Saudi Arabia appointed their first female ambassador in late February. Princess Reema bint Bandar al Saud has been appointed as ambassador to the United States, while the Crown Prince has undergone a series of meetings with leaders throughout Asia. These actions, as a whole, demonstrate an attempted global soft power campaign which the West must now respond to.
The “city on a hill,” as pronounced by Puritan John Winthrop in 1630, is quickly lagging behind in terms of infrastructure. America has been the at the forefront of infrastructure innovation since the Reconstruction Period, but in recent years, America has seemingly ignored the more basic infrastructure that is used daily by its 325 million citizens every day.
Although the first round of the Ukrainian Presidential elections occur Sunday March 31, many people outside of Eastern Europe are unaware of the issues surrounding the elections or who is running. This elections appears to be a referendum on the ‘ultra-nationalist’ policies and ideology Kiev has condoned—most often at the expense of ethnic Russians. The ultimate question, however, may not be the results of the election but whether the international community will be able to understand what is transpiring within Ukraine.
President Biya continues to preside over Cameroon, a key ally in the West’s fight with ISIS. However, recent elections have left Cameroon in a state of unrest and possible civil war as Biya uses American-trained soldiers to violently suppress the English-speaking minority.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is aimed at buttressing an underdeveloped Chinese interior, securing raw materials, dominating export markets, and creating an alternative to the US order; if China is to be restrained, the United States and the West must act decisively and soon.
While Congress argues over the border wall, President Trump and Kim Jong-Un are beginning to forge a stronger bond in order to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. Despite the gridlock at home Trump proclaims that “This is more than has ever been accomplished with North Korea!”… Is this a new round of false promises or has the President made real headway with the Korean Regime?
Society is currently undergoing a paradigm shift involving technology. Within the last decade, corporations and individuals have begun utilizing the vast technological achievements of the 20th century to connect previously isolated populations and further blur the line between the physical and digital worlds – propelling humanity into the 4th Industrial Revolution. And while this period of rapid expansion and globalization is occuring, the world is seemingly shrinking to within the confines of a 5 inch screen.
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is on strike for the first time since 1989 over demands for increased pay and the hiring of additional teachers; their wide-ranging demands include a 6.5% pay increase for teachers retroactive to July 2016, the hiring of more teachers and service staff, and greater regulation of charter schools in Los Angeles.
Nationalist, though often abused by those who usurp its rightful name for the sake of bigotry, ought not to be a slur but a badge of honor for those who choose to value national identity over division and selfish vendetta.
If Democrats are to emerge victoirous in 2020, they need a candidate who is not created by or defined by opposition to President Trump but holds nuanced, left of center populist positions is clearly the most likely to take the White House.
