Berkeley Political Review

UC Berkeley's Only Non-Partisan Political Magazine

Inside San Quentin: The Transformative Power of Education and Rehabilitation

Sydney Grundland Lanuza | California | October 4, 2025

Inside San Quentin and other California prisons, education and rehabilitation are transforming lives and challenging stigmas. Michael, an inmate in San Quentin, shares his story about how rehabilitation is benefiting people inside and outside the system.

Seizing the Means of Electrification in California

Seizing the Means of Electrification in California

The typical scheme for electric utilities places customers in one of two bins: investor-owned or city-owned. There is a perennial

November 14, 2025
The New “Clear and Present Danger” to the United States is Trumpist Aggression

The New “Clear and Present Danger” to the United States is Trumpist Aggression

On Sep. 1, 2025, a U.S. Navy combat aircraft illegally sunk a ship in international waters off the coast of

November 14, 2025
Is Political Violence Ever Okay?

Is Political Violence Ever Okay?

Slavery in the United States was a violent regime built on the systemic dehumanization of enslaved Black people. White slaveholders

November 8, 2025
Netanyahu Faces the World, and the World Walks Out

Netanyahu Faces the World, and the World Walks Out

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage at the United Nations General Assembly on Sep. 26, 2025, symbolism

November 8, 2025
Geopolitical Tug-of-War: Moldova Decides Between an EU or Russian Future

Geopolitical Tug-of-War: Moldova Decides Between an EU or Russian Future

Between Romania and Ukraine, a tiny country in Eastern Europe is choosing its path for the future in historic parliamentary

November 7, 2025
San Francisco Fails to Meet the Tenderloin Where They Are At

San Francisco Fails to Meet the Tenderloin Where They Are At

San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood harbors the weight of the city’s ongoing drug and homelessness crisis, and the City and County

November 7, 2025
San Francisco’s Fleet Week Should Have Been Cancelled

San Francisco’s Fleet Week Should Have Been Cancelled

The ongoing federal government shutdown threatened to cancel San Francisco’s annual celebration of the United States military. But with the

November 7, 2025
Diplomacy as Performance in Trump’s Saudi Strategy

Diplomacy as Performance in Trump’s Saudi Strategy

Unlike most U.S. presidents who traditionally make their first foreign trip to Canada or Mexico, Donald Trump broke precedent in

November 6, 2025
Carceral Muscle Memory: How LA Has Failed Its Pursuits of Criminal Justice

Carceral Muscle Memory: How LA Has Failed Its Pursuits of Criminal Justice

The LA County Sheriff’s Department has over a decade of reported “gangs” that physically abuse inmates. In 2011, ACLU Southern

November 6, 2025
Caught in the Crossfire: UC Berkeley and the Federal War on Higher Education

Caught in the Crossfire: UC Berkeley and the Federal War on Higher Education

At the crossroads of politics and pedagogy, the Department of Education has become a focal point of national controversy under

November 6, 2025
Zen Buddhism In The Name Of Corporate America

Zen Buddhism In The Name Of Corporate America

The road on Tiananmen Square is gray, but every once in a while, it will turn green. And if you

November 5, 2025
The Geopolitical Strategies Behind the U.S. Visa Waiver Program

The Geopolitical Strategies Behind the U.S. Visa Waiver Program

After a nine-hour flight from Buenos Aires to Miami en route to Washington, a delegation of Argentine officials planned to

November 5, 2025