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International Relations

‘I have faith in what I cannot imagine, because I couldn’t have imagined what happened July 11’: Philadelphia Cubans on the hope, stress of island protests

‘I have faith in what I cannot imagine, because I couldn’t have imagined what happened July 11’: Philadelphia Cubans on the hope, stress of island protests

Amalia Daché of the Graduate School of Education criticizes people who have blamed the U.S. embargo and not the Cuban government for the crisis in Cuba.

Response to the Cuban protest is ‘a unified feeling’
People standing on the streets of Havana in protest of the Cuban government.

Protests in Havana against the government of Cuba on July 12, 2021. (Image: 14ymedio)

Response to the Cuban protest is ‘a unified feeling’

In a Q&A, Romance languages professor Odette Casamayor-Cisneros discusses the Cuban protests, government response, and the “sense of unity” among the Cuban people

Kristina García

Taliban takeover
A city in the desert is seen from above, with brown structures dotting the valley and mountain ranges in the distance, some covered in haze.

A view of Kabul, Afghanistan from May, 2012. (Image: Courtesy of Lucas Augustin)

Taliban takeover

Political scientist Nicholas Sambanis, an expert on conflict processes with a focus on civil wars, shares his thoughts on the challenges of nation building and what’s next for Afghanistan.

Kristen de Groot

China sentences Canadian citizen to 11 years for espionage in case at heart of diplomatic standoff

China sentences Canadian citizen to 11 years for espionage in case at heart of diplomatic standoff

Jacques deLisle of the Law School commented on the sentencing of Michael Spavor, a Canadian alleged to have compromised China’s national security. DeLisle said that his 11 year sentence is short, given the charges and China’s usual approach to these cases, and may thus signal the country’s interest in striking a deal with, or at least not provoking, the U.S. and Canada.

What you need to know about the protests in Cuba
Amalia Dache sitting criss-cross applesauce on a sea wall in Cuba reading a book.

Amalia Dache during a research trip to Cuba. (Image: Courtesy of  Santiel Rodríguez Velázquez)

What you need to know about the protests in Cuba

Penn GSE’s Amalia Dache traveled to Cuba in 2018 and 2019 to research the Afro Cuban experience, and the opportunities that existed—or were closed off from—the island nation’s significant Black population.

From Penn GSE

Fear of a Black Cuban planet

Fear of a Black Cuban planet

Amalia Dache of the Graduate School of Education was interviewed about Cuba’s recent uprisings and its long history of Black resistance. In the 1960s, the Communist government said it would eradicate racism. “It’s counterrevolutionary to talk about Black history in Cuba, to engage Black history,” she said.

Joe Biden is sending an academic to Germany. Here’s why it might pay off

Joe Biden is sending an academic to Germany. Here’s why it might pay off

An op-ed by Elisabeth Piller, a German professor, considered the long-standing tradition of sending U.S. scholars and university presidents to Germany as ambassadors. Amy Gutmann’s “standing as an esteemed political philosopher and university president uniquely positions her to help achieve Biden’s goal of rebuilding alliances,” Piller wrote.

U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, explained
US soldiers holding guns are running behind a tank with an American flag on top in sand in Syria

The 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team on the ground in Syria. (Image: The National Guard)

U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, explained

Sara Plana, a 2021-22 Postdoctoral Fellow at Perry World House, shares her thoughts on the airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed militias and the bigger picture of what’s happening in the region.

Kristen de Groot