top of page
Dr. Brendan Szendrő
Faculty Lecturer, Political Science
McGill University
Blog


Carrots and Sticks, Without Carrots
For two months now, war has raged in the Gaza Strip. Ever since the brutal terror attack on Israeli civilians on October 7th, the Israel...
Dec 7, 2023


In Defense of Bruce Springsteen
Why Bruce Springsteen is still my favorite musician, warts and all. Regardless of what really happened the night of Bruce Springsteen’s...
Feb 12, 2021


Is American Democracy Backsliding?
When you start looking into it, The United States doesn't compare favorably to other democracies. In fact, we have all the warning signs...
Jul 30, 2020


Protecting Property, Not People
Recent events show us that the United States' legacies of wealth and racial inequality continue to reverberate in unison. So far I’ve...
Jun 4, 2020


Autism Awareness Day, 2020
It's not such a strange thing to search for belonging. Every year I write something in honor of World Autism Awareness Day, but given the...
Apr 6, 2020


Iran Illiteracy
The Iran crisis has demonstrated that Americans are geographically, historically, and politically illiterate. There could be terrible...
Jan 12, 2020


The Global Ideological Shift
The United States is taking the wrong side in a three-way standoff between democracy, illiberalism, and dictatorship. With all the fervor...
Oct 19, 2019


The Catalans and the Church
Why do some Catalan protesters oppose the Catholic Church? A true account from Barcelona. In the confines of Barcelona’s gothic quarter,...
Apr 18, 2019


Israel and the Viability of Democracy
Can Israel's left-wing and centrist parties work together amidst a burgeoning crisis of democracy? Israel is not an apartheid state -...
Apr 11, 2019


Political Opportunism in Israel-Palestine
The Israel-Palestinian Conflict escalates like clockwork - and there's a reason for that. As throngs of Palestinians rushed the Israeli...
Apr 1, 2019


Israel and the Psychology of Perpetual War
Israel's latest election shows the problem of maintaining civil society against the backdrop of a never-ending conflict. The ongoing...
Feb 7, 2019


Confronting the Culture of Violence
It’s time to think differently about mass shootings. These events aren’t random. Mass shootings, and public violence in general, are...
Nov 17, 2018


The Presidency and the Rule of Law
Supposedly being good at your job does not mean you can commit crimes. Trump's been trying to build a case all summer for keeping him...
Aug 23, 2018


ממפלגת כ״ך עד לחוק הלאום
הדיונים האחרונים על חוק הלאום מפגינים שהימין דוחה את הלקחים של העבר - ונוטש תכנית לעתיד ב1994 מפלגת כ״ך הייתה אסורה מהכנסת בגלל ההערות...
Jul 26, 2018


Four Mini-Essays About The News
In lieu of my usual walls of text, here’s some scattershot thoughts. - World War III isn't happening, guys. Russia knows better than to...
Apr 14, 2018


Country Music and the Volk
Do Ernest Gellner's theories of nationalism explain the rural consciousness movement? Given the political climate I want to make a pitch...
Mar 9, 2018


On The Subject Of Jerusalem
Moving the embassy means the two-state solution is dead. 'Cause people keep asking me how I feel about the Jerusalem embassy issue: For...
Dec 7, 2017
bottom of page