Publications

Author: Hanh Vu, LLM January 21, 2026 A protester against China’s harsh repression of Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, or what people there prefer to call East Turkestan, whose unofficial flag is above. [Image credit: ABDUGHENI SABIT/TWITTER] Introduction In the past decade, there has been increasing documentation of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (referred to as “Xinjiang”). Various investigations, by journalists, governm

Created by: Deanna Wilken and Becca Stachel January 20, 2026 Downloadable Version Available Below Glossary Abortion – A medical procedure that ends a pregnancy. Adolescent – A young person in the stage of development between childhood and adulthood, typically between ages 10 and 19. Avert – To prevent or stop something from happening. Bodily Autonomy – The right of a person to make decisions about their own body without outside control or coercion. Contraception – Metho

Author: Ioana Podarita January 14, 2026 Demonstrators carry a large photo of Mahsa Amini during a protest against the Iranian regime, in Los Angeles in October 2022. [Image credit: Richard Vogel/AP] On January 8th, three weeks into nationwide   protests , Iranian authorities shut down the internet . With a reported death toll surpassing 500 victims ( according  to a US human rights group), cutting off Iranian protesters from the rest of the world could have catastrophic conse

Author: Kate Minichiello January 13, 2026 In the last four months of 2025, continued strikes and seizures by the United States on Venezuelan boats and oil tankers filled the news. On January 3rd, 2026, the U.S. captured the Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, in an unprecedented operation. Below is an analysis of the political, legal, and human rights implications of the strikes, seizures, and arrest. [Image source: Deccan Herald] Nicolas Maduro took power in Venezuela in Marc

Author: Sarisha Harikrishna January 6, 2026 Demonstrators dressed in indigenous clothing hold anti-climate change placards. [Image credit: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/Lightrocket via Getty Images] Climate Displacement and the Threat of Statelessness Between the slow and almost imperceptible violence of rising seas and the immediate, destabilizing urgency of mass displacement, climate change has asserted itself not merely as an environmental issue confined to the natural sciences.

Author: Ronald Nsubuga, MS December 31, 2025 Introduction Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming economies, governance, and social life with the potential to advance sustainable development in Africa (Mienye, Sun, & Ileberi, 2024). The African Union AI strategy posits that AI adoption on the continent will solve the urgent challenges in healthcare, agriculture, education, finance, and public service delivery (African Union [AU], 2024). While AI adoption presents

Author: Olivia Weninger December 30, 2025 [Image source: MediaMister] Summary Videos that fat-shame, stereotype, or place newborns in odd real-world situations are rampant in Instagram reels and TikTok feeds designed for children. Although such content is not conducive to childhood development, young children are consuming it in large quantities every day in this unregulated digital nursery. Meanwhile, the rapid advancement of AI and generation of AI-created videos is adding

Author: Gabrielle Meyers December 24, 2025 In what Human Rights Watch  characterizes as “misaligned with international human rights law,” the 2025 US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have targeted both citizens and immigrants in a way that undermines their human rights , such as due process, equal protection, and freedom from arbitrary detention.  [Image credit: Ricardo Arduengo / AFP via Getty Images] Out of those with US citizenship, Puerto Ricans in particul

Author: Ioana Podarita December 23, 2025 Almost four years ago, Russia began its violent and unprovoked attack in Ukraine, and the rest of the world got a rare glimpse into its vengeful and hegemonic temper. I grew up in post-communist Romania, and until I moved to the US, I hadn’t fully realized the extent to which Russian influences permeated into every corner of my country. Romania, much like the rest of the former Eastern Bloc countries, never fully recovered after the fa

Author: Abigail Stofer December 18, 2025 As climate change accelerates, many political scientists and other thought leaders are increasingly asking whether resource scarcity will emerge as a primary driver of global conflict. While resource pressures have historically fueled or intensified unrest — such as drought-driven grievances in Syria  before the Arab Spring or competition over dwindling water supplies  in the Lake Chad Basin — they have rarely been the central cause. N