Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Needs Your Work, Not Your Words
On Wednesday night, the Senate failed the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when Senate Republicans (and two “Democrats”) voted against legislation that was necessary to change the…
Associate Editor
Laila Ujayli
Associate Editor
Laila Ujayli is passionate about the intersection of narrative and policy, concentrating on using stories to reorient US foreign policy towards human needs. She currently studies public policy as a graduate student at the Blavatnik School of Government, where she is a Rhodes Scholar. As a former Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow at Win Without War, she worked on reimagining US security spending to invest in the tools necessary to confront today and tomorrow's major challenges. She is especially interested in the use of film to engage the public on global issues and holds a Master of Studies in Film Aesthetics from the University of Oxford.
Seven Foreign Policy Issues to Watch in 2022
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” is a column in collaboration with Foreign Policy for America’s NextGen network, a premier group of next generation foreign policy leaders committed to…
To Be Black British in a Country of Broken Promises
Get on the busy underground tube service at Victoria Station in the heart of central London and take the Victoria line five stops until you get to the end of the line: Brixton. Turn left out…
The Marginalization and Disinvestment in MLK Neighborhoods
Poverty rates are almost double the national average in areas surrounding streets named after Martin Luther King Jr., according to our recent study, and educational attainment is much…
Breaking the Mold of Nuclear Patriarchy
This essay is based on the panel discussion “Pipelines and Ceilings: The Gender Gap in Nuclear Policy,” hosted by the Project on Managing the Atom (MTA) at the Harvard Kennedy School…
Blockbusters, Bigotry, and Blunders
Depictions of Iran in major blockbuster movies are often nefarious, in ways both subtle and explicit. The institutional enmity toward Iranians is evident in Hollywood’s depictions of us,…
Time to Recalibrate US Sanctions for Human Rights
As we finish the first year of the Biden administration it has become clear that targeted economic sanctions have been the president’s preferred tool to punish dictators in the hope of…
The War on Terror Is a Success — for Terror
It began more than two decades ago. On Sept. 20, 2001, President George W. Bush declared a “war on terror” and told a joint session of Congress (and the American people) that “the…
Civilian Casualties Are a Policy Choice
The recent publication of hundreds of Pentagon civilian casualty assessments has prompted questions about US collateral damage. But these civilian casualties occur because US foreign policy…
Lucy and the NDAA
Once again, progressives mounted a valiant effort to kick a Pentagon policy bill into shape, only to have it swiped away before the moment of impact. That sounds familiar. Senate…