Immediately after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023—starting a regional war that continues today—college campuses across the US erupted in protest. Massive demonstrations were held at Columbia, UCLA, American University, and many other colleges. Most were in support of Palestine, calling for the US to stop giving aid to Israel […]
Tag: protests
Starbucks Union Busting and The Labor Movement
From an outsider’s perspective, Starbucks is the same corporate coffee giant that has dominated the market since its first store in Seattle opened in 1971. When Howard Schultz joined the company ten years later, he championed the story of community, quality coffee, and a workplace built on fairness. Now, as a multi-billion dollar industry titan, […]
A Bookend to 20 Years of Turmoil? What Thailand’s New Government Means for the Country
After four months of political limbo, yet another dramatic episode of Thai politics drew to a close. The general elections in May offered a scathing rebuke of the military-backed government. The progressive Move Forward Party (MFP), led by Pita Limjaorenrat, pulled a huge upset that headed 151 out of 500 seats in the lower House […]
The Devolution of Democracy: A Systematic Decimation of Israel’s Judiciary
“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government,” wrote James Madison in Federalist No. 51. Madison understood that an absence of […]
Democracy Pretzel
In January of 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition proposed a series of judicial reforms that would essentially deprive the Israeli Supreme Court of its veto power. Notably, Netanyahu’s move to undermine the authority of the judiciary comes as he is awaiting trial for corruption. The Supreme Court is viewed by […]
In Sudan, Pro-Democracy Protesters Won’t Compromise Again
As the world was rocked by the tremors of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, people across the globe were awed by reports of thousands of ordinary Russian citizens protesting against their autocratic leader’s war. That they incurred considerable risk in doing so was quickly evident as protestors were arrested and beaten by police officers, and media […]
Return of The Troubles? Violence in Northern Ireland Threatens Peace Between Unionists and Republicans
On March 29, several hundred young people primarily identifying as Loyalist, or Irish people with close ties to Great Britain, took to the streets of Belfast, torching vehicles and throwing bricks, fireworks and gasoline bombs at riot police attempting to restore peace. The violence did not end there. Until April 9, the day of Prince […]
Trauma Such as This in Peacetime: The Story of the 2020 Belarusian Protests
“I saw bruises that covered their entire bodies…I was particularly struck by a bruise on the face of one of the patients. It had the shape of a boot sole. The patient had been kicked in the face….I never could have imagined that I would see trauma such as this in peacetime.” These are the […]
Imprisonment of controversial dissenter sparks protests across Russia
Russian politician and activist Alexei Navalny returned to Moscow on January 17, after five months spent recovering in a German hospital from a near fatal poisoning, which he blames on Vladimir Putin. Navalny was immediately arrested upon his return, as the government threatened would happen, and has since been sentenced to a penal colony for […]
Can India Live Up to its International Role as The World’s Largest Democracy?
Following the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019, India thrust itself into the global spotlight. The legislation quickly gained notoriety for fast-tracking citizenship status for all undocumented immigrants who aren’t Muslim. Riots, protests and uproar ensued. While the world turned its attention to the protests from the liberal Indian community, people paid […]