By Mark Satta, Wayne State University | – If you’ve been paying attention to how Russian President Vladimir Putin talks about the war in Ukraine, you may have noticed a pattern. Putin often uses words to mean exactly the opposite of what they normally do. He labels acts of war “peacekeeping duties.” He claims to […]
This isn’t the First Oil Price Shock, but it is the Most Complex in Modern History
By Scott L. Montgomery, University of Washington | – The world is in the grip of an oil price shock. In just a few months, prices have risen from US$65 a barrel to over $130, causing fuel costs to surge, inflationary pressure to rise and consumer tempers to flare. Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, […]
Humanitarian corridors could help civilians safely leave Ukraine – but Russia has a history of not respecting these pathways
By Kirsten Gelsdorf and Jacob Kurtzer | – As Russia continues to target houses, apartment buildings, hospitals and civilians in Ukraine, there are mounting calls from international aid groups to safely evacuate and protect Ukrainians caught in the war. Simultaneously, rising numbers of people still in Ukraine are in desperate need of food, medical supplies, […]
Why Apple, Disney, IKEA and hundreds of other Western companies are abandoning Russia with barely a shrug
By Douglas Schuler and Laura Marie Edinger-Schons | – Many companies in the U.S. and elsewhere have been quick to sever ties to Russia – going well beyond applying the sanctions ordered by their governments. IKEA, Nike and H&M are temporarily closing their Russian stores. Disney, Sony and Warner Bros. paused the release of new […]
Economic sanctions may deal fatal blow to Russia’s already-weak domestic opposition
By Brian Grodsky, University of Maryland, Baltimore County | – The West has responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by imposing harsh economic sanctions. Most consequentially, key Russian banks have been cut out of the SWIFT payments messaging system, making financial transactions much more difficult. The United States, European Union and others also moved to […]
How Zelenskyy emerged as the antithesis of Putin and proved you don’t need to be a strongman to be a great leader
By Michael Blake, University of Washington | – Whatever happens in the coming weeks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will go down as the face of Ukrainian resilience during the Russian invasion of his country. His response to the Russian invasion of his country has been widely praised, both at home and abroad. His speech to the […]
IPCC report: Half the world is facing water scarcity, floods and dirty water — large investments are needed for effective solutions
By Balsher Singh Sidhu, University of British Columbia | – More than half the world’s population faces water scarcity for at least one month every year. Meanwhile, some people have to deal with too much water, while others have access to only poor water quality. That’s billions of people living with drought in Africa and […]
Ukraine: Nonviolent Resistance is a brave and often effective Response to Aggression
By Alexandre Christoyannopoulos | – Responses to the Russian invasion have been swift. Thousands of people both in Ukraine and abroad are enlisting to fight against the odds. Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are being forcibly mobilised. An “international legion” is being formed from hundreds of non-Ukrainians volunteers. People across the […]
Military action in radioactive Chernobyl could be dangerous for people and the environment
By Timothy A. Mousseau, University of South Carolina | – The site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukraine has been surrounded for more than three decades by a 1,000-square-mile (2,600-square-kilometer) exclusion zone that keeps people out. On April 26, 1986, Chernobyl’s reactor number four melted down as a result of human error, […]
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