The Conversation

Targeting Putin’s inner circle and keeping Europe on board: Why Biden’s sanctions may actually work to make Russia pay for invading Ukraine

Written by David Cortright, Professor Emeritus, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

The ruble crashed to a record low after Putin invaded Ukraine and the West announced new sanctions. Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)

The Biden administration is delivering on its vow to impose “severe sanctions” against Russia for its military aggression against Ukraine.

The new sanctions announced on Feb. 24, 2022, will cut off...

US-EU sanctions will pummel the Russian economy – two experts explain why they are likely to stick and sting

Written by David Cortright, Professor Emeritus, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

Russians in Moscow and elsewhere flocked to ATMs to withdraw cash, fearful that the ruble will plunge further due to Western sanctions. AP Photo/Victor Berzkin

The Biden administration, in extraordinary and rapid cooperation with allies over a period of three days, has doubled down on its vow to impose “severe sanctions” against Russia...

A new Cold War emerging as Russia launches full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Written by Jaro Bilocerkowycz, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Dayton

Soldiers with the 92nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces conduct drills in northeastern Ukraine on Jan. 31, 2022. Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

In a very real sense, the Russian full-scale invasion places Ukraine at the center of a geopolitical struggle reminiscent of the Cold War days when...

Putin's claims that Ukraine is committing genocide are baseless, but not unprecedented

Written by Alexander Hinton, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology; Director, Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, Rutgers University - Newark

A woman and child walk away from a damaged residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, where a military shell allegedly hit on Feb. 25, 2022. Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images

Ideas abound about why Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. But Putin himself offered one unexpected – and unfounded –...

How much damage could a Russian cyberattack do in the US?

Written by Scott Jasper, Senior Lecturer in National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School

Hackers can get eyes inside systems that are supposed to be secure.Yuichiro Chino via Getty Images

U.S. intelligence analysts have determined that Moscow would consider a cyberattack against the U.S. as the Ukraine crisis grows.

As a scholar of Russian cyber operations, I know the Kremlin has the capacity to damage critical U.S. infrastructure...

Biden nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court: 7 questions answered

Written by Alexis Karteron, Associate Professor of Law, Rutgers University - Newark

Ketanji Brown Jackson at her Senate Judiciary Committee hearing as a nominee to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, on April 28, 2021.Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden made good on his promise to nominate the first Black female justice to the Supreme Court when he announced that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson...

Beyond NATO, new alliances could defend democracy and counter Putin

Written by John Davenport, Professor of Philosophy and Peace & Justice Studies, Fordham University

NATO has struggled to remain unified in recent years.NATO via Flickr

Russian aggression toward Ukraine continues. The nations of the world, and their current alliances, have so far proved ineffective at curbing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions.

Right now at the United Nations, dictators and theocratic rulers get an equal voice with...

Transgender youth on puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones have lower rates of depression and suicidal thoughts, a new study finds

Written by Diana Tordoff, PhD Candidate in Epidemiology, University of Washington

Gender-affirming care and social support can help trans youth thrive.Jonathan Kirn/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Recent studies estimate that 1.8% to 2.7% – or approximately 750,000 to 1.1 million – adolescents in the U.S. identify as transgender or nonbinary. Many of these trans youth experience high levels of negative mental health...

Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting US sanctions threaten the future of the International Space Station

Written by Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University

The International Space Station is run collectively by the U.S., Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and Canada.NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

New U.S. sanctions on Russia will encompass Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, according to a speech U.S. President Joe Biden gave on Feb. 24, 2022.

In response to these...

Can churches be protectors of public health?

Written by Andrew Gardner, Visiting Faculty Associate of American Religious History, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace

The relationship between public health and faith is far older than the COVID-19 pandemic.Fred de Noyelle/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Over the past two years of living with COVID-19, many churches have had to think in new ways. Congregations across the country are experimenting with practices such as virtual worship and Bible...