In 2023, Patterson students went to Dayton, OH; Detroit, MI; and Windsor, Canada. They visited NASIC/NSIC, Thor Industries, Customs and Border Protection, the International Joint Commission Great Lakes Office, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, the Japanese Consulate, the U.S. Coast Guard/Royal Canadian Mounted Police Coast Guard Station, the Islamic Center of America, and the America Arab Chamber of Commerce.
Written by Ash Breedlove Since the war began in February last year, thousands of Ukrainian children have been abducted by Russian forces. This is just one of Russia’s tactics to control occupied territory. The relocation of these children is not a humanitarian effort to save innocents from a war zone. Russia is actively kidnapping children under the... Continue Reading →
Written by Bushra Bani-Salman Israel’s parliament has approved Netanyahu’s bill to make it more difficult to remove him from office. The law will take the removal power away from the attorney general and the courts and instead give it to the parliament. Furthermore, some proceedings would give the government more control over court appointments, restrict... Continue Reading →
Written by Kyle Hosey Laotian and Thai authorities and Chinese power company Sinohydro have recently finalized another hydroelectric power dam agreement along the Mekong River in Laos. The Pak Lay project is one of nine mega-dams planned by the Laotian government as part of its strategy to become the "battery of Southeast Asia," though only... Continue Reading →
Written by Allan Millward Kazakhstan's snap election for its lower house, the Majilis, was conducted on March 19th and has since concluded. Despite President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's promises of "modernization" and a "New Kazakhstan" in response to protests last year, the results already cemented the current order. The President's ally in parliament, the Amanat (formerly Nur... Continue Reading →
Honduras is the fifth Central American ally to shift away from Taiwan since 2017 – El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic have all rejected Taiwan. Taiwan will be left with only 13 diplomatic allies if this change is officialized. By not engaging China in diplomatic ties, Honduras was missing out on more economic opportunities like the$300 million hydroelectric dam built in the middle of the country.
Lawmakers have “refused to move forward with a proposed tax reform meant to finance key elements of the president’s progressive agenda”. The proposed reform would collect 3.6% of GDP, propose a mining royalty, and “included adjustments for income tax, a wealth tax, the reduction of exemptions, measures against evasion, and greater spending on tax incentives”. As promised by the government, the additional revenue was meant to “fund future reforms in the pension and health systems”.
Written by Ash Breedlove March 12, 2023 Digital voting has dominated Estonia’s most recent general election. The Baltic nation has used “i-voting” in order to increase the use of digital infrastructure. I-voting is made secure by an electronic identity system provided by e-Estonia. The security system involves user ID, a card reader, and PIN codes.... Continue Reading →
Written by Bushra Bani-Salman March 12, 2023 Saudi Arabia and Iran Restore Ties In Beijing, with China as the mediator, Iran and Saudi Arabia have pledged diplomatic talks in pursuit of restoring ties. This includes reopening their embassies after years of halted diplomacy. The two countries have had a seven-year rift with rising tensions. Saudi... Continue Reading →
Written by Jesse Moore March 12, 2023 Tunisia, once the only Arab country considered to have bloomed in the Arab Spring, is quickly wilting, as I’ve previously described. President Kais Saied, a former law professor, performed a coup in 2021 by suspending parliament and assuming executive power in order to ‘save’ the country from the... Continue Reading →
The Patterson Journal of International Affairs 