Politics and Government

Without the ongoing prospect of U.S. military support, the Washington-backed Afghan government quickly fell - and on Aug. 15, 2021, the Taliban declared the creation of a new political order, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, writes Michael Blake, professor of philosophy and of public policy and governance at the UW.

Aseem Prakash, professor of political science, explains why climate policy is lacking even amidst increasing evidence of its importance.

Collaboration between police departments and federal immigration enforcers has persisted around Washington, despite laws designed to tamp it down, according to a report released on Wednesday. Phil Neff, project coordinator at the UW Center for Human Rights, is quoted.

Police, jail staff and other local law enforcement across Washington continue to share information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and Customs and Border Protection, facilitating arrests and deportations, despite a law that prohibits such cooperation, according to a new report by the UW Center for Human Rights.

Local law enforcement agencies across Washington have worked with federal immigration agents to detain undocumented immigrants, despite a state law banning such collaborations. That’s according to a new report from the UW Center for Human Rights. Angelina Godoy, professor of law, societies and justice and of international studies and director of the Center for Human Rights at the UW, is interviewed.

"Straight Talk Africa" explores whether investigating former leaders is good for democracy. James Long, associate professor of political science at the UW, is interviewed.

If America’s unions are dying, no one told labor leaders in Washington. The state ranks fifth in the nation for union membership. That strength also translates to political power. In recent years, organized labor has helped Democrats solidify one-party rule. In turn, unions have notched a succession of legislative victories. Kim England, professor of geography and chair of the UW Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, is quoted.

If the American labor movement is dead, nobody told Washington’s unions. While workers struggle amid a gig economy and union membership remains near a nationwide low, state legislators in recent years have passed more than 20 new labor-backed laws. Jake Grumbach, assistant professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

Fights on airplanes, arguments over wearing a mask, white people calling police unnecessarily when a person of color shows up in their neighborhood and road rage incidents that end in gunfire. That is just some of the bad behavior going on these days as the lack of civility in American society seems to be out of control. Ralina Joseph, associate professor of communication at the UW, is interviewed on the "Chino Y Chicano" podcast.

"Both New York and Seattle are in the process of electing their mayors. Because these cities are very liberal, the key election to watch for is the Democratic primary. Unless something unexpected were to occur between now and November, the candidate winning the Democratic primary will become the next mayor. In both cities, mayor hopefuls are focusing on crime, policing and homelessness. Climate change does not seem to be on their agendas. Why is this surprising?" write the UW's Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science.

Every year, the U.S. Supreme Court, the nation’s highest court, issues several high-profile decisions that can have dramatic impacts on society. But much of what it does garners few headlines. Scott Lemieux, assistant teaching professor of political science at the UW, is quoted.

"The present regime in Afghanistan is unstable, and some experts estimate it may collapse within the year. If it does so, the resulting power gap would likely be filled by the Taliban, whose history of human rights abuses include violence against women and children. There are significant moral costs at stake in either remaining in or withdrawing from Afghanistan," writes Michael Blake, professor of philosophy and of public policy and governance at the UW.

Facebook’s back-and-forth with the Biden administration got ugly over the weekend. The social network scrambled to respond to the president’s striking accusation that the company is “killing people” for allowing the spread of misinformation about coronavirus vaccines. Carl Bergstrom, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Margaret O'Mara, professor of history at the UW, talks about the relationship between Silicon Valley and Washington lawmakers and the role of social media platforms in the spread of COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation.

"J.D. Vance, author of the briefly relevant memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy,' is now running for the Republican nomination for the Ohio Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman. It’s a tough race, and Vance is starting well behind in the polls. Feeling the pressure, Vance felt compelled this past weekend to dredge up one of the most hackneyed clichés in the conservative playbook," writes Scott Lemieux, assistant teaching professor of political science at the UW.