In recent weeks and months, the press has paid increasing attention to the problem of migrants and refugees fleeing to Europe in an effort to escape dire conditions in the Africa and the Middle East. Among the most stirring images released recently was that of a three year old Syrian boy named Aylan Kurdi, who drowned with his mother and brother … Continue reading
As Brazil’s search for a new president continues, a recent news report from Correio Braziliense reporter Gabriela Walker takes a look at the leadership of Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto, who has brokered a series of major policy reforms during his first two years in office but has received little love from public opinion polls. Indeed, as … Continue reading
USD—On Thursday, February 6, 2013, National Public Radio Mexico City correspondant Carrie Kahn spoke with University of San Diego students about her work over the last decade reporting on disasters and disaster relief efforts in the United States, Mexico and Haiti. Kahn’s work on reporting disasters includes stories on Hurricanes Wilma, Rita, and Katrina in 2005, as well … Continue reading
On Tuesday, November 24, the Political Science and International Relations department and the Filipino Student Organization hosted a lunch presentation and discussion on the disastrous effects of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The discussion included an examination of the nature of typhoons, the effects of Haiyan in the hard hit rural areas that the typhoon … Continue reading
TRIP REPORT: UN SECURITY ROUNDTABLE IN MEXICO CITY On Thursday, November 14 and Friday, November 15, I participated in a private workshop hosted by the United Nations Office of Drug Control Policy (UNODC) at the the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE). Other experts invited to the roundtable included Raul Benitez (UNAM), Jorge Chabat (CIDE), … Continue reading
Paraphrasing Bismarck: in statecraft, there are no amigos, only interests. This truism of realpolitick has been underscored by revelations in recent months that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has been tapping the electronic and wireless communications of its closest allies, including Mexico. Documents released this summer by Richard Snowden, a former-U.S. government contractor now living in exile … Continue reading
David A. Shirk 