Why has Trump been so critical of Ukraine President Zelenskii over the ceasefire Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, Trump’s advisor, Steve Witkoff, and the US envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg have sought to achieve in over 100 days since his election 2024? Repeatedly, Trump has criticized Zelenskii over Ukraine’s refusal to agree … Continue reading Trump’s Political Blame Games: The Case of Crimea
Ukraine
Trump Holds the Cards but Lost His Marbles
As an American, I apologise to Ukraine. I am horrified by the US President and VP trying to bully the President of Ukraine. They invited him as their guest in the White House and Oval Office. They then let him be insulted for not wearing a suit and tie before double-teaming and berating him in … Continue reading Trump Holds the Cards but Lost His Marbles
The Return of the Ugly American
As an American in Britian, my international colleagues ask me how they can even begin to understand President Donald Trump’s threats to neighbouring and allied countries like Canada, Mexico, Denmark, Greenland, …. How could he so obviously mimic Putin’s threats to the US, UK, and other nations of Central Europe and the West, following his … Continue reading The Return of the Ugly American
Political Positioning: A Step Beyond Agenda Setting
Political Positioning the News and Public Affairs Agenda setting has been one of the major social implications of the news. Coverage in the news tells the reader what they should be thinking about, what is important. While the news seldom shifts public opinion – it seldom changes the way a reader thinks about an issue … Continue reading Political Positioning: A Step Beyond Agenda Setting
Media Literacy and Access to Trusted Information during the War in Ukraine
A Internationally Collaborative Study UNESCO and the government of Japan are supporting a new project on media literacy and access to information about politics in Ukraine. The project, entitled 'Access to Information and Media Literacy about Politics and Elections: A Collaborative Study of Ukraine', seeks to enhance understanding of how the Ukrainian public accesses information … Continue reading Media Literacy and Access to Trusted Information during the War in Ukraine
Ukraine’s Networked Resilience
I have just finished an online discussion at Mariupol State University. It was an American-Ukrainian panel discussion on the development of public studies [public communication in the US] in Ukrainian higher educational institutions (HEIs). In addition to myself, it involved faculty from the Cambridge Judge Business School, Mariupol State University, the MIT-Ukraine Program at the … Continue reading Ukraine’s Networked Resilience
Changing Horses in the Race for US President: Not Too Late
If the Democratic Party is to win the 2024 Presidential election, and defeat Donald Trump, they need to convince President Biden to drop out of the race. The Presidential Debate on 27 June 2024 was a wakeup call for the Democratic party. President Joe Biden not only failed to convince many doubters that he was … Continue reading Changing Horses in the Race for US President: Not Too Late
Calling a War a War
The Symbolic Politics of Terminology for Russia's War on Ukraine with Lisa Chernenko and Mykyta Petik Some Ukrainians have no concern over what people call Russia's War on Ukraine - they are living in it. But some do, and the choice of terminology can have political, legal, and moral implications. So it is essential to … Continue reading Calling a War a War
Hurrah! Bringing Hope Back to Ukraine
The psychology of warfare is often overlooked when focusing on the hard realities of physical, active, kinetic military actions. Ed Baker (2024) wrote about the British cheer (huzza, hooray, hussaw, huzzay, or hurrah) being so important to the morale of British troops. It is in that spirit that Congressional passage of funds for Ukraine can … Continue reading Hurrah! Bringing Hope Back to Ukraine
Are YOU the Problem? Holding Up a Mirror to our Political System
The esteemed American scholar of politics and international relations, Francis Fukuyama, wrote an engaging opinion piece in The Financial Times (2/3 March 2024: 11), entitled ‘We can still reverse America’s political decay’. He begins with a litany of issues tied to the widespread perception that liberal democracies, like the US, are declining. In fact, he … Continue reading Are YOU the Problem? Holding Up a Mirror to our Political System