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By: Natali Hayotsyan As of January 2025, Republican President Donald Trump launched a broad effort to reform higher education, seeking to combat ideological bias, financial accountability, antisemitism, and most notably, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs (DEI). DEI programs are structured initiatives that aim to increase the inclusion and representation of diverse backgrounds in professional environments. Through a series of executive orders and federal agency direct

By: Syuzanna Zakaryan Amongst many political issues in today’s society, the Rohingya genocide stands as one of the most pivotal humanitarian crises of the 21st century. It has raised international awareness and concern as Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice in 2019, alleging that Myanmar’s atrocities against ethnic Rohingya in 2016 and 2017 violated the Genocide Convention of 1948. The 1948 Genocide Convention was adopted by the United N

By: Katie Ko Between January and October of 2024, more than 4,000 girls and women reported sexual violence in Haiti. This is a sharp 1,000% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Nathalye Cotrino from the Human Rights Watch has stated, “the rule of law in Haiti is so broken that members of criminal groups rape girls or women without fearing any consequences” (Human Rights Watch, 2024). The continuous expansion of criminal group activity has led to a sharp rise in gen

By: Sanchana Sundararajan Ever heard of the phrases “Stop using AI, you are wasting water”, or “AI causes the death of polar bears”? These messages have been going around all social platforms, and many people have spread awareness regarding this topic with good intentions, but have failed to understand the deeper issue facing the world. For context, AI has been around since the late 1950s, but recently was on the rise between late 2022 and 2024, primarily caused by the rel

By: Raashi Khamkar In today’s American society, the political world heavily dictates our lives. Many Americans utilize forms of social media to gain knowledge on diplomatic occurrences within the nation and sometimes the world. However, current social media systems lack regulation of truthful news sources. Posting on social media is simplistic, which makes it easy for anyone to spread misinformation. In the political world, online resources are weaponized against other oppon

By: Kayla Penhasi [This article is a follow-up of an article from Decode It ’s February Issue. For further context, read Fighting Decades of Silencing: The Anti-Government Protests in Iran here]. For decades, the Iranian people have been fighting for their freedom through protests on the streets, fighting against their authoritarian government, where their battle can be dated back to the pre-Islamic Revolution of 1979. Even after the Islamic Revolution (also known as the Ir

By: Joshua Blond As seen across the news and social media, the famous “how dare you” speech delivered by Greta Thunberg quickly made her the face of global climate change prevention. At just 16 years old, she demanded change among some of the world's most powerful leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in 2019 (Piven, 2023). Many believe the possibility of a teenager changing foreign policies is nearly impossible, if not completely impossible, but this is far f

By: Raashi Khamkar The Iranian government has been in disarray the past couple of decades, primarily being driven in the past couple of months. The Iranian regime, after the 1979 revolution, became an Theocratic-Islamic republic state, ruling with absolute power. Iran has had a growing divide between the elites of society and the general population, several human rights abuses, and a failing economy, fueling the protests that are ongoing within the regime. The people of Ir

By: Katie Ko On January 15, 2026, the National Committee for Administration of Gaza (NCAG) was formed as a transitional body, marking the formal launch of Phase Two of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Comprehensive Plan aimed at consolidating the ceasefire in Gaza. The committee will be led by Dr. Ali Sha’ath, who will oversee the restoration of essential public services, rebuilding of civil institutions, and stabilization of life in Gaza while also laying foundations for l

By: Natali Hayotsyan On January 3rd, 2026, United States President Donald Trump launched a series of large-scale military strikes on the capital of Venezuela, Caracas, capturing leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. Charged with narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, and possession of machine guns, Maduro and Flores are currently being held in the Brooklyn Detention Center of New York, pleading not guilty (Global Conflict Tracker, 2026). While Ope

By: Aram Shirinyan Amid rising tensions between China and the island of Taiwan, the Chinese government has made an effort to pressure the European Union to ban the entry of Taiwanese politicians into EU territory, citing an “institutional loophole” that has allowed Taiwanese politicians to enter EU territory when they should not be permitted to do so. This “loophole” that Beijing speaks of refers to the Schengen Borders Code, which says that non-EU citizens can only enter

By: Kayla Penhasi Many developing nations want an alternative to Western dominance. Their economies are restricted in ways that leave them economically behind the United States, largely because of the U.S. dollar dominance. BRICS countries—also known as Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (and recently expanded to include Iran, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates)—consist of nations with major emerging economies challenging Western influence through po

By: Joshua Blond Each year, world leaders, policymakers, private-sector executives, and innovators convene to debate the future of governance on a global scale. Since its founding in 2013, the World Governments Summit (WGS) has served as a major international forum where representatives from across the globe discuss pressing issues such as international cooperation, technological transformation, and sustainability. Hosted annually in Dubai, the Summit has grown into one of t

By: Hrach Chtrkyan Every year, the world's most powerful leaders meet to deliberate on global security at the Munich Security Conference. Based in Munich, Germany, world leaders convene to discuss war, peace, and other current issues. The attendees of this meeting include: Heads of State, NATO officials, UN leaders, Foreign and Defense Ministers, Military Leaders, Tech Experts, and Security Experts (Bunde et al., 2025). A fundamental shift in transatlantic relations, the "Ze

By: Yusra Asad In the past decade, social media has become an atmosphere for adolescents to learn, socialize, and experiment with their personal identity. Under these videos and recommendations, there is a system of algorithmic personalization that dictates what a teenager sees within fractions of a second. While this system was designed to be a convenience, research shows that it may also exert an inviolable influence over adolescents' mental health (McCrae et al., 2017). A

By: Syuzanna Zakaryan Water covers about 70% of Earth’s surface, yet it is said that the world is running out of water. This impacts many individuals, especially marginalized groups such as children in low-income countries around the world who lack access to clean and drinkable water. Due to the water crisis, many have been exposed to diseases, such as typhoid fever, cholera, and other water-borne illnesses ( Essential Need , n.d.). Amongst these are children who are dying

By: Kayla Penhasi As a result of the years of tensions between Russia and Ukraine—primarily beginning in February of 2014—and those tensions translating into a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia that began in 2022, this war has caused the reshaping of alliances across the globe. Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in an attempt to restore influence in the post-Soviet world, preventing Western integration in Ukraine’s government. Yet, this has caused Russ

By: Sanchana Sundararajan Every year, world leaders gather in luxury conference halls, surrounded by countless flashing cameras and high-level security, making vital promises that could shape the planet’s future. But behind the speeches and headlines lies a bigger question: Do these top-notch discussions actually leave an impact on our world? To understand whether these high-profile gatherings truly make a difference, it’s important to first know what these summits actually

By: Raashi Khamkar The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an institution focused on the development of sustainable growth within the 191 countries the United Nations recognizes through the assistance of economic policies and financial stability. Originally founded to assist the UN, the IMF reaches a broader goal of promoting job opportunities, strengthening an economic backbone, and increasing productivity. There are three fundamental goals of the IMF: improving global mon

By: Ixli Hidalgo There is a very small percentage of consumer products that are immune to the impact of the new tariffs on goods imported into the United States. This trade war has and will continue to affect everyday consumer products as it continues to unravel. A trade war is when two or more countries repeatedly impose trade barriers such as tariffs against each other's goods. Trade wars may occur due to disagreements over trade practices, efforts to protect domestic indu