“This is really about regional politics and what’s happening in the Middle East is a dividing, a radicalizing, of these relationships that have been cold.”

Dr. Tim Horner’s Global (Half)Smackdown for Monday, August 31st, is available via Zoom HERE.

Last week, Dr. Tim Horner brought our attention to a story that has been hidden in the media underneath stories about COVID and the upcoming elections. He dives into the normalization of the relationship between the UAE and Israel. Tune in to hear about the implications this relationship has for the Middle Eastern region as a whole.

Where in the world are we?

Here’s a helpful map highlighting Israel and the UAE.

DR. TIM HORNER’S GLOBAL (HALF)SMACKDOWN FOR MONDAY, AUG. 24, IS AVAILABLE VIA ZOOM HERE.

In his first (Half)Smackdown of the fall semester, Dr. Tim Horner dives into the current unrest in Belarus due to President Alexander Lukashenko’s re-election in early August. Dr. Horner’s presentation touches on how a country can peacefully protest in the face of rampant corruption.

Where in the world are we?

Here’s a helpful map showing where Belarus is in relation to where we are here at Villanova.

“This may be the kind of thing we look back on in ten years and wonder, ‘what were we thinking’, but for the time being, this is where we are.”—Dr. Tim Horner

Hello SmackDowners,

The Global(Half)SmackDown for April 6 is available now on Zoom.

This week, Dr. Horner takes on the stalled peace talks between the United States and Taliban in Afghanistan. On March 28, the US declared that they would withhold $1 billion dollars in aid from the Afghan government, citing recent contested Afghani elections. However, the decision to withhold funds may be intended to strong arm the Afghani government into following through with the US-Taliban peace agreement, despite numerous indications of the treaty’s shortcomings and shortsightedness.

Nate Gosweiler is a graduate assistant for Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication department.