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Articles from Kristen de Groot
Mikhail Gorbachev’s legacy
A portrait of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and flowers at his foundation's headquarters In Moscow

A portrait of the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and flowers are placed at his foundation’s headquarters, a day after his passing, in Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 31, 2022. (Image: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Mikhail Gorbachev’s legacy

Penn experts share their thoughts on Gorbachev’s impact on the Soviet Union and the world, and how history will remember him.

Kristen de Groot

Making sense of a United Ireland
A man walks past graffiti about Irish unification on a wall in Belfast.

A pedestrian walks by Belfast’s International Wall on Falls Road in Northern Ireland. (Image: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via AP)

Making sense of a United Ireland

In a new book, political scientist Brendan O’Leary explores the contentious issue of a reunited Ireland and why now is the time to consider the future of the island.

Kristen de Groot

Ukraine nuclear power plant caught in war’s crossfire
Person seen walking in a town across the river from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine

A pedestrian crosses the street near the Dnipro river and Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Station on the other side in Nikopol, Ukraine, Aug, 22, 2022. The Zaporizhzhya plant, Europe’s largest, has been occupied by Russian forces since early in the war, and continued fighting nearby has heightened fears of a catastrophe that could affect nearby towns in southern Ukraine or beyond. (Image: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

Ukraine nuclear power plant caught in war’s crossfire

The School of Arts & Sciences’ Anna Mikulska, an expert on the geopolitics of energy, discusses the situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Station, Russia’s aims, and what she’s most concerned about.

Kristen de Groot

A historical look at Diana, 25 years after her death
A book entitled "Diana, the People's Princess" with a photo of her face is being held by a man in a suit

A royal fan holds a book to remember the late Diana, Princess of Wales, outside Kensington Palace in London, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, at a tribute on the 20th anniversary of her death, in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997. (Image: AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

A historical look at Diana, 25 years after her death

Emma Hart, director of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, offers her perspective on the history of royal celebrity, the British monarchy’s current role in public life, and how history might view Diana, Princess of Wales.

Kristen de Groot

Takeaways from the Wyoming, Alaska primaries
Liz Cheney speaks at a podium outside as sun sets

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) speaks Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at a primary Election Day gathering at Mead Ranch in Jackson, Wyo. Cheney lost to challenger Harriet Hageman in the primary. (Image: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Takeaways from the Wyoming, Alaska primaries

John Lapinski, a political scientist in the School of Arts & Sciences and director of elections at NBC News, discusses the election results and what they could mean for November’s midterms.

Kristen de Groot

Understanding the Inflation Reduction Act
Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, and Joe Manchin at a bill signing. Biden is sitting at a desk with the Presidential Seal. Schumer and Manchin are standing behind him. Behind all three are two American flags and a third other flag.

President Joe Biden hands the pen he used to sign the Democrats’ landmark climate change and health care bill to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. (Image: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Understanding the Inflation Reduction Act

Penn experts explain the climate, health care, and economic aspects of the legislation that President Biden signed into law this week, plus the politics of getting it passed.

Katherine Unger Baillie, Michele W. Berger, Kristen de Groot, Dee Patel

Building bridges, locally and abroad
Ibrahim Bakri sits on a bench in front of wooden double doors and a red brick building

Ibrahim Bakri is the assistant director at the Middle East Center.

Building bridges, locally and abroad

From the Middle East Center to a think tank in the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Bakri is using his various roles to make connections personally, academically, and professionally.

Kristen de Groot

Five things to know about the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri
Osama bin Laden, right, listens as his top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri speaks at an undisclosed location in 2002

In this television image from Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera, Osama bin Laden, right, listens as his top deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri speaks at an undisclosed location, in this image made from undated video tape broadcast by the station Monday April 15, 2002. (Image: AP Photo/Al-Jazeera/APTN)

Five things to know about the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri

Farah N. Jan, senior lecturer in international relations and political science, discusses what happened, what his killing means for counterterrorism, and the impact it will have on the future of al-Qaida.

Kristen de Groot

Moore v. Harper: Voting rights, election law, and the future of American democracy
Woman wearing face mask walks along sidewalk lined with campaign signs

Campaign signs from Maryland’s primary election, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (Image: AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 

Moore v. Harper: Voting rights, election law, and the future of American democracy

Experts from law, political science, and history share their thoughts on the potential dangers posed by a case the U.S. Supreme Court will hear next term.

Kristen de Groot

Exploring Mongolia with an insider’s view, no luggage necessary
Penn Global seminar students hold up cups outside the Winter Palace

Professor Christopher P. Atwood (left), the group’s guide Javzandulam Sodnom (right), and Penn Global seminar students at the ceremonial gate near the entrance to the Bogd Khan’s Winter Palace in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. They are toasting with small cups of “airag,” or fermented mare’s milk, a traditional drink which Penn graduate Yang Yuqing (yellow shirt, center), who is currently studying in Mongolia, brought for the class. (Image: Courtesy of Penn Global)

Exploring Mongolia with an insider’s view, no luggage necessary

Students in Christopher P. Atwood’s Penn Global seminar on Mongolian civilization explored the capital and vast grasslands of Mongolia, meeting welcoming locals along the way.

Kristen de Groot

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