What impact have Western sanctions, international aid, and regional diplomacy and trade had on the Taliban’s internal dynamics, governance capacity, and international relations? Are the Taliban weakened or strengthened as a result of these strategies since 2021? Join this webinar panel to learn about our research findings. The Kroc Institute’s Afghanistan Program for Peace and Development collaborated on a study with the Libertas Council to examine the impact of international strategies on Afghanistan from August 2021 to December 2024. Led by Sibghatullah Ghaznawi, the study assessed their influence on the Taliban’s governance, internal cohesion and response to these strategies. Register hereModerator:Laurie Nathan, director of the Mediation Program at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, part of the Keough School of Global AffairsIntroductory remarks:Aref Dostyar, director of the Afghanistan Program for Peace and Development at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, and a Global Fellow at the Libertas CouncilPanelists:Sibghatullah Ghaznawi, associate research scholar, Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia UniversityMuqaddessa Yoursih, senior advisor at swisspeaceConcluding remarks:Emily Ann Milnes, chief of staff, Libertas CouncilCo-Sponsor:Libertas CouncilRegister here Originally published at kroc.nd.edu.

Enrique SeiraKellogg Institute Faculty FellowJoe and Deborah Loughrey Professor of Economics We complement a field experiment with cross-country evidence to show that exposure to apex corruption— corrupt acts implicating top-level politicians—causes large decreases in democratic values and associated behaviors. Behaviors such as individual voter turnout, contributions to support elections, and honesty and trust in incentivized games all fall. The effects on voting are greatest for incumbents perceived to be honest when apex corruption is exposed close to elections. We show, both experimentally and across scandals in 17 national settings, that apex corruption also reduces explicit support for democracy in favor of authoritarianism. We test two restorative solutions. Sponsored by the Kellogg Institute at the Keough School of Global Affairs.    

The McDonald Center for Student Well-Being and the Gender Relations Center invite ND students for free ice cream and bracelet-making. We'll be chatting about how to build and maintain healthy relationships while navigating recovery. Originally published at mcwell.nd.edu.

Classics in the BrowningDirected by Oscar MicheauxWith Evelyn Preer, Floy Clements, James D. RuffinNot Rated, 79 minutes, Blu-rayStill early in the canon of films by trailblazing director Oscar Micheaux, Within Our Gates is generally cited as the oldest surviving feature film by an African-American director. The plot follows a North-South journey storyline: A Southern school sends Sylvia (Flo Clements) to Boston in order to raise funds to educate underprivileged children at a rural school in the Deep South. In Boston, she meets and falls in love with a Black doctor who learns from her the scourge of Jim Crow racism. GET TICKETS