The Conversation

'Once you engage in political violence, it becomes easier to do it again' – an expert on political violence reflects on events at the Capitol

Written by Naomi Schalit, Senior Editor, Politics + Society, The Conversation US

Protesters forcing their way into the Capitol.Win McNamee/Getty Images News via Getty Images

Editor’s note: Ore Koren is a scholar of civil conflict and political violence. Before the November 2020 election, he wrote a story for The Conversation about the likelihood of election-related violence in the U.S. So we went back to him on Wednesday,...

Yellow Gadsden flag, prominent in Capitol takeover, carries a long and shifting history

Written by Paul Bruski, Associate Professor of Graphic Design, Iowa State University

Gadsden flags fly at a protest Wednesday at the Capitol.Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Flown by many protesters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the Gadsden flag has a design that is simple and graphic: a coiled rattlesnake on a yellow field with the text “Don’t Tread On Me.” But that simple design hides some...

COVID-19 crisis in Los Angeles: Why activating 'crisis standards of care' is crucial for overwhelmed hospitals

Written by Maria Howard, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University

Hallways busy with COVID-19 patients have become temporary patient holding areas in overcrowded hospitals.Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

In Los Angeles County, ambulance crews are being told to conserve oxygen and to not take certain trauma and cardiac arrest patients they can’t resuscitate in the field. When ambulances do...

Trump tapped into white victimhood – leaving fertile ground for white supremacists

Written by Lee Bebout, Professor of English, Arizona State University

Attendees chant during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Despite failed lawsuits, recounts and formal confirmation that President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, President Donald Trump and his supporters continue to maintain that the election was rigged and...

Legalizing marijuana, once a pipe dream on Capitol Hill, takes an important step forward

Written by Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Professor of Health Policy & Management, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy & Senior Fellow, Leonard D Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, University of Southern California

Activists wave flags in front of the U.S. Capitol to demand that Congress pass cannabis reform legislation on Oct. 8, 2019.Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

In early December, the House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or the MORE Act.

The bill sought to decriminalize marijuana nationally by...

In Mike Pence, US evangelicals had their '24-karat-gold' man in the White House

Written by Deborah Whitehead, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

Exit, stage religious right.AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Mike Pence has remained one of the only constants in the often chaotic Trump administration.

Variously described as “vanilla,” “steady” and loyal to the point of being “sycophantic,” he is, in the words of one profile, an “everyman’s man with Midwest...

What is a margin of error? This statistical tool can help you understand vaccine trials and political polling

Written by Ofer Harel, Professor of Statistics, University of Connecticut

All predictions, whether scientific or political, include uncertainty. CasarsaGuru/E+ via Getty Images

In the last year, statistics have been unusually important in the news. How accurate is the COVID-19 test you or others are using? How do researchers know the effectiveness of new therapeutics for COVID-19 patients? How can television networks pred...

School budgets have held up better than expected in some states, but looming cuts will hurt learning long after pandemic ends

Written by Michael Addonizio, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Wayne State University

Most states have avoided deep education budget cuts this year, but they project revenue shortfalls for the coming school year. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The year 2020 may prove to be pivotal in the history of U.S. public education. Many children have gone missing from school completely since March, and millions more are struggling with...

Voting in Georgia runoff went better than June's disastrous primary, but trouble still lingers

Written by Adrienne Jones, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Morehouse College

A Georgia voter casts a ballot on Jan. 5.AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

The balance of power in the U.S. Senate – and with it ease or hardship for President-elect Joe Biden’s plans for the nation – has come down to Tuesday’s runoff election for both of Georgia’s Senate seats.

It took place under the shadow of baseless and...

Why Trump's Senate supporters can't overturn Electoral College results they don't like – here's how the law actually works

Written by Donald Brand, Professor, Political Science Department, College of the Holy Cross

Vice President Mike Pence says he 'welcomes' objections to Biden's Electoral College win, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House Democrats reject any such effort.Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

On Jan. 6, the United States Congress will gather in a joint session to tally the votes of the Electoral College, which cast its ballots in state...