Author: TheConversation

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...

By Maurizio Valsania, Professor of American History, Università di Torino Justice Samuel Alito appears to be spellbound by the 19th century. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the decision Alito wrote overruling 50 years of constitutional protection for women’s right to get an abortion, he deploys arguments that are based on several historical precedents. He uses the phrase “history and tradition” regularly. But for Alito, the 19th century looks like the true golden age: “In 1803, the British Parliament made abortion a crime at all stages of pregnancy and authorized the imposition of severe punishment.” He goes on...

By Kimala Price, Professor of Women’s Studies, San Diego State University In a mere few days after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, at least seven states banned abortion. And even though judges blocked the enforcement of “trigger” abortion bans in three states, more bans in other states are expected in the coming weeks. It is believed that 26 states are likely to ban abortions. Abortion will likely remain legal in 20 states – and the District of Columbia – with 14 of these states having recently enacted...