The Conversation

Hamas assault echoes 1973 Arab-Israeli war – a shock attack and questions of political, intelligence culpability

Written by Dov Waxman, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Professor of Israel Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

The 1973 Yom Kippur War proved a watershed moment in Middle East conflict and Israel's politics.Daniel Rosenblum/Keystone/Getty Images

The parallels were striking – and surely not coincidental.

Exactly 50 years and a day after being taken completely off guard by a coordinated military attack by its neighbors – Egypt and Syria –...

The Israel-Hamas war: No matter who loses, Iran wins

Written by Aaron Pilkington, PhD Candidate at Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver

Israelis inspect the rubble of a building in Tel Aviv on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip.AP Photo/Oded Balilty

There will be only one winner in the war that has broken out between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. And it is neither Israel nor Hamas.

In an operation coined “the Al-Aqsa...

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, in prison for speaking up against human rights violations, has been a voice for women for almost two decades

Written by Pardis Mahdavi, President, University of La Verne

Narges Mohammadi, a jailed Iranian women's rights advocate, won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. Photo taken in 2021.Reihane Taravati / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP

“Woman, Life, Freedom,” the slogan adopted by Iranians to protest the unjust death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, is, according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the m...

Bison are sacred to Native Americans − but each tribe has its own special relationship to them

Written by Rosalyn R. LaPier, Professor of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The American bison, or American buffalo as they are commonly called, were once close to extinction. Their numbers dropped from 30-60 million to around 500 because of overhunting in the 19th century.

But they made an unlikely comeback and continue to captivate people. At Yellowstone National Park – home to the largest bison herd in the U.S.,...

Often in error but still seductive: Why we can't quit election polls

Written by W. Joseph Campbell, Professor of Communication Studies, American University School of Communication

Polls showed Joe Biden, right, holding double-digit leads over Donald Trump, left, in the run-up to the 2020 election, but he won election by only 4.5 percentage points. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File

Their record is uneven. They misfired in one way or another in the past three presidential elections. And yet the prevalence of election polls...

20 years after the publication of 'Purple Hibiscus,' a generation of African writers have followed in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's footsteps

Written by Simon Lewis, Professor of English, College of Charleston

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in 2004, shortly after the publication of 'Purple Hibiscus.'Ulf Andersen/Getty Images

Twenty years ago, in October 2003, 26-year-old Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie burst onto the North American publishing scene with her debut novel,“ Purple Hibiscus.”

Since then, Adichie’s literary fame has only...

The pope's new letter isn't just an 'exhortation' on the environment – for Francis, everything is connected, which is a source of wonder

Written by Lisa H. Sideris, Professor of Environmental Studies, Affiliate Faculty in Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

Pope Francis cleans the sky from pollution in graffiti by the artist Maupal, inspired by 'Laudato Si.'AP Photo/ Andrew Medichini

Eight years have elapsed since Pope Francis released “Laudato Si,” his encyclical urging “care for our common home.” Though hailed as an eloquent plea to protect the environment, climate change was...

Why the UAW union's tough bargaining strategy is working

Written by Marick Masters, Professor of Business and Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University

UAW union members picket in front of a Stellantis distribution center on Sept. 25, 2023, in Carrollton, Texas.AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

The United Auto Workers union isn’t backing down as it bargains for more compensation and better benefits in its new contracts with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. Under the deft leadership of its president...

Health on the ballot as Argentina poised to elect 'anarcho-capitalist' bent on slashing social protections

Written by Eric D. Carter, Professor of Geography and Global Health, Macalester College

The hand that wields the chain saw looks set to carry the crown.Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images

The front-runner heading into Argentina’s presidential vote on Oct. 22 is prone to wielding a chain saw – both physically and metaphorically.

Javier Milei, a right-wing libertarian whose brash demagoguery has drawn comparisons to Donald Trump and Bra...

Calling the war in Ukraine a 'tragedy' shelters its perpetrators from blame and responsibility

Written by Mariana Budjeryn, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom, Harvard Kennedy School

Labeling a Russian rocket attack that killed 12 people in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, as a 'tragedy' sidelines human accountabilty.Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to cause unspeakable, unimaginable suffering. By now, the word “tragedy” is firmly installed in the lexicon of the...