DTR for Duterte: Determining the Relationship Between the Philippines and the United States under the Biden Administration
Shortly after his election in 2016, polling surveys put President Duterte’s trust rating among Filipinos at 91 percent. One commenter observed “it seems he has the pulse of his nation.” But as a politician whose unusually transparent temper has been a cause of concern...
Building a Better Education Policy
One of the greater difficulties in assessing the success of different educational policies is deciding the best way to test for it. While standardized tests have been used for decades for this purpose, there are a multitude of opponents who believe standardized tests...
Gunboat, Germs, and Steal: Hot Water in South China Sea during COVID-19
Speckled on the vast ocean, the Paracel and Spratly Islands comprise clusters of islands and islets in the South China Sea. Mostly uninhabitable and doubtfully rich with resources, the South China Sea has been the source of increasing contention officially on the...
The Law of Armed Conflict’s Rules for Wargames
The aspects and characteristics of wargaming as a way of training military decision-makers and gaining insights into potential future developments relating to armed conflicts has already been much discussed. A recent post on War on the Rocks has recently featured the...
The Need for Mobilization: How the COVID-19 Crisis has Impacted Refugee Livelihoods in Uganda
Today, the global refugee crisis is more pressing than ever before. As of mid-2020, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide had reached a staggering 80 million, comprised mostly of internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees settled into host countries....
Redefining the Scope of International Cyberlaw
The SolarWinds data breach has renewed debates over the application of international law to hostile cyber operations. As the staggering scope of the intrusion unfolds, U.S. leaders have likened the hack to an act of war, calling for immediate retaliation against the...
Trust But Verify: Increasing Confidence in Democratic Elections
Introduction Election observers help ensure that elections are conducted in a democratic manner, as recognized by international law. Paragraph 8 of the 1990 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Copenhagen Document provides that “the participating...
Why Moroccan Sovereignty Over Western Sahara Should Be Recognized
The Kingdom of Morocco has long claimed the territory to its south—the erstwhile Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara, now known as Western Sahara—in its entirety. While many countries have expressed support for Moroccan rule over Western Sahara, often in the framework of...
The Emerging Role of Cities in International Law
Though international law is traditionally viewed as a means of regulating sovereign states, cities are drawing increasing (albeit careful) attention as objects of international legal concern. Cities should not be ignored. In a global context characterized by...
Rehabilitation of Child Soldiers in Somalia
In the mid-2000s, a militant insurgent and terrorist group, Al-Shabaab, developed in Somalia. Al-Shabaab has become “the largest and most connectedly violent arm of al-Qaeda.” Al-Shabaab, which translates from Arabic to “the Youth,” has recruited thousands of...