Los Angeles Zoning Laws: A Future for a More Sustainable and Equitable LA

Los Angeles, the pioneers of our modern day zoning ordinances stands at a crossroad. As climate change intensifies, the housing crisis increasingly intensifies, and historic inequalities persist throughout Los Angeles, the city’s rigid zoning laws have emerged as both the culprit, and the potential lever for change. This article examines how Los Angeles’s century-old zoning ordinances have fueled urban sprawl, deepened socio-economic inequalities, and worsened environmental outcomes, where it’s urgent to reimagine such regulations to create a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient future for all Angelenos.

Wildfires are Getting Worse: Our Policies Need to Catch Up

Across the American West, like in the states of California, wildfire seasons aren’t just getting longer — they are becoming deadlier, more destructive, and far more expensive. In the past two decades alone, the United States has seen an escalation in both the size and intensity of wildfires, with the most recent and most devastating wildfire being the Palisades and Hurst fires, displacing thousands of residents and wiping whole communities off the map. The root causes are no mystery — they stem from a century of fire suppression policy, unprecedented fuel accumulation, and the accelerating rate and impact of climate change effects.

Let Us In: Why America Needs Youth at the Foreign Policy Table

The article argues that young people, individuals who will inherit the long-term consequences of foreign policy decisions, deserve a formal role in shaping them. It highlights successful models of youth inclusion both globally and within U.S. states and elicits how youth input improves legislation and diplomacy. The piece calls for a federally institutionalized Youth Advisory Council to ensure foreign policy reflects the perspectives of future generations.

Chatham House Expert Reveals What’s Changed in Africa in 2025.

Brexit: Why Politicians, Not People, are to be Blamed.

India’s Foreign Policy is anchored in Anachronism and that’s a Problem.

India is hailed as the West's frontline against China, but its nostalgia for an outdated relationship not only weakens its own defenses but also makes the US's trust in the world's largest democracy look more like wishful thinking.

Even Democratic Elections don’t represent the will of the people.

This author argues that democratic elections do not accurately represent constituent desires using social choice and political theory.

A Case Study Of Neoliberalism & The Myth Of Welfare Dependency

The discourse surrounding the welfare state in the US and the Western world writ large has undoubtedly shifted rightward since the 1980s. There are many reasons for this, but the biggest one is the myth of welfare dependency. My goal here is to critically examine the concept of welfare dependency itself and challenge its characterization as a real issue. The purpose is not to deny that welfare fraud exists or that stealing is good, but rather that government intervention to protect people and grow the economy is justified, even if it costs more, and that right-wing arguments on the topic are fundamentally flawed.

Outsized Atolls: The China-Taiwan Struggle for Diplomatic Recognition in the South Pacific

One of Asia’s most important diplomatic wars is being waged somewhere else entirely: the South Pacific. Taiwan is on the defensive as China gradually wins over its allies with economic aid, while the United States concerns itself with the struggle’s implications for its own position in the region.

The Prince and the Pauper: Assessing US-Saudi Relations

Geopolitics Shot by Shot: Reflections on the Emerging Chinese and American "Vaccine Diplomacy"

China's "vaccine diplomacy" in 2020, aimed at restoring its global image, faces mixed reception amid geopolitical concerns, while the U.S. enters the global vaccine distribution arena to counter Beijing's influence, despite potential setbacks from a delayed start.

Assessing the Future of US-Philippines Relations

The US-Philippines military alliance faces uncertainties due to debates over the VFA amid China's influence, while Brazil grapples with economic repercussions from President Bolsonaro's intervention in state-owned Petrobras, highlighting political-business tensions.

Taiwan's 2024 Presidential Election: It’s Time to Shift the Focus from Foreign to Domestic Policy Issues

The 2024 Taiwanese presidential election is a critical juncture, focusing on maintaining the status quo in cross-Strait relations while shifting voter attention towards significant domestic issues.

Choice: More for Some, Less for Others

When the importance of freedom and autonomy is embedded in the U.S Constitution, the plain assumption is that choice lends to greater well-being. But is choice distributed equally among all people, or should it be considered a privilege? Is choice always a good thing? While the syllogism at the beginning of Markus and Schwartz’s “Does Choice Mean Freedom and Well-Being?” implies that having choice shows signs of freedom, this preconceived notion is not always true. How much choice one has is significantly contingent on culture and socioeconomic class. Although having the ability to choose is a positive thing, the inequality and the lack of opportunity that make mobility more difficult in North America leads to the asymmetric levels of choice available for each socioeconomic class.

The Question Regarding Haiti