To the countries of the Western world, where the ancient Greek traditions of democratic governance have institutionalized over centuries, China is a peculiar, if not an intimidating, case against the conventional truth that democracy is good for humanity. American exceptionalism tells us that democracy is essential for economic growth, for the establishment of a just […]
Author: Yoojin Shin
The North Korean Nuclear Crisis: Where to Go From Here
On September 15th, North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile over the Japanese island of Hokkaido for the second time in the span of three weeks. This provocative launch comes just four days after the U.N. Security Council’s unanimous adoption of new U.S.-drafted sanctions on North Korea. Despite the new sanctions’ unprecedented severity and the […]
The Park Administration and the Fragility of South-Korean Democracy
Park Geun-Hye, the 11th President of South Korea. Democracy is fragile. In many countries, it took years—most often decades—of struggle to achieve transparent rule of the people. It requires hundreds and thousands of burnt, bruised, tear-gassed, and bloody bodies to overthrow a hierarchical dictatorship and establish fair, representative governance. However, just like a beautiful glass […]
China’s 1%: The Rich Chinese Kids of Instagram
Coco the Alaskan malamute poses with her eight new iPhone 7s. For the past two decades, China’s growth has shot upwards at a dizzying speed. Under the revolutionary leader Deng Xiaoping, the traditionally Communist and centrally-planned country executed successful economic reforms in record time. The successive regimes of Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and now Xi […]
The British Identity Crisis
Boris Johnson, the new foreign-secretary of Britain, was the driving leader of the Brexit campaign. It is yet another night in London, when the usually busy and crabby British gather in local pubs to loosen their ties and sip on bitter beers. The slightest mention of politics or Brexit has people roll their eyes and […]
Lady Politics: What It Means to be the First Lady in the Twenty-First Century
Ted Cruz and Donald Trump recently had an epic throwdown through Twitter—and this time, their wives were involved. The first punch came from the Cruz’s side, though Ted Cruz publicly announced that it was not issued by his official campaign team. It was a nude GQ Britain photo of Melania Trump, Donald Trump’s wife and […]
Politicians, Capitalism, and the Dying Earth: Why the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement Became a Roadblock
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson When the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement was finalized on December 12th, 2015, politicians, the media, and various non-profit groups from around the world heralded the agreement as a momentous occasion for international cooperation. U.S. Secretary of State […]
The Woes of the Model Minority: The Dual Existence of Asian-Americans in the United States
On January 9th, 1966, the New York Times Magazine published an article by sociologist William Petersen called “Success Story, Japanese-American Style.” In the article, Petersen wrote that Japanese-Americans, despite enduring the “most discrimination and the worst injustices” of WWII-era internment, have achieved great success in America “by their own almost totally unaided effort.” Petersen goes on […]
“There’s An App For That”
On a typical weekday from 4 to 8 p.m., the streets of San Francisco bustle with food delivery cars, each carrying a colorful trademark of an on-demand food delivery business. A red flag means Spoonrocket. A large M means Munchery. A green leaf means Sprig. These cars carry chef-prepared gourmet food, delivered on-demand to the […]
Gun Violence and the American Mind
“Reform the mental health care system.” Time and time again, this has been the right-wing response to mass shootings. From three years ago, when 26 lives were lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School, to more recently, when ten people were killed at Umpqua Community College, right-wing politicians have consistently shifted blame onto the American system of […]