Political Science | Chinese
Lord of the Rings loyalist, mango sticky rice devotee, perpetually ignoring her need for glasses.
Rozlyn NeVille Sun
Editor
Political Science and Chinese (Mandarin)
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The Lasting Legacy of America’s Secret Wars in Southeast Asia
What happened in Vietnam is no secret. An estimated 3.8 million people died violently during the twenty-year war, including 2 million civilians [1]. To “strip the leaf cover from forests, increase visibility along transportation routes and destroy crops suspected of supplying guerrilla forces,” the United States dumped 13 million gallons of the herbicide Agent Orange on Vietnam [1, 2]. This exposed roughly 4 million Vietnamese, leading to an estimated 1 million people suffering severe health problems and birth defects, while also exposing 2.8 million U.S. veterans to similar effects [1]. The “ecocide” caused by Agent Orange devastated agriculture as well, seeping into soil and water supplies and harming nearly everything it touched [2, 3].
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Mandala Legacies, Modern Borders, and the Thailand–Cambodia Conflict
At war since 1352, the ancient kingdoms of Ayutthaya and Angkor Wat are modernly known as Thailand and Cambodia [1]. Much of their dispute today is over borders, but the two kingdoms were once borderless mandala states that fought for dominance in Mainland Southeast Asia. Such history is critical to understanding their ongoing conflict, which has left hundreds dead and half a million civilians displaced [2, 3]. Yet President Trump believed that with a little pressure, he could get them to sign a ceasefire. Sign they did, but the agreement never had a chance for success due to the historical context of the border dispute and domestic political escalation.
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Made in China 2025: A Decade That Redefined Global Power
In 2015, China set a ten-year goal to dominate the world’s high-tech industries. In 2025, the United States still doesn’t have a plan to match it. Maintaining U.S. leadership in innovation will require treating technological competitiveness as a core national goal and committing major investment to research, advanced manufacturing, and education, just like China.
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From Arrakis to Beijing: The Geopolitics of Rare Earth Minerals
In Frank Herbert’s Dune, the fate of empires depends on a single resource: the spice melange. Spice powers interstellar travel, extends human life, and grants extraordinary abilities. It is the most valuable substance in the Dune universe, and control of spice means control of power. Rival houses fight wars over Arrakis, the desert planet where all spice is mined, because losing access means losing political and military influence.
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Mercenaries or Pawns? The Mystery of North Korean Fighters in Ukraine
"They thought they were fighting Americans. Instead, they found themselves in the trenches of Ukraine."
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US Fentanyl Crisis: Is China To Blame?
In the late 1800s, European countries seeking to rectify a trade imbalance began smuggling opium into China. In a golden era of wealth and international glory, the Chinese were unprepared. It wasn’t long before a large portion of the Chinese population was hooked on the drug, leading to a social crisis of huge proportions. This led to the Qing Emperor banning the import of opium and cracking down on European smugglers, which in turn infuriated the European countries, particularly Britain, and instigated a war [1].
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Ethnic Minorities in China: Celebrated Diversity or Second-Class Citizens?
In the shadow of the Great Wall, a young Uyghur boy recites Mandarin phrases in a classroom where his native tongue is unwelcome. This is the face of China's ethnic policy—a delicate balance between celebrated diversity and forced assimilation.
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