Politics and Government

Aseem Prakash, Walker Family Professor of Political Science and the founding director of the Center of Environmental Politics, explains the importance of access to safe water sources.

From Snohomish County to Congress, condemnations came swiftly. Anti-Asian acts are on the rise and were highlighted by Tuesday’s shooting deaths of eight people in Georgia. Local history shows how Asians were targeted long ago, by brutal attacks and through government actions, even as their toil helped build the Northwest. The UW Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest is mentioned.

Columnist Jamelle Bouie writes of Georgia's election legislation, "This is what it looks like when a political party turns against democracy. It doesn’t just try to restrict the vote; it creates mechanisms to subvert the vote and attempts to purge officials who might stand in the way. Georgia is in the spotlight, for reasons past and present, but it is happening across the country wherever Republicans are in control." Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

“Nowruz, the Persian New Year which takes place this Saturday, is a time for new beginnings. For President Biden it will mark the first occasion to offer a message directly to the Iranian people and perhaps hint at how his administration may approach the issue of Iran,” write Aria Fani, assistant professor of near Eastern languages and civilization, and Kevin Schwartz of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Although LGBTQ+ nightlife venues have existed in Seattle since the 1920s, many of them operated in the shadows amid threats from police and government, and bigoted strangers. Today, these spaces operate more openly but face new threats: increasing property taxes and rents, gentrification, a rise in hate crimes and now, of course, the closure of bars and restaurants due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kemi Adeyemi, assistant professor of gender, women and sexuality studies at the UW, is quoted.

Fifty-one Greek Hellenistic and early Islamic empire coins were seized by border patrol agents in Blaine. Homeland Security contacted UW classics professor Sarah Stroup to help identity them. [This is the third segment of "The Record"]

Republicans have systematically undermined a key democratic constituency. Fighting back requires a kind of hardball Democrats aren’t typically willing to play. Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the UW, is referenced.

“At first glance, prosecuting current or past top officials accused of illegal conduct seems like an obvious decision for a democracy: Everyone should be held accountable and subject to the rule of law ... [But] if the prosecution of past leaders is brought by a political rival, it can lead to a cycle of prosecutorial retaliation,” write the UW's Victor Menaldo, professor of political science; James Long, associate professor of political science; and Morgan Wack, a doctoral student in political science.

“We find that Americans are strongly opposed to detaining migrant children. Separating families is also unpopular, but Republicans and people anxious about cultural change support that policy more than others do,” write Sophia Jordán Wallace, associate professor of political science at the UW, and Chris Zepeda-Millán of the University of California at Los Angeles.

“Accusations of human rights violations, followed by countless lawsuits, have remained constant since the [Northwest ICE Processing Center] facility was built over 20 years ago. Grassroots organizations like La Resistencia have been working for over five years to shut down the facility, and House Bill 1090 (HB 1090) may finally do just that,” writes columnist Luna Reyna. A study by the UW Center for Human Rights is referenced.

“National crises, from wars to depressions, have nearly always required big deficit spending. But in many countries, including the United States, for the last half-century public debt didn’t get paid down during times of peace and prosperity. Economists and politicians argue about whether this leads to higher inflation, interest rates or capital flight. That debate ignores a truly dangerous consequence of high public debt: It undermines trust in government,” writes Edgar Kiser, professor emeritus of sociology at the UW, about the growth in public debt due to COVID-19 spending.

“The celebration of Trump at CPAC was also a eulogy to Rush Limbaugh. No one, after all, did more to give birth to the movement that the ex-president claims as his own,” writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies at the UW.

“The current system of [legal] fines and fees has created an albatross around the necks of the state’s lowest income residents,” writes columnist Naomi Ishisaka. UW sociology professor Alexes Harris is quoted.

The nation’s first motto was “E pluribus unum.” What does that mean? Scott Lemieux, assistant teaching professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

In testimony before the U.S. Senate banking committee on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the economy is “a long way from the Fed’s employment and inflation goals.” As Congress debates the next round of coronavirus relief funding, some prominent economists have raised concerns about its potential impact on inflation. Fabio Ghironi, professor of economics at the UW, is interviewed.