Mass Incarceration at Home and Decarceration Abroad

Around the world, there are around ten million people in prison at any given time. While the world’s criminal justice systems struggle to ensure access to legal representation, a fair trial, and freedom from torture, some countries have been more successful than others. Other western countries are moving toward decarceration,[1] but politicians in the United … Read more

The State of European Burqa Bans

Recent attacks in France and Germany have put the international community on alert and caused governments in those countries to draft or enforce legislation aimed at preventing future attacks. While countries in France have drafted legislation directly targeting what is believed to be symbols pertaining to Islamic extremism, Germany has chosen a more neutral approach by … Read more

Does Iran’s Ballistic Missile Test Detonate the Nuclear Deal?

On October 10 Iran successfully test launched a new precision-guided ballistic missile. On Wednesday, Britain, France, the United States, and Germany addressed a letter to the United Nations Security Council’s Iran Sanctions Committee claiming that the test violated a Security Council resolution prohibiting Iran from nuclear capable missile testing. In the wake of this allegation, and … Read more

VW Under Fire: Legal fallout of the emissions sensor deception

Volkswagen (VW) has faced hurdles in the company’s almost 78-year history. As a company formed under infamous Nazi leader Adolph Hitler’s vision and direction, reformation was in order for the car to ultimately live up to its name as the “people’s car.” However, after World War II ended, the company did succeed in creating well-built, … Read more

Migrants seen as Economic Detriment to Greece and Benefit to Germany

By the end of July 2015, more than 124,000 refugees and migrants had arrived in Greece; an astonishing 750% increase in the amount of refugees and migrants from the same time the previous year. The vast majority of these refugees are those feeing conflict and human rights violations in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq in wake … Read more

Schengen Fails Under Weight of Migrant Influx as Sovereignty Trumps

  The migrant crisis is forcing tensions between the free-movement created by the Schengen Agreement and notions of state sovereignty.  The crisis has brought into questions of European solidarity as countries force migrants from one country to the next.  In practice the EU’s Dublin Regulation, which requires that a migrant’s asylum claim be processed in the European country … Read more

The College Conundrum: How US student loan repayment policy created $1 trillion in outstanding debt

On average, a US student will spend approximately $21,000 per year pursuing a college degree, approximately 22% of which will be paid through borrowed funds. Considering the increasing costs of college tuition coupled with the need for students to borrow almost ¼ of their tuition, it no surprise that the outstanding federal student loan debt … Read more

Critical Analysis: Germany takes center stage in diplomacy

In order to reevaluate its foreign policy approach, Germany conducted a review (“Review 2014”) last year.  Review 2014 included multiple town hall meetings with German voters and debates among foreign policy experts around the world.  Even during Review 2014, voters’ and experts’ opinions and approaches changed.  Initially, the majority of German voters disagreed with the statement … Read more

Critical Analysis: The Resurgence of the Modern Baby Box

Baby hatches (also called baby boxes) are not an entirely modern concept, as their use can be traced back to medieval times.  Their purpose has also largely remained the same: to allow a mother to anonymously leave the child in a safe and protected place, the baby box, when she feels she is not capable … Read more

Critical Analysis: Mother Merkel’s Victory in Germany

Angela Merkel won a large margin victory September 22, 2013, to retain her position as Germany’s Chancellor. Merkel’s political party, the Christian Democrats, received 41.5% of the votes. The opposition, the Social Democrats, garnered 25.7% of the votes, creating the largest voter margin since Germany’s reunification in 1990. Although winning by an unusually high margin, … Read more