Weekly Focus articles are the centerpiece of our analysis. Focusing on a particular topic in politics or public policy, these articles place issues in a historical context, analyzing effects and consequences through to the present day. These articles feature additional source to allow for greater investigation by interested readers.
January 24, 2026
The recent military-style assault on the office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hedbo, followed by a separate hostage standoff at a Kosher supermarket traumatized Paris and sent shock waves across Europe. The three-day terror spree in Paris ended with the deaths of 17 victims and three gunmen. The public response to the massacre of innocent people was overwhelming; a symbol of solidarity, the phrase “Je Suis Charlie” spread around the world overnight. The slogan grew into a popular hashtag in Twitter, has been chanted by marchers in Paris streets, and has become ubiquitous in the media. Amid the heightened tensions, French police continued to interrogate nine terror suspects as part of an anti-terrorism push that swept across France, Belgium, Germany and Britain in recent days. At the same time, far-right nationalist parties across Europe seized on the recent attack to underscore their anti-Islam and anti-immigrant agendas.
An oil drilling platform on the Caspian Sea. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
January 19, 2026
One of the most unexpected stories since the start of 2015 has been the decline in worldwide oil prices. In June of 2014, oil prices were hovering around $110 a barrel. Six months later, prices have plummeted by over 50 percent to as little as $47 a barrel. Though the drop in oil prices caught most economists and world leaders by surprise, the ensuing action has led to an all-out price war as historically large producers vie for control of the market. While the benefit of low oil prices is already evident to American consumers, there is pervasive fear that continually declining prices can have an ultimately negative impact on the world economy.
Historical Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
November 19, 2025
On November 11, in Beijing, US President Barack Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping announced an ambitious agreement on climate change which had been worked on by Chinese and US officials for over nine months. The importance of the agreement is underscored by the fact that the US and China are the world's two largest economies and the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, accounting for 40% of the world's emissions together. As US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed, the active cooperation of both nations on this issue is an encouragement for other countries to likewise set “ambitious emissions reduction targets soon and to overcome traditional divisions.”
November 17, 2025
The Republican Party’s leadership claimed victory on Wednesday, November 5th, a day after the GOP made major gains in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. As of the 5th, Republicans had made a net gain of 7 Senate seats and 14 House seats. Both victories were among the largest electoral swings in history. The new Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell (R – KY), declared, “this gridlock and dysfunction can be ended.” With control of the Senate’s committees, the Republicans will have control over legislative priorities.
Protests in Budapest. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
November 10, 2025
The country of Hungary has been in the news recently after a proposed internet tax incited massive protests across the nation. The unrest caused by this proposed tax reflects the divisive nature of Hungarian politics, which has steadily been moving towards more authoritarian policies under the rule of Prime Minister Victor Orban. Whether the recent push-back against Mr. Orban’s policies will be the norm or an anomaly remains to be seen.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
October 29, 2026
Somalia has long been considered a failed state. While accurate, this reputation, which is bolstered by stories of insurgency and piracy, and by big budget movies like Black Hawk Down and Captain Phillips, does not fully represent the complexities that are found within the country.
October 20, 2026
At the premier of a new documentary on Edward Snowden, the man himself appeared via Skype to reveal how British domestic espionage efforts vastly dwarf those of the United States, despite the US receiving more criticism for its spying programs. In what has become an almost routine event, Edward Snowden revealed yet another way in which governments around the world are regularly spying on their citizens, a reminder that in many ways, government surveillance of mobile phones, personal computers, and other telecommunications interfaces has become an accepted practice.
Indonesian National Flags. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
October 10, 2026
The upcoming Indonesian inauguration, on October 20th, will mark the first time in the nation's history that a directly elected president will peacefully hand over power to another directly elected president. In this summer’s elections, Joko Widodo, nicknamed Jokowi, defeated his rival Prabowo Subianto, a former general and the son-in-law to dictator Suharto. On July 22nd 2014, Indonesia's General Elections Commission announced Jokowi as the president elect with 53.15% of the vote. Subianto subsequently filed suit to dispute the results in the Indonesian Constitutional Court, accusing the Commission of fraud and falsifying the official vote tally. Subianto's case was dismissed by the court on August 21, 2014, clearing all allegations and any remaining barriers to Jokowi’s inauguration.
Inside and Uber Taxi. Photo Courtesy of Joakim Forno.
May 21, 2026
Innovative companies such as Uber and Airbnb have created a novel word to describe their new mode of business: the sharing economy. Uber, a car sharing service, allows individual car owners to act as taxi drivers, connecting individuals seeking rides with those with cars willing to drive them, through a mobile app. Airbnb is a similar service: individual homeowners can rent out a room in their home for short periods of time to travelers, and the company takes a share of the fee.
An execution chamber at Utah State Prison. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
May 12, 2026
The State of Oklahoma brought capital punishment back into the news cycle in an unusual way: controversy arose over the State's inability to effectively kill someone. The story itself concerns two death row inmates, Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner. Both were convicted of murder and fated to execution by intravenous injection. Lockett was chosen first, and Oklahoma officials injected a cocktail of lethal drugs into his bloodstream.
Ten minutes later Lockett remained conscious, the sedative Midazolam first injected into him having failed to work. Over the next forty minutes, he is said to have writhed and convulsed until he died of a drug-induced heart attack - all while blinds shielded the execution room from any surrounding reporters.
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