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Political Science

Alexei Navalny’s death and legacy
A person touches a photo of Alexei Navalny after laying flowers at the Memorial to Victims of Political Repression in St. Petersburg, Russia.

A photo of Alexei Navalny at the Memorial to Victims of Political Repression in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Feb. 17.

(Image: AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Alexei Navalny’s death and legacy

Three experts from around the University share their thoughts on what Navalny’s death means for the opposition movement, for Putin’s grip on power, and for Russia going forward.

Kristen de Groot

Lech Wałęsa on the state of democracy
Lech Walesa and Trudy Rubin sit on a stage at Perry World House.

Former Polish president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Wałęsa (left) in a discussion with Trudy Rubin at Perry World House.

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Lech Wałęsa on the state of democracy

The former Polish president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate had a wide-ranging chat with Philadelphia Inquirer columnist and Perry World House Visiting Fellow Trudy Rubin, tackling topics like Russia, Ukraine, and how to build democracies.

Kristen de Groot

Two scholars on bridging difference to speak about the Middle East
Three people sit on a stage in front of a screen reading Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania.

(Left to right) Scholars Omar Dajani and Mira Sucharov shared how they find ways to communicate across differences in a conversation at Perry World House moderated by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

(Image: Courtesy of Perry World House)

Two scholars on bridging difference to speak about the Middle East

In a conversation hosted by Perry World House, Omar Dajani, a Palestinian-American professor of law, and Mira Sucharov, a Canadian-Jewish professor of political science, shared their experience working together and discussed how despite their different views, they find ways to communicate and look for what they have in common.

Penn Today Staff

Ecuador’s state of emergency
A military vehicle drives through a hilly residential neighborhood in Quito, Ecuador. Two women, one holding hands with a young child, walk alongside on the street.

Soldiers patrol a residential area of northern Quito, Ecuador, on Jan. 11, 2024. President Daniel Noboa decreed Monday a national state of emergency due to a wave in crime, a measure that lets authorities suspend people's rights and mobilize the military. The government also imposed a curfew.

(Image: AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Ecuador’s state of emergency

In a Q&A, political scientist Jane Esberg discusses democracy and organized crime in Latin America. 

Kristina García

Three things to know about the Iowa caucuses
A blurry person walks past a sign on a window reading "Iowa Caucuses, first in the nation" with an illustration of an elephant and a donkey inside the "o" in Iowa.

A sign for the Iowa Caucuses on a downtown skywalk, in Des Moines, Iowa, on Feb. 4, 2020. Iowa Republicans have scheduled the party’s presidential nominating caucuses for Jan. 15, 2024.

(Image: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Three things to know about the Iowa caucuses

John Lapinski, director of the Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies and director of elections at NBC News, shares his thoughts on what to watch Monday.

Kristen de Groot

Trump, Lincoln ballot comparison meme ‘doesn't hold water,’ experts say

Trump, Lincoln ballot comparison meme ‘doesn't hold water,’ experts say

Rogers Smith of the School of Arts & Sciences says that 10 of the 11 states that would go on to form the Confederacy did not have ballots with Abraham Lincoln’s name on them in the 1860 election. Kermit Roosevelt of Penn Carey Law explains why likening Lincoln’s situation to Donald Trump’s is a bad comparison.