American University: Journal of International Service
Great Writers Make Great Leaders
Submissions for Policy Briefs, Research Papers and Op-Eds are now open. For more information, please visit our Submission Guidelines page.
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Violence as Strategy: The Sinaloa Cartel and the Assassination of Mexican Mayors
By: Carolyn Adkins, Nicholas Gelston, and Georgia Nelson Executive Summary Mayoral assassinations represent a critical intersection of political violence, governance, and societal instability in Mexico. Despite municipal policing and security efforts to protect mayors, municipal governments face an exorbitant number of assassinations carried out by cartels who seek to gain control or impose retaliatory measures…
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5 Key Reasons FEWS NET Should Be a National and International Priority
(image source: https://www.army.mil/article/190545/signal_soldiers_enable_mission_command_for_saber_guardian_17_river_crossing) By: Isabel Povey The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET)[i] is a formerly USAID-funded provider of early warnings and analysis on acute food insecurity. It uses remote-sensing satellite imagery to monitor and forecast climatic conditions in the world’s more food-insecure countries, helping prevent humanitarian crises before they occur. It has operated for three decades as a sophisticated monitoring system that silently saves countless lives, preventing an estimated…
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Violence as Strategy: The Sinaloa Cartel and the Assassination of Mexican Mayors
By: Carolyn Adkins, Nicholas Gelston, and Georgia Nelson Executive Summary Mayoral assassinations represent a critical intersection of political violence, governance, and societal instability in Mexico. Despite municipal policing and security efforts to protect mayors, municipal governments face an exorbitant number of assassinations carried out by cartels who seek to gain control or impose retaliatory measures…
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5 Key Reasons FEWS NET Should Be a National and International Priority
(image source: https://www.army.mil/article/190545/signal_soldiers_enable_mission_command_for_saber_guardian_17_river_crossing) By: Isabel Povey The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET)[i] is a formerly USAID-funded provider of early warnings and analysis on acute food insecurity. It uses remote-sensing satellite imagery to monitor and forecast climatic conditions in the world’s more food-insecure countries, helping prevent humanitarian crises before they occur. It has operated for three decades as a sophisticated monitoring system that silently saves countless lives, preventing an estimated…
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North Korean Sanctions are not leading to Denuclearization
(Image Source: Flickr; https://tinyurl.com/3mn74tcf) By Jordyn Brambley Sanctions imposed on the DPRK to curtail its nuclear program have not succeeded in their goal of nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament. In 2003, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) became the first and only country to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT),…
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ASEAN Connectivity Plan: Funding the Crossroads of the East
(Image Source: Reddit; https://tinyurl.com/2epbkrvr) By Henry Wraight This submission on MPAC 2025 examines how ASEAN states can leverage alternative funding streams to fund the infrastructure projects required to enhance the integration of ASEAN economies. Executive Summary The Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) is an initiative launched by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)…
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Slowing the Pentagon’s Revolving Door
When Special Interests Quietly Undermine National Security This article was published anonymously. (Image Source: Washington Post; https://tinyurl.com/mtph6nsy) This research paper examines the Pentagon’s “Revolving Door” phenomenon and its impact on defense acquisition, oversight, and national security outcomes. It analyzes how the movement of senior officials between government and industry reinforces cost inflation, weakens regulatory enforcement,…
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Greenland and the Golden Dome
Does Trump’s Space-Based Interceptor Shield Really Require Greenland? (Image Source: MSN; https://tinyurl.com/yx4n2xhy) By Grace Klopp This op-ed analyzes the strategic and political rationale behind proposals to acquire Greenland in support of the U.S. Golden Dome missile defense system. It argues that existing defense agreements already provide the United States with sufficient access to Greenland’s strategic…
Great Writers Make Great Leaders