Category: Events

By Jackie Ogburn A panel of Duke professors on Monday discussed the political, legal and national security issues raised by the U.S. House impeachment inquiry… Continue Reading Making Sense of the Impeachment Inquiry

Canadian students Eli Levine, Melinda Melvin, Evan Pebesma discuss the reelection of Justin Trudeau. DUCIGS Director Giovanni Zanalda moderated the panel. Photo by Renate Kwon… Continue Reading After Election, Canadian Students Look at Country’s Future

By Jessica Sullivan, POLIS From the 2020 Democratic primary debates to President Trump wanting to buy Greenland, this summer had no shortage of notable moments.… Continue Reading Faculty Panel Reviews a Strange Summer of Jarring Political Headlines

“I am Carmen Castillo: hotel worker, representative, union member, city councilwoman. That’s me, and I want to continue being like that for the rest of my life.” This is how Carmen Castillo begins telling her extraordinary political story.

Continue Reading When a Hotel Housekeeper Won a Seat on the City Council

With a crucial national election looming in India, and with Indian citizens able to vote from abroad for the first time in history, on April 2 Duke students from India provided their insights into the upcoming election.

Continue Reading An Election in India is Raising Interest in North Carolina

Think it’s hard being a college student? Try being a political representative as well. On March 4, POLIS: Duke’s Center for Political Leadership, Innovation, and Service invited two young elected officials to speak on Duke’s campus.

Continue Reading Balancing College with Being an Elected Legislator

Becoming a lawyer was not a proactive choice for Zhubin Parang, but rather a default option after graduating from college. “Law was possibly the most safe profession that I could think of at the time that did not require knowing math,” he said. That might help explain why after practicing corporate law for four years, Parang decided to quit his job and pursue a career in comedy. But, as he said in a talk this month to POLIS and Sanford School of Public Policy students, it also explains why he’s comfortable doing comedy with a political edge.

Continue Reading Can Comedy Reconcile Political Difference? A ‘Daily Show’ Writer Weighs In

Mike Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, and Sanford School Dean Judith Kelley shared a timely message in a Feb. 25 panel discussion: Democracy is “not a one-way street,” and democratic nations can fall back into authoritarianism.

Continue Reading When Democracy Declines: Panel Explores the Challenges to Sustaining Freedom

Duke University boasts seven alums currently serving in the U.S. Congress. On February 18, Duke University welcomed its third of the 2018-2019 academic year: Scott Peters ’80, who spoke to Duke students at the Sanford School of Public Policy.

Continue Reading U.S. Rep. Scott Peters on Whether the New Democratic Majority Can Unify the Country

Mo Elleithee, former spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and later for the Democratic National Committee, has no interest in partisan politics. During a talk last week at Duke, Elleithee explained why.

Continue Reading Ex-Clinton Spokesman Issues Caution: “We As a People Don’t Like One Another”