Opinion Articles

Our Op-Eds are a platform for fostering thought-provoking discussions on vital issues. While they purely aim to spark debate and do not represent the Institute's stance, they play a key role in driving diverse dialogues. For in-depth, solution-oriented analysis, our Policy Briefs offer comprehensive explorations of significant policy topics, aligning with our commitment to thorough and unbiased research.

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Inquiry-driven, OpEds may reflect personal views, aiming to enrich problem-related discourse.

Francesca Wehner

Op-Ed Contest Spring 2026

Citizenship for Sale: How the Gold Card Policy Reshapes American Immigration

The Return of Just Deserts: Analyzing Mass Incarceration

All articles opposite the editorial

V for Vendetta: Reclaiming Your Agenda

National Policy

Cathy Jiang

What can just one person do to shift the course of history? If you’re feeling helpless about the current and future state of the world, you are not alone. Though we are nearly powerless, as shown by the critically acclaimed film V for Vendetta, we are also limitless.

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What Would it Actually Take to End Government Shutdowns?

National Policy

Keith Richards

A long time ago, a group of ancient and wise men known as the Wu Tang Clan created the modern philosophy C.R.E.A.M: Cash Rules Everything Around Me. In the 1990s, it was a song. In 2026 it’s become the principle that defines our congress.

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Outgrowing the Compact: Why the American West Must Modernize Water Management

Environmental Policy

Ethan Na

Drafted nearly a century ago, interstate water compacts rely on archaic, unscientific models that completely separate surface water flows from underground aquifers. This op-ed argues that state water boards have weaponized these outdated administrative definitions to permit excessive upstream pumping, sparking multi-decade constitutional crises that threaten regional economic survival.

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Why Bangladesh Needs a Smarter Maritime Strategy?

Foreign Policy

Md. Saiful Islam Shanto

Bangladesh has secured a vast maritime zone and is investing heavily in new ports. Yet trade, fisheries, energy, security, diplomacy, and climate policy are still treated as separate agendas. A smarter maritime strategy would manage the Bay of Bengal as one connected economic, environmental, humanitarian, and national-security space.

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Is China Winning the Global South?

Foreign Policy

Keith Richards

This piece examines China’s growing influence across the Global South through infrastructure, trade, and development financing, with a focus on how the United States can respond more effectively. It is aimed to keep the analysis accessible while still grounding the argument in current data and policy research.

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What Happens When Facts Become Opinion?

Social Policy

Cathy Jiang

Political scientists have increasingly documented that many Republicans and Democrats disagree not only about values and policies, but also about basic factual claims. This phenomenon is also known as factual polarization or belief polarization.

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Everything is Illuminated: Comedy in the Real World

National Policy

Cathy Jiang

Films are works of art, and this psychological comedy is no different. "Everything is Illuminated" shines a light on a story of the past, future, and the gift that is life.

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The Tyranny of the Snapshot: Why Modern Assessment Systems Fail Talent

National Policy

Seemab Mehmood

In the boardrooms of global organizations and the sterile corridors of medical schools, institutions have perfected a specific kind of systemic violence: the reduction of human potential to a single, high-pressure, “snapshot” assessment. Whether it is a digital interview for a high-stakes leadership role or a physical oral examination (viva) in a medical ward, the current standard of evaluation often measures a candidate’s performance under acute anxiety rather than their true professional capability or intellectual depth.

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Predictive, Not Reactive: Why Mathematics Needs the "First Cell" to Cure Cancer

Public Health Policy

Seemab Mehmood

For decades, the global war on cancer has been fought on a specific, deeply entrenched battlefield: the late stage. We have poured astronomical resources, brilliant minds, and cutting-edge technologies into the study of advanced tumors. As a result, the medical community has become an absolute expert in studying the "last cell", a cell that has already accumulated millions of mutations and undergone profound evolutionary changes. Yet, paradoxically, we still know remarkably little about the "first cell."

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Conventional Systems to Modern Healthcare Systems: How Patient Safety Takes the Change Narrative!

Public Health Policy

Seemab Mehmood

The modern hospital is a marvel of technological orchestration, yet it remains haunted by an ancient ghost: the preventable medical error. For decades, global health systems have treated patient safety as a bureaucratic afterthought; a series of defensive, post-hoc checklists tucked away in administrative binders, dusted off only when a catastrophic failure demands a scapegoat. This reactive posture is no longer tenable. As healthcare infrastructures globally face unprecedented strain, the narrative must pivot from conventional, defensive policing to a proactive, systemic culture change. Patient safety is not merely a clinical metric; it is the fundamental axis upon which the transition from archaic to modern healthcare revolves.

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Playlist Politics: Arguments for Expanding the House of Representatives

National Policy

Sarah Hutchison

The United States House of Representatives has a huge problem. No, it’s not partisanship, or lobbying, or salaries, or lawmakers’ age, or corruption, or gerrymandering, or campaign finance, or the lack of gender parity, or diversity, or non-competitiveness. The real problem with the House of Representatives in general, and with congresspeople in particular, is that there aren’t enough of them.

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Why Xi’s North Korea Visit Matters Beyond Pyongyang

Foreign Policy

Md. Saiful Islam Shanto

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2026 visit to North Korea signals a new phase in Asian geopolitics. It reflects the growing alignment among China, Russia, and North Korea, while also showing Beijing’s effort to retain influence over Pyongyang amid North Korea’s deepening ties with Moscow. The article argues that the Korean Peninsula is no longer only a local security issue; it is now part of a wider Indo-Pacific struggle over power, deterrence, and strategic influence. This evolving alignment carries major consequences for regional stability, U.S. alliances, and smaller Asian states seeking to maintain strategic autonomy in an increasingly polarized order.

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Diplomacy or Deportation: Reimagining U.S. Immigration Policy

Foreign Policy

Sophie Chan

The fundamental flaw in America's immigration debate is treating the international movement of people merely as a domestic security problem. Until the United States reframes immigration as a foreign policy challenge to address its root causes, administrations will continue a futile cycle of temporary border enforcement measures.

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The Hidden Cost of Milk Price Controls

Economic Policy

Ethan Na

Federal and state Milk Marketing Orders establish minimum milk prices in the name of market stability and agricultural security. Created during the Great Depression, these regulations continue to shape dairy markets today. This op-ed argues that the system may increase consumer costs and limit competition, therefore warranting renewed scrutiny nearly a century after its creation.

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How India’s ‘Big Brother’ Politics Is Backfiring in South Asia

Foreign Policy

Md. Saiful Islam Shanto

For decades, India has viewed South Asia as its natural sphere of influence. However, its traditional “Big Brother” approach—marked by political favoritism, unilateral decision-making, and perceived hegemonic behavior—is increasingly producing strategic backlash rather than regional cooperation. Countries including Bangladesh, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Nepal have grown more resistant to New Delhi’s influence, while weak regional integration and the stagnation of institutions such as SAARC and BIMSTEC have further undermined India’s leadership. As extra-regional powers expand their presence, India can no longer rely on geography, economic size, or historical influence alone. Restoring credibility will require replacing paternalistic diplomacy with a more cooperative and mutually respectful regional strategy.

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Opinion Articles

Citizenship for Sale: How the Gold Card Policy Reshapes American Immigration

The Return of Just Deserts: Analyzing Mass Incarceration

All articles opposite the editorial

V for Vendetta: Reclaiming Your Agenda

What Would it Actually Take to End Government Shutdowns?

Outgrowing the Compact: Why the American West Must Modernize Water Management

Why Bangladesh Needs a Smarter Maritime Strategy?

Is China Winning the Global South?

What Happens When Facts Become Opinion?

Everything is Illuminated: Comedy in the Real World

The Tyranny of the Snapshot: Why Modern Assessment Systems Fail Talent

Predictive, Not Reactive: Why Mathematics Needs the "First Cell" to Cure Cancer

Conventional Systems to Modern Healthcare Systems: How Patient Safety Takes the Change Narrative!

Playlist Politics: Arguments for Expanding the House of Representatives

Why Xi’s North Korea Visit Matters Beyond Pyongyang

Diplomacy or Deportation: Reimagining U.S. Immigration Policy

The Hidden Cost of Milk Price Controls

How India’s ‘Big Brother’ Politics Is Backfiring in South Asia

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