In 2005, President Bush used the word “victory” 15 times in a speech about the Iraq War. Things had changed in 2009, when President Obama sought to get rid of the idea of victory in US strategic discourse, arguing that it evokes crude associations with conquest. But the idea of “winning” wars has very much come to the fore again in Trump’s presidency. Despite this uneven US rhetoric, it is undeniable that wars no longer produce clear-cut victories. Still, as Cian O'Driscoll writes, the ideal of victory still very much guides how we think about war.
Under the Trump administration, there’s been an increase in the number of airstrikes aimed at helping Somali ground forces recapture territory taken by Al-Shabaab. But, as Bryce W. Reeder explains, the strategy has hidden costs.
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A protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask flashing a victory sign in Beirut in November 2019.
EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH
Cian O'Driscoll, University of Glasgow
Wars don't produce winners and losers – they never really did.
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America’s military presence in Somalia could be causing more harm than good.
Mazen Mahdi/EPA
Bryce W. Reeder, University of Missouri-Columbia
The resilience of Al-Shabaab raises questions about the effectiveness of the current US military strategy in Somalia.
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Politics + Society
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Raluca Bejan, St. Thomas University (Canada)
The EU's proposals for relocating migrants is inefficient in measuring whether member states actually have the economic capacity to welcome asylum-seekers.
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Michael E. Flynn, Kansas State University; Carla Martinez Machain, Kansas State University; Michael A. Allen, Boise State University
The Trump administration is demanding that Japan and South Korea pay more for hosting U.S. troops.
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Science + Technology
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Ciara McCabe, University of Reading
There are more efficient ways to stop addictions than fasting from rewards.
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Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Vanderbilt University
We have more neurons in our cortices than any other species, courtesy of an early technology – and along with them came our long, slow lives, with plenty of chances to gather around the dinner table.
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Business + Economy
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Christopher Findlay, Australian National University
Introduced properly, 5G could have an enormous impact. We are placing it at risk.
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Lucian Tipi, Sheffield Hallam University
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman sees much more potential in blockchain ID than payments at present. He's absolutely right.
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