On the Frontlines takes a more in-depth look at certain issues on a global scale, analyzing specific regions or current events on a micro level rather than the big picture to truly grasp the situations happening abroad.
On the Frontlines: Unveiling the hegemon’s toolbox
by Alexander Chang (’23) | March 31, 2023 This final edition of On the Frontlines deviates from its traditional format to illustrate a broader geopolitical situation that has only grown more and more prevalent in recent years—exploiting instability for leverage. Each of the following attempted or successful coups highlights one of many reasons that powerful nations…
On the Frontlines: The story behind the DRC’s two decades of war
by Alexander Chang (’23) | March 10, 2023 On November 4, 2022, President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced the establishment of military recruitment centers across the nation’s twenty-six provinces. The communiqué came at a time of significant uncertainty and instability in the DRC’s eastern region of Kivu, which has…
On the Frontlines: A nation in the pocket of twenty-four families
by Alexander Chang (’23) | February 3, 2023 Weighed down by the ashes of the Korean War, the largely agrarian South Korean economy entering the 1960s was anything but successful. Nearly eighty percent of the Korean populace lived below the poverty line, and literacy barely reached twenty-two percent. But after the ironically anti-democratic May 16th…
On the Frontlines: how social media decided a Philippine election
by Alexander Chang (’23) | November 21, 2022 On May 9th, 2022, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) won a landslide victory in the 2022 Philippine presidential election, securing roughly fifty-nine percent of the votes. However, the success of his candidacy only speaks to the ever-increasing illiberalism of the political leadership in the Philippines. The Marcos…
On the Frontlines: LGBTQ+ Erasure in Uganda
by Alexander Chang (’23) | October 7, 2022 On August 7, 2022, Ugandan officials shut down the Sexual Minorities Uganda Group (SMUG), claiming that the group had failed to register with the National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations. This decision comes at a concerning time, as government crackdowns have led to the ban of over a…
The Lancer 