Pulling out of Afghanistan was the top foreign policy event of 2021. Perhaps overlooked in the collective relief to be done with this twenty-year war is the fact that the US had to negotiate with terrorists to get there. In fact, it ceded an entire country to a violent, extremist group. Throughout history, leaders—including those from the US—have vowed never to negotiate with terrorists, but then reverse course. In this two-part episode, three scholars of history, international relations, and foreign policy discuss historic examples and the complexities of negotiating with violent—even murderous—groups.

Tracing the pathway of artifacts stolen from the Benin Kingdom in 1897 reveals a deeper understanding of first-world entitlement and dominance that still prevails today. 

... Read more about The Pillaged Treasures of Benin

A new generation in Cuba, witness to decades of rising racial and economic inequality, demand food, services, and a freer life. Three Weatherhead Center scholars describe the layers of repression that led to the current state of unrest in Cuba.

By Erin Goodman... Read more about The Long, Simmering Discontent that Forced Cubans into the Streets

What do governments gain by sending their citizens into the streets? Grzegorz Ekiert and Elizabeth J. Perry advance the field of contentious politics and social movements with the study of State-Mobilized Movements—an example of which US citizens recently witnessed.

By Grzegorz Ekiert and Elizabeth J. Perry... Read more about Not So Grassroots: Social Movements Fueled by the State