. This backsliding on democracy and “creeping authoritarianism,” as the U.S. State Department puts it, is often supported by the same industries that are escalating climate change. In my new book, Global Burning: Rising Antidemocracy and the Climate Crisis, I lay out connections between these industries and the politicians who are both stalling action on climate change and diminishing democracy. It is a dangerous shift, both for representative government and for the future climate. Corporate capture of environmental...

By Jeff South, Associate professor emeritus, Virginia Commonwealth University For decades, nine U.S. Army bases have carried the names of men who fought against the U.S. Army, in a war waged to defend and perpetuate the slavery of people of African descent. These military installations, all in Southern states, were named to honor such figures as General Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Confederate Army; John Bell Hood, an associate of Lee’s known for being both brave and impetuous; and Leonidas Polk, an Episcopal bishop who, thanks to his friendship with Jefferson Davis, began the war as a major...

By Terrence Guay, Clinical Professor of International Business and Director, Center for Global Business Studies, Penn State Russia’s war in Ukraine is upending the global arms industry. As the U.S. and its allies pour significant sums of money into arming Ukraine and Russia bleeds tanks and personnel, countries across the world are rethinking defense budgets, materiel needs and military relationships. Countries that historically have had low levels of defense spending such as Japan and Germany are bulking up, while nations that purchase most of their weapons from Russia are questioning their reliability and future delivery. My research in this...