by Victoria Miele ’28 on February 5, 2026
News
On Thursday, Jan. 29, the political science department hosted an event titled “Change or Rupture: The U.S. and the World!” featuring Dr. Ruth Ben-Artzi, Dr. Thea Riofrancos, and Dr. Gizem Zencirci. The panel presented a well-rounded idea of their geopolitical concerns, and they each addressed different areas where they found particular concern regarding the United States’ political relationship with the rest of the world.
Dr. Riofrancos started the discussion by highlighting that her area of expertise is mainly in Latin America, and so for this event, she would primarily discuss that area, although she was open to answering questions from all over the world. She provided historical context on the Monroe Doctrine, which was created in the early 19th century, and stated that no European powers should have intervention in the Western Hemisphere. Since its establishment in the early 1800s, corollaries have been added to this doctrine. Most recently, the doctrine has been referred to colloquially as the Donroe Doctrine, after current President Trump.
The Donroe Doctrine, as explained by Dr. Riofrancos, is a more modern approach or interpretation of the earlier version, and it now prioritizes the current administration’s concerns. It now asserts U.S. dominance throughout the Americas, most notably through military and economic pressures. These pressures are supposed to show power over adversaries such as China, Russia, and Iran, and it gives the U.S. the right to intervene in countries such as Venezuela to secure U.S. interests and resources.
Dr. Riofrancos ended her sections of the talk by discussing U.S. relations with China, saying the U.S. is taking a less direct approach to opposing China than it has in the past. She provided two theories; the U.S. could be focusing on their own sphere of influence and backing off from China in general, or they could be preparing to take on China closer to home by focusing on Latin American countries with Chinese influence.
Next, Dr. Ben-Artzi spoke about the shifting world order. She also provided a lot of historical context revolving around the United Nations and the ways in which the U.S. has historically had a lot of control in global decision-making. According to Dr. Ben-Artzi, the U.S. has used their veto power in the U.N. more than any other country. She mentioned Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he essentially said Canada was tired of following the U.S. ‘s rules and was going to be focusing its alliances elsewhere. Dr. Ben-Artzi predicts that this will be a trend all over the world—countries will be taking a step back from the U.S. and creating new trading blocs and alliances.
Dr. Zencirci finished off the panel by addressing some concerns she has with the current state of the U.S. as a democracy. She addressed the ways in which the media within the U.S. is no longer independent, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find media that is completely unbiased. She discussed “accessive government crackdown on protestors,” as well as increased censorship and data mining by U.S. official organizations. She finished off by discussing how the government manipulates the media to “vilify protestors” and distort the public’s views.
The three professors then answered students’ questions for close to an hour, providing interesting and meaningful insight on topics such as where to find trusted news, the use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the U.S., and how to better understand what the initiatives of the Board of Peace really are.
The event was well attended and the professors left hopeful that they would be able to host another panel with rotating professors again soon.