This piece was originally published in Vol. 2, Issue 1 (Spring 2012) of the Southern California International Review (SCIR), USC's Undergraduate Journal of International Relations. Peacemaking efforts in intractable conflicts rarely set high expectations for success. The conflict’s prolonged, historical nature paired with its deep psychological wounds make it nearly … [Read more...] about Shalom Y’all
Politics
Brain Fodder: Why I Chose a Gun
When Max Weber formalized his definition of state, he was asking to stir up trouble. Luckily, he wasn’t around long enough to bear the heat from peace-touting, anti-war idealists of the sixties. For a polity to be considered a state, Weber postulated, it must hold a legitimate monopoly on violence. In other words, the state must retain exclusive control over violence and its … [Read more...] about Brain Fodder: Why I Chose a Gun
Strangers in a Strange Land
By Amy Schilit You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt – Exodus 22:21 Last Passover, as I was walking in Jaffa, I passed a theatrical demonstration against the government’s treatment of plitim. Intrigued and confused about the meaning of the word, I walked through the demonstration to observe the actors as they … [Read more...] about Strangers in a Strange Land
Cyber Sit-Ins: Grassroots to Gigabytes
Soaring out of the jungles on the southern border of Mexico, the Zapatista Air Force took flight. Almost exactly six years after the Zapatista Liberation Army (ELZN) first occupied the Chiapas in 1994 to oppose neoliberal and repressive government policies, they launched hundreds of planes over Mexican soldiers in the city of Amador Hernandez (Lane, 2003, p. 129). Throughout … [Read more...] about Cyber Sit-Ins: Grassroots to Gigabytes
Point, Click, Kill.
By Josephine Marat Imagine yourself returning home one evening, opening your laptop, and logging on to YouTube. You become bored with all the mindless video clips, and you’re about to shut down your computer when you see a thumbnail for what appears to be footage from a new spy flick. The film has been shot with an infrared camera and there is no audio feed, giving it an … [Read more...] about Point, Click, Kill.