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Politics-The Conversation
JD Vance’s selection as Trump’s running mate marks the end of Republican conservatism
Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and other avatars of American conservatism wouldn’t recognize it under Trump.
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Kamala Harris is no Hubert Humphrey − how the presumed 2024 Democratic presidential nominee isn’t like the 1968 party candidate
With the huge task of a late presidential run against Donald Trump, Kamala Harris faces challenges distinct from those faced by Vice President Hubert ...
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Anti-Syrian violence in Turkey complicates normalization process between Turkey and Syria
Following the most violent anti-Syrian riots to date in Turkish areas with large Syrian refugee populations, Turkey and Syria are on a delicate path t...
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Trump’s promotion of an image of strength after assassination attempt borrows from authoritarian playbook
History is dotted with instances of strongmen who burnish their image or crack down on opponents after attempts on their life.
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Veepstakes have evolved from where you live to who you are − which way will Harris turn to balance the ticket?
From geographic balancing to making up for what the presidential candidate lacks, the considerations for picking a vice presidential candidate have ch...
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US citizenship was forced on Native Americans 100 years ago − its promise remains elusive
Why few Native Americans are celebrating the centennial of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.
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Homeless service providers could help more people overcome homelessness if they measured success differently
It doesn’t matter how many meals a provider serves. It matters how many people overcome homelessness.
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Biden dropped out − is the news media to blame?
Are journalists to blame for Biden dropping out? This assumes that the power of the press is significant and straightforward. It’s neither.
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Arrest student protesters, wait or negotiate? Colleges can use ‘ladder of harm’ to determine appropriate response to Gaza protests on campus
The anti-war protests that rocked college campuses across the US in spring 2024 may well erupt again in the fall. An expert on civil disobedience sets...
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Can a brush with death change politicians? It did for notorious Alabama segregationist George Wallace
An assassin’s bullet couldn’t knock George Wallace out of politics − but it made him seek redemption.
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Supreme Court ruling may put presidents above the law – but even kings never were
Even Louis XIV of France, the epitome of absolute monarchy, did not stand above the law. Kings have always been defined and constrained by legal prece...
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As Hamas war drags on, Israeli democracy weakens further
Israel’s democracy was already diminishing before the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, but things have only worsened since then.
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Sure, 2024 has had lots of news – but compared with 1940, 1968 or 1973, it’s nothing exceptional
You think 2024 has been packed with a ceaseless and exhausting stream of consequential events? So did Americans in 1940, 1968 and 1973.
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Lincoln called for divided Americans to heed their ‘better angels,’ and politicians have invoked him ever since in crises − but for Abe, it was more t...
Keeping the United States together meant more than defeating the Confederacy. Lincoln first had to unite a fractured North.
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GOP attacks against Kamala Harris were already bad – they are about to get worse
Kamala Harris’ career as a prosecutor lets her use law-and-order themes to fight back against America’s first convicted felon former president.
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US says it wants Palestinians to have a country of their own – but its actions say otherwise
While US presidents have consistently said that a two-state solution is the only way forward to settle Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the US has blocke...
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Amid humanitarian crisis and ongoing fighting, Africa’s war-scarred Sahel region faces new threat: Ethno-mercenaries
Outside fighters are not merely mercenaries – they are participants in a deeply rooted, historically complex struggle for resources.
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Until 1968, presidential candidates were picked by party conventions – a process revived by Biden’s withdrawal from race
With President Joe Biden out of the presidential race, the Democratic Party will have to find another nominee. Past methods of choosing have had their...
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Online rumors sparked by the Trump assassination attempt spread rapidly, on both ends of the political spectrum
Did you experience the rush of people expressing conspiracy theories and rumors on social media in the immediate aftermath of the shooting?
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How the Ukrainians – with no navy – defeated Russia’s Black Sea Fleet
Deploying a series of new tactics and weapons, including the first use of sea drones in combat, Ukrainian forces have created what one military analys...
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Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project 2025’ is just the latest action plan from a group with an over 50-year history of steering GOP lawmaking
The Heritage Foundation, a sponsor of the Republican National Convention, would likely be influential in shaping a possible Trump administration’s pol...
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Voting rights at risk after Supreme Court makes it harder to challenge racial gerrymandering
In two recent rulings, the conservative justices handed state lawmakers new power to redraw congressional maps to their liking – including in ways tha...
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Pennsylvania continues tradition as ‘keystone state’ in presidential elections
At the time of independence, Pennsylvania was also at the geographical center of the 13 original Colonies. It remains a focal point of American politi...
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‘MAGA BLACK’ hats, clear swag bags, the first Trump/Vance signs: Highlights of what the Smithsonian is archiving from the Republican convention
Tight security may be the reason that the GOP Convention isn’t filled with the homemade, and often wacky, stuff that’s usually found by Smithsonian po...
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How Trump’s appeal to nostalgia deliberately evokes America’s more-racist, more-sexist past
Independent voters who feel high levels of nostalgia were more likely to vote for Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections.
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The Black fugitive who inspired ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ and the end of US slavery
Born enslaved, John Andrew Jackson spent his life fighting for freedom as a fugitive, abolitionist, lecturer and writer. Along the way, he met an aspi...
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Supreme Court’s blow to federal agencies’ power will likely weaken abortion rights – 3 issues to watch
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling means that judges will have more power than scientific experts in determining whether people should be able to get a...
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Social media and political violence – how to break the cycle
When political discourse is devoid of facts and high on demonization, it’s no surprise that political violence is the result. There is a way out, but ...
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Trump-appointed federal judge rules Trump’s classified document case is unconstitutional – here’s how special counsels have been authorized before
In 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that independent counsels were constitutional.
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Trump’s assassination attempt reveals a major security breakdown – but doesn’t necessarily heighten the risk for political violence, a former FBI offi...
Lone wolf attackers like Matthew Thomas Crooks pose the greatest security threats in the country – and are hardest to prevent.
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Trump assassination attempt reveals a major security breakdown – but doesn’t necessarily heighten the risk for political violence, a former FBI offici...
Lone wolf attackers like Matthew Thomas Crooks pose the greatest security threats in the country – and are hardest to prevent.
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How Smithsonian curators scavenge political conventions to explain the present to the future and save everything from hats to buttons to umbrellas to ...
Curators from the Smithsonian will be at the GOP convention collecting items from buttons to banners. Their goal: to add objects to the museum’s colle...
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‘One inch from a potential civil war’ – near miss in Trump shooting is also a close call for American democracy
A scholar of political assassinations says the US just narrowly avoided plunging into wholesale violence and potential civil war when Donald Trump sur...
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Biden isn’t the first to struggle to pop the presidential bubble that divides him from the public
Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and other presidents showed that getting limited information as president can have some benefits – but also risks.
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As nativist politics surge across Europe, soccer’s ‘Euros’ showcase a more benign form of nationalism
The most successful teams at Europe’s soccer championship comprise diverse players, often thanks to immigration. Could that be influencing fans’ views...
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Odds are that gambling on the Biden/Trump competition will further reduce the presidential campaign to a horse race
Overseas-based sports betting companies offer wagers in the US on who will clinch a party’s presidential nomination and which candidate will win the e...
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Donald Trump wants to reinstate a spoils system in federal government by hiring political loyalists regardless of competence
if political loyalty replaces merit as the basis of key federal appointments, Americans can expect government to be less competent – as Andrew Jackson...
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Trump’s raised fist - how one gesture can be used by Republicans, socialists, fascists, white supremacists and Black athletes
The raised fist has been used by fascists, socialists, communists, Black Power advocates and even golfer Tiger Woods. It’s also Donald Trump’s favorit...
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How political party platforms – like the Republicans’ Trump-inspired one for 2024 – can help voters understand American politics
Though largely unread, party platforms are a vital clue about which groups hold real power in the two major national parties and can help predict what...
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Why is Congress filled with old people?
Nearly 20% of House and Senate members are 70 or older, and only 6% are under 40. What explains Congress’ advanced age?
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Why are journalists obsessed with Biden’s age? It’s because they’ve finally found an interesting election story
Is there a plot among journalists to push President Joe Biden out of the race? Why are so many journalists focusing on Biden’s problems and not Trump’...
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Surprise: American voters actually largely agree on many issues, including topics like abortion, immigration and wealth inequality
On issues and policies in which government has a serious role – taxes, immigration, the state of the economy and even abortion – a 2023 survey found a...
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From the ’60s till now, TV news coverage of large-scale university protests doesn’t look so different
While people rely less on TV for their daily news than they used to, it remains influential − and the TV storytelling about student protests against I...
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Joe Biden commits to staying in the race – like Nixon, his biggest threat comes from within his own party
Politicians often are firmly committed to what they say they will do – until they announce otherwise.
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‘The immortal Gods alone have neither age nor death’: Wisdom from Greek tragedies for Joe Biden
In the ugly spectacle of American politics, it’s hard to keep humanity in sight. But literature, says a poet and scholar of the classics, can remind u...
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Trump’s criminal conviction won’t stop him from getting security clearance as president − but Biden can still control his access for now
Under normal circumstances, Trump’s criminal record and other aspects of his life, including financial history, would disqualify him from getting acce...
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Unregulated online political ads pose a threat to democracy
Political ad transparency – who’s paying for ads and whether candidates stand behind them – is well-regulated for TV and radio. Online, not so much.
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4 things to watch for as NATO leaders meet in US capital for high-stakes summit
The three-day meeting is touted as a time to celebrate the alliance’s 75th anniversary. But gathered leaders face serious questions that will affect N...
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One memorable speech can turn around a faltering campaign − how Nixon did it with his ‘Checkers’ talk
Facing an uproar over use of a private fund to cover expenses, vice presidential candidate Sen. Richard Nixon invoked the family dog, Checkers, to sal...
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2024 is not 1968 − and the Democratic convention in Chicago will play out very differently than in the days of Walter Cronkite
The 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago was a nightmare of protest, violent policing and chaos. How will Chicago handle the political and m...
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Nevada is a battleground state – and may be a bellwether of more extreme partisanship
From one perspective, Nevada’s political history is balanced. From another, it’s s pendulum swinging back and forth as people split their votes across...
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Britain’s new prime minister has a chance to reset ties with the White House – but a range of thorny issues and the US election make it more tricky
Keir Starmer is ideologically more aligned with the Democrats. But history shows that isn’t the only key to good US-UK political relations.
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