State of the Union


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Felix Beilin Felix Beilin

Discussion Primer: Performative Activism

This week, PU will host a discussion about performative activism, what to make of its varying consequences, and how it manifests itself on social media and among students.

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Parker Stava & Felix Beilin Parker Stava & Felix Beilin

A Conversation About Trans Athletics

Parker Stava and Felix Beilin go back and forth on the polarizing subject of trans youth participation in organized sports.

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Felix Beilin Felix Beilin

Debate Primer: Lottocracy

This week, Political Union will debate whether the US should choose its members of the House of Representatives through a lottery system.

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Felix Beilin Felix Beilin

A Closer Look at the ISIL Prison Break

A prison break in northeast Syria in late January led to a two-week battle for control of the detention facility, where tens of thousands of ISIL fighters and family members are held. But is the prison break a turning point in ISIL’s strategy, or a symptom of the regional government’s political predicament?

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Zack Lori Zack Lori

The Imperative of Stopping EU Expansion

Zack Lori makes the case against continued expansion of the European Union - because of tricky diplomacy, and the legislative circumstances that already make the EU remarkably inefficient.

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Cat Jacob Cat Jacob

Climate Change as National Security

We’ve traditionally thought of China and Russia as our greatest geopolitical foes. But as the Earth warms, changes to agriculture and natural disaster patterns mean that climate change is the most formidable national security we’ve faced to date.

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Ryan Hillyer Ryan Hillyer

Mexican Cartels: What You Need to Know

For longer than most undergraduate students have been alive, Mexico has been a nation driven by conflict. The Mexican military first formalized their intervention in 2006 with the beginning of the Guerra contra el narcotráfico en México (the Mexican War on Drugs). Violence resulting from the drug trade and its associates has become more tangible in recent years. Since the intervention in 2006, 150,000 deaths have been attributed to organized crime in Mexico.

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Meet our editors

Felix Beilin is a junior majoring in political science and journalism. His areas of interest include political communication and the politics of Europe.

Connor Caserio is a freshman with an undecided major. He is interested in environmental politics, international relations, and transportation and infrastructure policy, among other issues.

Parker Stava is a freshman studying biology, Science in Human Culture, and political science. He is interested in the intersection of science, religion, and politics. Additionally, his political interests include congressional and presidential politics, domestic issues, and voting patterns.