American University: Journal of International Service

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  • December 21, 2025

    Space Debris, an Overlooked National Security Challenge

    Artistic rendition of space debris in orbit around Earth (Image Source: GoodFon.com; https://tinyurl.com/5fj2psyt) By Lucas Wood-Gluck The lack of attention by U.S. policymakers on the threat posed by space debris is an existential challenge to orbital infrastructure, such as military reconnaissance, and humanity’s long-term potential as a space-faring species. As the security and commercial importance…

  • December 21, 2025

    Seeding Resistance Against Settler Colonialism: The Geopolitics of Palestinian Seed Libraries

    Jadu’i Watermelon harvested from heirloom seeds native to Jenin in the occupied WestBank, grown as part of a collaboration between the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library and Ujamaa Farming Cooperative Alliance. (Ranganathan, 2025) By Masha Kazantsev This article discusses how seed libraries, seed keeping, and heirloom seeds serve as anact of resistance and a way to…

  • December 19, 2025

    The Kremlin and Climate Profiteering

    Travel distance visual comparison between the Northern Sea Route and the Suez.(Image Source: Grid Arendal; https://tinyurl.com/5fuxv55y) By Lucas Wood-Gluck As climate change continues to melt Arctic ice, the Kremlin hopes to exploit newly-revealed natural resources and develop an alternative Arctic shipping route to enrich itself at the expense of its rivals. As Russia’s economy continues…

  • December 18, 2025

    Will the Russian Gas Loophole Finally Close?

    An Analysis of New European Union Sanctions and Policy on Russian Gas Imports The now completed TurkStream pipeline in Bulgaria.(Image Source: iStock; https://tinyurl.com/y5jenytx) By Lucas Vroege In February 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shattered Europe’s complacent energy policy. In response, the European Union (EU) launched the RePowerEU initiative in April 2022, with the intent of…

  • December 18, 2025

    CSO Perspectives on Remedy Pathways for Fishers and Fisher Involvement in IUU Reporting

    Image Source: Pexels; https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-anchor-17485780/ By Carlye Goldman, Natalie Leonard, and Elizabeth Parker This report outlines research gaps and best practices in recruitment oversight- drawing on case studies and interviews with civil society organizations (CSOs)- and explores how CSOs help fishers exercise their voice and agency, and how fishers with a stronger voice in their sector…

  • December 17, 2025

    The Organization of American States Under a Second Trump Presidency

    Exterior of the Organization of American States “Main Building” in Washington, DC near the White House. (Image Source: Flickr; https://tinyurl.com/2t3swaxe) By Lucas Wood-Gluck The Organization of American States is an overlooked diplomatic, security, and economic forum that U.S. policymakers neglect to the benefit of adversaries, but at the cost of regional integration and U.S. credibility.…

  • December 11, 2025

    The Militarization of Queer Sexuality: Is Sexuality an Assemblage of National Security Regimes?

    Image Source: Stanford University Digital Stacks; https://tinyurl.com/bdfx6f5j By Christopher Belden The mainstream conception of national security renders gender identity and sexual orientation as irrelevant; however, states imbed sexuality as part of their national security agendas creating a circular assemblage through the dichotomous informant-security threat identity mapped upon queer bodies. In the existing analyses of Cold…

  • December 10, 2025

    Pushed Into Precarity

    Costa Rican Anti-Asylum Migration Decrees’ Impact on Nicaraguan Migrants & Development Image Source: Pixabay; https://tinyurl.com/3r9sxrnw By Amanda Clark Once praised for its humanitarian approach to migration, Costa Rica now risks that reputation as decrees turn Nicaraguan asylum seekers into a vulnerable labor force, exposing the growing gap between the country’s ideals and its practices. Migration…

  • December 7, 2025

    The 2013 Egyptian Coup d’État: A Watershed for Repression

    Image Source: The Guardian; https://tinyurl.com/369779az By Caleb Helsel Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s 2013 coup in Egypt marked the end of Egypt’s brief democracy and the birth of a new, more violent autocracy. Abstract             In 2013, Egyptian Minister of Defense Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a military coup against the democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, restoring autocratic…

  • November 26, 2025

    Who Is in Command? The Civil-Military debate over U.S. troop presence in Syria

    By Anthony Avice Du Buisson U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis meets with U.S. Army Gen Joseph L. Votel, commander U.S. Central Command (Image Source: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service; https://tinyurl.com/mryeakss) Civilian authority must remain central to decision making over U.S. troop presence in Syria to ensure military operational thinking supports political objectives and long-term…

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