Column / Conflicted

The world is, tragically, replete with conflict and violence. It is also full of claims so frequently repeated that we fail to adequately question them—that humans are inherently warlike, for instance, or that developing countries are more prone to war. “Conflicted” explores the many facets of human conflict, drawing insights from the frontlines of anthropological research.

Conflicted

Reconsidering How We Honor Those Lost to War

6 Jul 2017

War monuments and memorials are a source of contention in the United States. It’s time to reimagine the ways we memorialize the heroes and victims of war.
Conflicted

Trump L’oeil

2 Mar 2017

In its first six weeks, the Trump administration has been actively demonizing the mainstream media and the courts. This could be an ominous sign of what is to come.
Conflicted

How Rumors Tap and Fuel Anxieties in the Internet Age

4 Jan 2017

Viral fake-news stories like Pizzagate are having a surprisingly significant influence, and they are only going to proliferate.
Conflicted

Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy: Bullying, Domination, and Fearmongering

26 Oct 2016

A Trump presidency would mean the end of diplomacy as we know it.
Conflicted

Understanding Mass Killings

18 Jul 2016

A disproportionate number of mass killings in the U.S. have been committed by military veterans. We should be asking ourselves why.
Conflicted

Parting Words

19 Feb 2016

I was fascinated to learn from an October 2015 article in the Independent newspaper the little-known fact that British “prime ministers leave secret instructions for nuclear missile submarine captains to follow in the event of a nuclear war.” It continued: “These orders are sealed in a letter only to be opened if the United Kingdom is destroyed. These instructions can either be to launch a nuclear attack, to …