“The images of these protests harken some very bad memories to people who are older and remember these kinds of images of violence from ‘The Troubles.’”

This week on Dr. Tim Horner’s Global Smackdown he looks at the unrest in Northern Ireland and how this could be the beginning of something larger. Horner points to two key events that have played a part in triggering these protests: the 2,000 person funeral of IRA member Bobby Storey during COVID-19 and Brexit. He also touches upon the dangers of the political rhetoric being put forward and what role the United States may play based on Biden’s foreign policy.

The full Global Smackdown for Monday, Apr. 12 can be found here.

Where in the world are we?

“I want to focus on two perspectives of the situation in Yemen that really indicate a shift in the way that, not just America, but other countries are starting to think about how they do foreign policy.”

This week on Dr. Tim Horner’s Global Smackdown he looks at Yemen’s Houthi rebels recent attack on a civilian plane in Saudi Arabia. Horner takes this event and places it into a larger conversation about the evolution and development of foreign policy. He does this by juxtaposing two perspectives on the situation in Yemen.

The whole Global Smackdown for Monday, Feb. 12, is available via Zoom here.

“If we don’t flood the area with diplomacy, this will just continue to spiral out of control and you could see the Horn of Africa descend into this, bringing in Sudan and Eritrea.”

Dr. Tim Horner brings us back to the Horn of Africa this week looking at attacks by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front on both Ethiopia and Eritrea. He breaks down the history of this conflict, key players, the United States role, and the implications this may have for the entire Horn of Africa if there is not diplomatic intervention soon.

The whole Global Smackdown for Monday, Nov. 16, is available via Zoom here.

Where in the world are we?

“This is part of a larger resorting in the Middle East and the emergence of Iran and Saudi Arabia as these regional powers.”

This week’s Global Smackdown adds to the larger conflict going on in the Middle East between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Dr. Tim Horner looks at the recent developments in a normalization deal between Sudan and Israel and then breaks down the underlying Sudanese political tension, the United State’s stakes, and how the deal plays into the bigger regional picture. 

The whole Global Smackdown from Monday, Oct. 26, is available via Zoom here.

Where in the world are we?

“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.