SIS 495 Task Force

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://digital.lib.washington.edu/handle/1773/4630

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Allies, Partners, and Prospects: Global Perspectives on the Indo-Pacific
(2024) Grenda, Jack; Kimball, Patrcia; O'Hara, Nathan; Contreras-Demesio, Elizabeth; Edison, Ian; Huang, Sayako; Wright, Isabella; Habu, Chiune; Stenger, Sho; Amador, Lucia Ruiz; Regala, Jack; Mirich, Christian; Zhou, Zhiliang; Quinby, Isaiah; Yang, Anand
Our report offers an overview of the involvement of the roles that different actors in the region can effectively play in the United States Indo-Pacific Strategy that would also benefit them, and what the United States government should do to foster and strengthen its relations across the Indo-Pacific. At the end of each section, there are specific policy recommendations that stem from the broad strategic recommendations outlined above.
Building a Better Future: Solving Seattle’s Housing Crisis
(2022) Scallon, Andrea; Schiller, Emma; Suominen, Rachel; Torres, Javier; Allen, Betty; Costa, Clauda; Fink, Peter; Lam, Christopher; Strike, Lexi; Wang, Bowen; Iyer, Geeta; Rayl, Jaden; Honeycutt, Sally; Kewish, Miya; Warren, Jonathan
The City of Seattle, like much of the country, faces a serious housing crisis. Houselessness is ubiquitous and most ordinary citizens, many of whom were deemed essential workers during the pandemic, cannot afford to live in Seattle. Much of the workforce is forced to suffer financially or commute long distances, which weakens communities and accelerates climate change. One of the main policy responses to this, at least at the municipal level, has been to up-zone neighborhoods. The assumption behind liberalizing the housing market is that more supply will be generated and in the process the cost of housing will be within reach of more citizens. In short, it presumes that a less regulated housing market will increase supply which in turn will result in more affordable housing. Unfortunately, this is unsubstantiated. Researchers in Chicago and Vancouver have found that up-zoning has neither increased the overall supply of housing nor reduced its costs. Sustainably built, quality housing that all residents can afford is not a profitable venture. Thus, one of our main takeaways is that up-zoning based around for-profit housing development will not address the housing crisis. Moreover, many quality neighborhoods will be upended and up-zoning as a policy (which we believe is needed) will have been discredited because it failed to deliver what many of its advocates promised.
Centering Palestinian Human Rights: Recommendations for a Coalition
(2021) Ahmed, Sundus; Chang, Marenda; Darling, DaisyJane; Neeser, Caty; Scovel, Remington; Sigmon, Nate; Singh, Mani; Torjusen; Walden, Taishi; Webster, Hayley; Zhang, Jacqueline; Wellman, James
By failing to make Palestinian human rights a priority within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the international community and the US not only condone, but normalize, the human rights violations that accompany Israel’s continued occupation of the Palestinian territories. This analysis provides a blueprint for the the creation of a coalition that will leverage international political influence to center Palestinian human rights within the conflict and empower the Palestinian voice in political discussion.
The Challenges of Defining Antisemitism Today: An Analysis of the IHRA definition and Its Applications
(2023) Budkar, Koschei; Kaeo, Kaden; Siemsen, Greta; Pianko, Noam
Taking shape in political, educational, and public discourse, is a movement seeking to redefine and curtail global conversations through the misappropriation and mobilization of legitimate concerns. The IHRA definition is fundamentally unsuitable for adoption because of its inability to reflect contemporary political realities over the discourse surrounding antisemitism. This policy team intends to recommend against the adoption of the IHRA definition for three key reasons. First, the definition does not reflect the historical phenomena of antisemitism fully; Second, the specific focus on the IHRA does not reflect the current realities of antisemitism; Third, the IHRA has been, and could continue to be, used to suppress freedom of speech.
Defining Antisemitism in a Global Context
(2022) Bartle, Natassja; Hildebrand, Morgan; Shaw, Bailey; Sasso, Angelyna; Rhodes, Cara Lee; Dabelstein, Danica; Johnson, Emma; Kang, Min Seung; Barragan, Gustavo; Pianko, Noam
Summarising antisemitism into a universally understood definition is not an easy endeavor. To understand an issue as complex and nuanced as antisemitism, one must first understand and recognize its societal pervasiveness and motivations for use. One of the challenges that this Task Force faced was to cut through the debates of current, established, and recognized definitions for antisemitism, and to recognize their potential limitations, shortcomings, and intents. With this in mind, the structure of our report follows one of analyzing historical antisemitic themes found in modern contexts and addressing a variety of issues and debates in the modern social and political atmosphere in the entirety of their respective complexities, rather than reducing them to fit into existing definitions. Through our research, we found that many of these gray-area issues may not always fit into black and white definitions. Although this report does not seek to ultimately define antisemitism, it intends to promote a higher degree of understanding and recognition for its ongoing forms in today's social and political climates.
Misinformation in Global Media: Causes, Consequences, and Accountability
(2021) Adrian, Thomas; Ferati, Edon; Gates, Isabel; Liu, Luqi; Mendoza, Karina; Potnis, Sanjana; Schenk, Zoe; Srinivas, Anoushka; Zachary, Talyor; Radnitz, Scott
This report focuses on the factors that have led to the increase in misinformation spreading on social media platforms, as well as the methods used by powerful political actors to continue distributing inaccurate or politically motivated information. This report details the extensive issues that result from increasing public distrust in the media caused by the distribution of such high volumes of misinformation. The case studies demonstrate the severe consequences of the polarization in ideologies that have emerged through the rapid spread of misinformation on these platforms. Based on these issues, this report calls for implementing policy recommendations that will increase accountability measures on the most prominent actors of misinformation campaigns, while increasing overall awareness of the dangers of misinformation.
Preventing Disasters in Outer Space Proposing CODA: Committee on Orbital Debris Affairs
(2022) Billing, Timothy; Ma, Jiahao; Oles, Aurelia; Pekkanen, Saadia M.
The United States has long been involved in outer space exploration and innovation, acting as a world leader in these domains. Currently, orbital debris poses a significant threat to the future of the US presence in space and thus is an issue that must be addressed with a coordinated national response. In the following report we will be introducing the issue posed by orbital debris and how this pertains to a larger institutional problem. We will then recommend an integrated policy recommendation comprised of public, private, and educational sectors which follow a three-tier system.
The U.S.-Japan Alliance in the World
(2024) Carlson, Gwendolyn; Doan, Richie; Muller-Eberstein, Annalisa; Roh, Audrey; Zhou, Nicole; Danirls, Chloe; Kaizer, Kristina; Paramo, Tomas; Song, Taehoon; Zito, Antonia; Pekkanen, Saadia M.
The current security environment in the Indo-Pacific region pressures the U.S. and Japan policymakers to strengthen the alliance beyond its military origins. We recognize the threat that Russia and North Korea continue to pose to the security landscape, but we focus primarily on China as the region’s most assertive actor. Previous attempts at engaging China have not stopped its expansionist and coercive tendencies. As the region’s most assertive actor, China works to amplify its domination in the region by bolstering its military capabilities, empowering its economic and technological investments, and leveraging its coalitional frameworks. As such, augmenting efforts in these three spheres will be invaluable for the United States and Japan in maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Japan's Space Diplomacy
(2023) Cho, Jaein; Chung, Busung; Kawauchi, Akihiro; Lui, Sophie; Popal, Heward; Wang, Hiro; Pekkanen, Saadia M.
This report assesses the prospects for Japan to utilize its space capabilities to improve formal diplomatic relations with its East Asian neighbors, China and South Korea. In the modern age, space has the potential to bring about economic, scientific, and industrial prosperity for Japan. At the same time, Japan faces two especially difficult challenges in forging space diplomacy. First, Japan has thorny relations with its neighbors, stemming from dual-use space technology and longstanding tensions. Second, these factors complicate opportunities for formal space-centered collaboration at a regional level. Recognizing that diplomacy can have an independent impact on international outcomes, our report will explain where and how Japan can lead diplomatic initiatives in the space domain to enhance regional collaboration and thereby create a more peaceful and prosperous East Asia. In this report, we define space diplomacy as the use of communication, persuasion, and bargaining by actors within established or emerging contexts, national capabilities, institutions, or venues, leading to cooperative or conflicting outcomes on a specific space matter.
Ending the COVID-19 Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy, Distribution, and Disparities
(2021) Cai, Chuyi; Cho, Racheal; Huang, Simon; Lee, Esther; Lo, Ariel; Metzcus, Isabelle; Sha'at, Shada; Tubbs, Holden; Wang, Elaine; Zhu, Harper; Pekkanen, Robert J.
As the world grapples with widespread illness and immense personal and economic losses, we seek to understand how the vaccine has become such an intensely polarizing concept that further exacerbates global economic and social disparities. Despite many nations working toward the common goal of herd immunity, why do some governments have access to enough vaccine doses to vaccinate their populations several times over, while others remain reliant on WHO distribution programs like COVAX in order to receive vaccine doses at all? How can nations concurrently address the direct public health consequences and the indirect economic impacts of this pandemic, while engaging in successful vaccination campaigns? These are the complex questions that inspired our Task Force, and they are the questions that this report seeks to answer
Nervous About a Nuclear Neighbor: Japan's Policy on North Korea
(2022) Arevalo, Tania Villalba; Huang, Florent; Kim, Minsoo; Korn, Ben; Marzio, Chloe; Medina, Grace; Schubert, Treat Bartholomew; Sharma, Gauri; Shitaka, Yuka; Sosapavon, Dominique; Swynenburg, Joshua; Tokuda, Kate; Vorberg, Nils Christian; Yang, Isabelle; Pekkanen, Robert J.
Every chapter includes a review of each nation's diplomatic history and existing policy with Japan regarding North Korea as the foundation for policy recommendations provided at the beginning of each chapter. Additionally, the chapters on Japan-US, Japan-DPRK, and Japan-ROK include leadership analyses, which evaluate the North Korea policies of the relatively new administrations in the US and Japan as well as the two presidential candidates from South Korea. Our research demonstrates that a coordinated, multilateral policy approach is the only method to restart the stalled denuclearization efforts with the DPRK. As North Korea faces a contracting economy, natural disasters, and potential food and energy shortages in 2022, it is a prime opportunity for Japan and its allies to reform their coordinated policy approach and begin negotiating a denuclearization policy linked to a gradual normalization of relations with further incentives. The current international climate presents new opportunities for Japan to play a central role in the normalization of diplomatic relations and the denuclearization of North Korea.
A Hot Topic: Causes, Impacts, and Solutions to the Wildfire Issue in the Western United States
(2021) Whittaker, Kristian; Legaspi, Jovenzo; Hurwitz, Jason; Liu, Jessie; Yu, Chanyuan; Souter, Annika; Moreno, Stephany; Trull, Jaynie; Ye, JC; Demaree, Rachel; Ramsdell, Bailey; Montgomery, Scott L.
This past year, 2020, was the most active on record for wildfires in the West Coast of the United States. It broke (or came close to breaking) records in terms of land burned, fires reported, damage caused, and lives lost . The economic consequences of these high severity fires were felt by hundreds of thousands, the health consequences of the toxin-laden smoke by millions more. And 2020 was not a one off. Instead, it was the most recent high point in a decades’ long trend of increasing wildfire size, severity, duration, and damage. A century of fire suppression, rising temperatures and longer fire seasons due to climate change, as well as continued growth along the urban/rural frontier have together increased the risk of more deadly infernos. It is now estimated that wildfire risk in 2040 will be four times greater than during the period of 1980 – 2006. However, with a shift from reactive to proactive approaches in dealing with such risk, a good deal of mitigation can be achieved. In addition to physically reducing risk where possible, this would involve raising public awareness further, increasing research into wildfire-related issues, and improving communication among stakeholders. With these and other efforts going forward, the West Coast can learn how to live with wildfires.
Global Trends in Energy and Emissions: Key Points for Policy Decision-Making
(2022) Chun, Grace; Days, Jacquline; Hwangbo, Jangshik; Ismatullayeva, Yelyzaveta; Kamb, Emma; Kobayashi, Chihiro; Najmolhoda, Joseph; Packard, Amberleigh; Reinhardt, John F.; Rynne, Meera Naomi; Sinclair, Alexie; Thuau, Emma; Wilk, Lauryn; Montgomery, Scott L.
How much progress is the world actually making in the shift away from fossil fuels and toward reducing global emissions? The energy transition, as this shift has been called, is decidedly underway: since 2001, more than $4 trillion of global investment has gone into expanding renewable energy. What, however, do global energy trends tell us has been achieved? This Task Force will assemble an accurate picture of global energy use and emissions for regions across the world, focusing on major emitting nations such as China, the European Union, India, Russia, and the United States. Aimed at giving realistic, usable advice to policy decision-makers, this report will analyze trends in light of recent energy policy decisions to identify the degree to which progress toward emissions reductions has or has not occurred and are set to occur in the next few decades.
NATO’s Response to Hybrid Warfare during the Ukraine Conflict: Navigating an Era of the China-Russia Partnership
(2023) Bugler, Ryan; Dahl, Erica; Faustino, Victoria; Gilfoil, William; Guyon, Alina; Huang, Yiqi; Tanner, Kimber; Tiedeman, Kyla; Umanskiy, Kristina; Zapf, Kelsey; Lohmann, Sarah
Hybrid warfare has emerged as a complex and dynamic security challenge for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Adversaries such as China and Russia have employed hybrid warfare tactics to undermine NATO member states' security and stability through the employment of conventional and unconventional tactics, including malign influence campaigns, economic coercion, misinformation and disinformation operations, and cyber attacks. By identifying the threat landscape of hybrid warfare, this report evaluates the implications for NATO’s security, the unity of the alliance, and critical infrastructure. Furthermore, case studies of NATO's response to hybrid threats are presented to illustrate the alliance's current efforts to counter Russian and Chinese hybrid warfare tactics. These case studies illustrate the complexities and challenges of responding to hybrid threats and the importance of a comprehensive approach that combines military and non-military tools. Finally, the report provides policy recommendations on how NATO can enhance its ability to address the challenges of hybrid warfare. These recommendations focus on strengthening the alliance's resilience against hybrid threats, improving information sharing and coordination among member countries, and enhancing NATO's ability to deter and respond to hybrid threats.
We Are Not Invisible: The Impacts of Climate Change on Young Persons with Disabilities
(2024) Geary, Natalie Rose; Hartwich, Anabella; Ocariz, Jade; Payne, Emily Day; Robinson, Emma Kerala; Shih, Pei-Yu; Swisher, Jennifer Suzuka; Wu, Linda; Zambrano, Dominique; McCloskey, Megan
This policy paper aims to shed light on the multifaceted impacts of climate change on young persons with disabilities. It highlights the stark absence of intersectional research that takes age (among other factors) into account, as well as accessible, inclusive, and disability-sensitive planning and responses to climate crises. The paper reveals a systemic failure to include the voices of young people in climate-related discussions and planning efforts, even as they are the ones who will be forced to contend with the consequences of climate change long into the future.
Hybrid Warfare and the NATO Response: Promoting Economic Independence, Defending Cyberspace, and Combatting Disinformation
(2023) Kaltreider, Jack; Bell, Taylor; Bussard, Paulette; Fukumori, Michika; Lim, Shern Sze; Neal, Alijah; Zheng, Alan; Lohmann, Sarah
As Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its second year, Russia is increasingly targeting NATO member states with cyberattacks, coordinated disinformation campaigns, attempts at economic coercion, and espionage operations. These tools of hybrid warfare aim to degrade allied capabilities, undermine social unity, and erode support for Ukraine. Critical energy, transportation, and information infrastructure are especially vulnerable. This task force examined fifteen countries as case studies to better understand the threats NATO is facing to detail how member states are responding, and to propose a series of policy recommendations designed to harden allied capabilities. Outside of NATO, this task force also examined Moldova, which is increasingly threatened both by Russian hybrid warfare and Russia’s existing presence in Transnistria.
Navigating New Threats: NATO’s Posture on Emerging Technologies
(2022-03-02) Chromyszak, Christopher; Jacobson, Samuel; Khosraw, Edreese; Lavey, Samuel; Lewis, Martha; Mabe, Samantha; Olsen, Alex; Ryals, Christopher; Sahagun, Kiara; Williamson, Isobel; Winstead, Sydney; Lohmann, Sarah
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) faces a volatile global security environment. Climate change will challenge international stability through natural disasters, migration crises, and land degradation. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended peace in Europe, and the COVID-19 pandemic reminded the world of the lurking danger of public health emergencies. Emergent technologies are revolutionizing conflict between peer and non-peer states, undermining traditional defenses. These forces all threaten international stability and the welfare of NATO member states, but NATO can use emerging technologies to promote defense, deterrence, and resilience.
Averting War: Taiwan and US-China Relations
(2024-03-01) Akinlosotu, Kunle; Furlong, Colin; Ginther, Grace; He, Leo; Hipolito, Rhosie; Lim, Anderson; McGoogan, Clark; Ma, Pengyuan; Lin, James
China’s actions to target Taiwan, based on a conviction of irredentism, have consisted of diplomatic pressure, gray zone attacks, and misinformation through social media, news, regional and international state partnerships, trade, and even military incursions. This report aims to identify and suggest policies to address these challenges. The report is broken down into understanding domestic politics, international relations, economics, trade, and defense. Identifying these areas reveals the intricacies of how Taiwan establishes and defends its de facto statehood while also revealing the potential to maintain a durable peace. We take a Taiwan-focused perspective. These recommendations aim to help Taiwanese people exercise agency to determine their own future.
Making European Citizens: Challenges to Solidarity Among EU Member States
(2021) Kinzer, Lexi; Lafi, Esmé; Mesfin, Mahilet; Nicolas, Olivia; Romano-Olsen, Juliet Rose; Rerkins, Addie; Peng, Evple; Shi, Tommy; Stone, Erik Levi; Lang, Sabine
While Eurobarometer 479 reports that optimism and faith in the EU has been increasing, numerous crises have fractured the EU’s notion of solidarity and amongst many things, led to the rise of Euroscepticism and the official exit of the United Kingdom from the EU in 2021. While solidarity is central to the architecture of the EU, evident in its recurrent use in treaties and its public narrative, it is difficult to operationalize when Europe is built on the legacy of war, colonialism, and conflict. International bodies like the United Nations insist that solidarity “does not seek to homogenize but rather, to be the bridge across those differences and opposites, connecting to each other diverse peoples and countries with their heterogeneous interests, in mutually respectful, beneficial and reciprocal relations.”15 Therefore, solidarity within the EU can only persist if it repairs the cleavages of the past. In addressing the critiques that emerge from approaches to policy, the response to the financial and refugee crises, and other issues that citizens deem relevant, the ability of the EU to repair past challenges and to allow for a veritable Union rests on its commitment to combat Euroscepticism, pursue further citizen involvement in policy and legislative decision, and craft a comprehensive European identity that reflects the cultures, histories, and views of all citizens.
Indigenous and International Relations in a Warming Arctic
(2024) Coffler, Jacob; Denton, BB; Fesko Santos, Claudia; Kesinger, Katelyn; Mendoza, Evelyn Merino; Moore, Ava; Myhre, Olivia; Orillon, Anouk; Russell-Hoff, Maya; Seifred, Ava; Torlai, Faith; Wang, Amber; Koutnik, Michelle; Fabbi, Nadine; Carrington, Paul; Young, Jason
In both Canada and the United States, China's aspirations as a polar power are impacting the balance in Arctic international relations. In a warming Arctic, melting ice is opening new shipping routes, creating new opportunities for natural resource extraction, and accelerating other processes of globalization. China considers itself a near-Arctic nation and now serves as an Observer on the Arctic Council, which is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation in the Arctic. At the same time, Arctic Indigenous Peoples, particularly Inuit, have become increasingly effective at influencing domestic and international policies concerning the Arctic. In this Task Force, students address ways that policies may impact China's role in the region and what impact, if any, China’s role in Arctic policy might have on Arctic Indigenous Peoples, Canada, the United States and beyond.

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