October 2025

Stories shape how we navigate uncertainty, and this October issue of the BYU Political Review explores how history, literature, and politics provide meaning in moments of transition. As autumn unfolds, our writers invite you to wrestle with ambiguity, find clarity, and maybe even enjoy a pumpkin pastry along the way.

What can a game of Mafia teach us about the Israel–Palestine conflict? This piece argues that international politics is less about friendship and more about existential survival, making a two-state solution untenable.

What happens when governments claim the power to grant rights instead of protect them? This piece argues that America’s founding principle that rights come from God, not government, remains the critical safeguard against tyranny.

Freedom of thought and speech is more than a political slogan, it is the safeguard against tyranny over the mind of man. This piece calls for a renewed commitment to civil discourse in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

What can King Lear teach us about American politics today? This piece argues that rejecting simplistic labels and practicing respectful engagement is the only way to prevent deeper national fracture.

America’s future energy strategy may depend on unlikely alliances. This piece explores how Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s Abundance has sparked a bipartisan coalition focused on growth, clean energy, and critical mineral security.

From Madison’s warnings in Federalist 10 to today’s culture wars, the threat of one group dominating the rest has never been more real. This piece makes the case that pluralism is not just an ideal but America’s last safeguard against collapse.

Religion shapes how millions of Americans vote, but too often it is wielded as a political shortcut to stir emotions instead of reason. This article takes a hard look at how faith is used and misused in the fight for influence at the ballot box.

Just as spice determined the fate of empires in Dune, rare earth minerals are emerging as the hidden foundation of modern power. This article traces how China’s dominance in rare earths threatens U.S. security and why breaking that dependence may decide the balance of the 21st century.

Gen Z is not just breaking barriers, they are redefining what it means to lead in a divided world. This piece shows why their ability to listen, cross lines, and create change makes them the generation worth betting on.

The dissolution of USAID has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives and left millions more at risk. This piece argues that abandoning mercy abroad is not only a moral failure but a geopolitical blunder that empowers America’s rivals.

Charlie Kirk’s assassination on University Parkway was not just a tragedy but a reckoning. This reflection explores how political violence corrodes our democracy and what responsibility each of us bears to resist it.

The world rallied behind Ukraine with billions in aid and sweeping condemnation of Russia, yet remains silent as Palestinians face occupation, famine, and mass death. This article examines how global politics decides who gets to be a victim and who does not.