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Book Review: Migration as a Political Tool
By Emily Tran Kelly M. Greenhill is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, Director of the MIT-Seminar XXI Program, and a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. In her book Weapons of Mass Migration: Forced… Continue reading Book Review: Migration as a Political Tool
Interview with a Serbian Protester
By Sarah Garrett I spoke with a Tufts architecture student in her junior year, born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia. She has been active in recent Serbian student protests in her hometown and demonstrations in support of the student movement in Boston. She has requested to remain anonymous, concerned that the Serbian government might target… Continue reading Interview with a Serbian Protester
1000 Years of Survival: The Druze’s Struggle Against Erasure
By Caleb Aklilu and Grace Shoufi Amidst the ongoing religious and political conflicts in the Middle East are the Druze, a religious minority that has avoided erasure by obscuring their presence through their cultural practices and political maneuvering. As a neutral minority in a constantly shifting region, the Druze have a long history of enduring… Continue reading 1000 Years of Survival: The Druze’s Struggle Against Erasure
Trump’s Immigration Policies: Reshaping America’s Democracy
By Amanda Alatorre with Contributions from Anonymous Since returning to office this past January, President Trump has mobilized the most powerful tools at the hands of the U.S. government to pursue a fierce fight against immigration. In an Executive Order titled “Protecting the American People from Invasion,” the Trump Administration asserted a vast amount of… Continue reading Trump’s Immigration Policies: Reshaping America’s Democracy
A Reckoning for Serbia: Massive Anti-Corruption Protests Persist
By Lucy O’Brien On November 1, 2024, a recently reconstructed concrete canopy collapsed at a railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia, killing 16 people. In the following weeks, the disaster became a catalyst for national outrage, as student protesters claimed the faulty construction exposed a broader trend of negligence and corruption in the Serbian government.… Continue reading A Reckoning for Serbia: Massive Anti-Corruption Protests Persist
Forced Assimilation and Restrictive Policies in Tibet
By Dora Zhang and Lilianna Garber The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), a province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), is home to 3.66 million people. Due to their distinct culture, language, and religion, the people of Tibet do not identify themselves with the Han Chinese. Originally seen by the Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader… Continue reading Forced Assimilation and Restrictive Policies in Tibet
Breaking Belarus’s Dictatorship
By Eva Zeltser and Anonymous Since 2020, Belarusian authorities have arbitrarily detained over 50,000 people for being linked to peaceful protests, with nearly 1,200 political prisoners remaining behind bars. As of 2024, the government has designated roughly 6,500 online resources as “extremist,” subjecting its users to criminal penalties. Reports from former prisoners and human rights… Continue reading Breaking Belarus’s Dictatorship
Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: Colonial Legacies and International Ignorance
By Evelyn Bertolini In the midst of today’s increasingly turbulent international political climate, the UN and other global powers have failed to recognize human rights violations they consider less imperative to immediate international order. Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis, an armed conflict between English-speaking separatists and the Cameroonian government, is a product of colonialism that has been… Continue reading Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: Colonial Legacies and International Ignorance
Beyond the Ceasefire: Haviv Rettig Gur on the Future of the Middle East
By Eitan Cohen and Eva Zeltser On February 5, 2026, the Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education (CEVIHE), a newly launched initiative at Tufts University that aims to cultivate ideological diversity in higher education, welcomed Haviv Rettig Gur to its Medford campus for a conversation on contemporary Israel-Palestine dynamics. A veteran Israeli journalist, Haviv… Continue reading Beyond the Ceasefire: Haviv Rettig Gur on the Future of the Middle East
Militarism & Diplomacy: The Limits of U.S. Influence in the Middle East
By Dawson Chang and Sarina Khani On June 13, 2025, Israel launched over 100 drone strikes onto Iranian territory, targeting key nuclear facilities, nuclear scientists, and military leaders. The attack diverged from American interests: U.S. and Iranian officials had planned to discuss a deal that would have scaled down Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for… Continue reading Militarism & Diplomacy: The Limits of U.S. Influence in the Middle East
Border Conflicts in the Middle East During the Last Year
By Eitan Cohen Borders around the Middle East have become focal points of power struggles and bloodshed over the past year. While none of these borders have been officially moved or altered, the way they operate has changed. Border zones around the Middle East are being used to fight proxy wars, project force, and prevent… Continue reading Border Conflicts in the Middle East During the Last Year
Trumplash
By Kieran Doody Halle, Germany – January 25, 2025: In a breezy banquet hall, thousands of people are bathed in overwhelming blue spotlights as German flags jut out from a sea of black silhouettes. On stage, drowned out by the crowd’s roaring cheers, Alice Weidel, the provocative yet charismatic leader of Germany’s Alternative for Germany… Continue reading Trumplash
Hard and Soft Power in the Koreas
By Lauren Cousino and Amy Zhao When people think of North and South Korea, they often focus on their stark differences. What began as a temporary division after Japan’s 1945 surrender solidified into a permanent split following the Korean War. This conflict gave rise to two divergent nations: North Korea projects power through its nuclear… Continue reading Hard and Soft Power in the Koreas
From Screens to Streets: How Nepalese and Thai Youth Combat Corruption
By Jessie Levine and Thuptim Appleton The Thai government has long grappled with issues of corruption. Increasingly, Gen-Z has been utilizing social media to scrutinize government misconduct, particularly the ever-present corruption. Since its popularization in Thailand, social media has played a key role in politics, but this year, it sparked a new nationalist facet. To… Continue reading From Screens to Streets: How Nepalese and Thai Youth Combat Corruption
Beyond MAGA: A Global Surge of Anti-Immigration Politics
By Owen Zanni Donald Trump’s resurgence in the 2024 U.S. presidential election represents more than an isolated political phenomenon; it reflects a broader global trend of xenophobic nationalism redefining immigration policy across continents. Immigration was a key issue during the 2024 U.S. election, with data from the Pew Research Center showing that61 percent of American… Continue reading Beyond MAGA: A Global Surge of Anti-Immigration Politics
Convergence or Divergence in The Caucus: A Comparative Analysis
By Lauren Higuchi The three states of the Southern Caucasus—Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia—have been under Russia’s control since the 1800s. Now, nearly four decades after gaining independence, a crucial question emerges: are the Caucasus nations finally beginning to break away from Moscow’s sphere of influence? Armenia’s faith in Russia began to wane in the wake… Continue reading Convergence or Divergence in The Caucus: A Comparative Analysis
War for the Skies
By Jack Srihari and Nadsen Chavannes In the last five years, drones have become a ubiquitous weapon on battlefields across the world, from the jungles of Myanmar to the dunes of the Sahara Desert to the plains of Ukraine. However, the majority of these weapons originate from a small group of countries, most notably Iran,… Continue reading War for the Skies
Russia’s Drone Campaign: What Moscow’s Incursions into NATO Airspace Mean for the Future of European Deterrenceument
By Nicholas Prather The incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace on September 9 and 10 signaled the beginning of a new era in European collective security. Across two days, about two dozen drones, each costing approximately $11,800 to assemble, entered Polish territory. Some advanced hundreds of kilometers deep into the country and threatened vital… Continue reading Russia’s Drone Campaign: What Moscow’s Incursions into NATO Airspace Mean for the Future of European Deterrenceument
The Race for Quantum Computing
By Josh Litvak Almost a century ago, Erwin Schrödinger proposed his “Schrödinger’s Cat” thought experiment to demonstrate the absurdity of measuring quantum mechanics at the macroscopic level. In this hypothetical, a cat exists in a superposition of being both dead and alive until observed, when its state is confirmed. This idea—that a particle can exist… Continue reading The Race for Quantum Computing
“Surveillance superpowers”: the push and pull of American-Chinese cyber relations
By Anna Bader For the greater part of China’s rise as a global superpower, U.S. domestic policy makers have agonized over Chinese access to Americans’ information. The real question, however, is what information Silicon Valley has willingly given away. From the newest NVIDIA AI chip to IBM’s I2 surveillance and analysis software, it’s clear that… Continue reading “Surveillance superpowers”: the push and pull of American-Chinese cyber relations
Maintaining Sovereignty Through Energy Independence
By Leah Glaspey Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union (EU) responded with a comprehensive sanctions package on Russian goods. In return, Russia restricted gas flow into Europe to 20 percent capacity. Left with no other viable source for oil, Europe plunged into an energy crisis and intensified its focus on developing… Continue reading Maintaining Sovereignty Through Energy Independence
A Need for Space Law Reform
By Khue Edwards On May 13, 2025, the Satellite Industry Association published the 28th annual State of the Satellite Report, highlighting shifts in the commercial satellite industry. The industry has been growing at an unprecedented rate – 11,539 satellites were operating in Earth’s orbit at the end of 2024, compared to 3,371 satellites in 2020,… Continue reading A Need for Space Law Reform
Space and the Security Dilemma
By Colby O’Connor In a world wrought by war, there is one domain in which peace has persevered until now: space. Space has been lauded as an area of cooperation even amongst rivals, with the U.S. working with Russia on the International Space Station and international consensus on agreements such as the Outer Space Treaty.… Continue reading Space and the Security Dilemma
Bridges and Barriers: Hemispheres’ 2026 Magazine Issue
The Editorial Board extends warm gratitude to all who helped in making this publication possible, including our ever-expanding team of skilled staff writers and our cover artists.
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2025 Journal Issue: Trading Places
View the latest issue of Hemispheres (vol. 48, no. 20) here or by clicking the image below. Congratulations to this year’s four authors! The following letter from our executive board offers a prolegomenon to the journal and annual theme, “Trading Places.” As students of international affairs, power is the language we first learn to speak.… Continue reading 2025 Journal Issue: Trading Places
Economics of Bukele
By Thomas Border and Alexa Licairac With its 6.3 million inhabitants, El Salvador is the smallest and yet most densely populated country in Central America. Historically, its economy has been largely agricultural, until periods of industrialization in the 1960s and 1970s. By 2019, when Nayib Bukele came to power, El Salvador was struggling with a… Continue reading Economics of Bukele
The Other Southern Border
By Julia Rottenberg and Emilia Ferreira What is the Darién Gap? The process of immigrating to the US starts long before migrants arrive at the border. Around 3,000 miles south of the US-Mexico border lies another border: “The Darién Gap.” As the only land-based pathway that connects South and Central America, the 66-mile jungle straddling… Continue reading The Other Southern Border
From Democracy to Military Rule
From Democracy to Military Rule: The Rise of Coups in Francophone Nations By Alpha Traore In the past 3 years, a series of coups have rippled through Francophone nations in Africa. Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea in West Africa, have all experienced military uprisings that disrupted civilian-led governments. Each event puts a particular accent… Continue reading From Democracy to Military Rule
Gen Z’s Unrest with Kenya’s Economic Status Quo
By Mary Anna Joyce President William Ruto campaigned in 2022 on the promise of implementing economic policies that would pull Kenya’s middle class out of poverty. Rather than carrying out this espoused agenda, Ruto continued adding to the national debt and mishandling loaned money from foreign governments and international organizations. When the Finance Bill 2024… Continue reading Gen Z’s Unrest with Kenya’s Economic Status Quo
A View from Ankara
Turkey’s Geopolitical Situation By Oliver Brazda and Ben Scharr-Weiner Continue reading A View from Ankara
NGOs and the Kurdish Language in Istanbul, Turkey
By Leo Deener The Kurdish population of Turkey has been violently repressed since the establishment of the Turkish Republic. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded Turkey under Kemalism, an ideology of sweeping reform aimed at distinguishing the new nation from the Ottoman Empire and embracing Westernization. Symbolized by the Six Arrows—Republicanism, Nationalism, Secularism, Statism, Reformism, and Folkism—Kemalism… Continue reading NGOs and the Kurdish Language in Istanbul, Turkey
The Political Geography of the Middle East
Can Land Influence Political Culture? By Derin İçinsel In the international sphere where an infinite number of variables determine states’ politics, one fact remains permanent: geography. States are bounded by the geographies they inhabit, not just in terms of geopolitics and their proximity to other crucial actors, but also their topography, access to important natural… Continue reading The Political Geography of the Middle East
Taiwan’s Divisive Monopoly Over Semiconductors
By Karsten Lyle and Alexander Xia Global reliance on Taiwan for semiconductor production has emerged as a critical issue, with far reaching economic and geopolitical consequences. Semiconductors, or chips, are small pieces of integrated circuits carrying tens of billions of transistors and powering various technologies. In fact, almost every conceivable piece of technology, from automobiles… Continue reading Taiwan’s Divisive Monopoly Over Semiconductors
Hedging in Southeast Asia
By Gigi Copeland and Khue Edwards China’s ascendance on the international stage has in recent years become one of the most widely discussed phenomena in international relations. However, such conversations are almost always in reference to the US-China rivalry, while smaller players in China’s game who face direct consequences are often overshadowed. Vietnam and the… Continue reading Hedging in Southeast Asia
Flashpoints in East Asia
Foreign Policy Perceptions in Washington and Beijing By Theodorus Ng and Miles Bondi The ever-intensifying strategic competition between the US and China has conjured fears over a potential World War III. Our article analyzes foreign policy rhetoric from Washington and Beijing toward the most visible flashpoints in East Asia—Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the… Continue reading Flashpoints in East Asia
A Gulf Dream or Nightmare?
An Economic Analysis of Remittances and Inequality By Naisha Luthra It is June 12th, 2024, 4:30 a.m.. A fire breaks out in a six-story building located in the coastal city of Mangaf in southern Kuwait. The building housed many low-income immigrants, a majority of them Indian citizens. Amongst the 200 individuals packed inside the small… Continue reading A Gulf Dream or Nightmare?
Fragments of Sovereignty
A Historical Analysis of Settler Colonialism in United States and Palestine By Vanessa John and Sharon Li The “Postcolonial Age” refers to the period following World War II, when colonies of Western imperial countries gained independence. Yet, in modern times, the realization of a truly postcolonial age remains elusive. Colonialism endures in the status quo,… Continue reading Fragments of Sovereignty
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