Author: Katherine Hagen

About a week ago I posted a personalized commentary about Indian Americans in America. Oddly, I had not anticipated that Vice President Kamala Harris would so suddenly become the viable Democratic candidate for President of the United States!  Here are some follow-up reflections on what this means to me. I look forward to being actively involved in supporting her. Continue reading “Kamala Harris for an inclusive Presidency!”

Initial reactions to the newly nominated Republican candidate for vice president of the United States reinforce the provocative “MAGA” image of the 2024 Republican Presidential nominee (i.e. the former President).  However, this relative newcomer to elective politics, a US Senator from Ohio, is not the focus of this commentary.  Rather, what I find interesting is this particular senator’s wife!  OK, why concern oneself with a spouse?  Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?  I know it’s basically irrelevant to the main story line of the 2024 election, but her ethnic origin as an Indian-American has inspired me to explore something more generally. And that is the remarkable absorption of the  Indian-American population into the increasingly multi-ethnic American culture that used to be so predominantly Euro-centric in its origins. Continue reading “Personalized Impressions of Indian-Americans in American Politics and Culture”

The United States has the largest foreign-born population of any country in the world (roughly 50 million). This is not the highest percentage of the population – many smaller countries have that standing (including Switzerland – but also Germany and Austria).  With a long (albeit erratic) history of previous immigration flows, both voluntary and forced, the US is probably the most diverse country in the world.  But the EU has also experienced comparably significant increases in migration and diversification. Without dwelling on the past, though, the challenge is to look at recent trends and explore the similarities and differences. Continue reading “Comparing US and EU Recent Migration Trends”

Migration has become a  prominent political issue in both the US and Europe. One could argue that it has always been a visibly controversial and divisive issue – and certainly so in the past ten or fifteen years.  What is different this year, however, is how rapidly it has risen to the top of the political agenda both in the US and Europe. The heating up of the migration debate may be attributable to its easy manipulation by populists in a significant year for elections in both the US and Europe. But it is clear that the record numbers of people seeking to migrate have been aggravated by the unusual ways that the legal framework for what one might call “irregular” or “unauthorized” migration have come to dominate the debate. The following commentary assesses the European and French context of the migration debate, with some preliminary comparisons with the US context. A separate commentary is planned to reflect further on recent developments in the US. Continue reading “European Migration Issues: An Introductory Commentary”

I have been reading many of the obituaries of Henry Kissinger in the past few days. So far, only two have been a positive one, while the others (either by the editorial board or columnists or invited authors in FT, Politico, Washington Post, NYT, Guardian, Huff Post, New Yorker, Atlantic) have been mostly negative. Because of the way that his life affected my own career path, I am personally inspired to chime in to the hoopla. Here are my thoughts about why I do not align with the positives. Continue reading “Lamentations over “Realpolitik” – An Obituary of Sorts”

The outcome of the state legislative elections in Virginia, held on Tuesday, 6 November 2023, produced narrow majorities for the Democrats in both houses of the General Assembly. In contrast to the alarming polarization and the populist takeover of one of the major political parties at the national level, this is an encouraging example of democracy in action. I include this chronicling of Virginia’s politics from afar in this series on “Democracy under Threat” with a bit of optimism while also recognizing the worrisome undercurrents that are evident even in Virginia. Continue reading “Slim Democratic Majorities in Virginia”

In these last few days before Election Day in Virginia (Tuesday, November 7th), I have the impression that democracy is alive and well in this part of the world. One can lament the enormous and unrestricted amount of money that has gone into the 140 state legislative races for the Virginia General Assembly, as well as the barrage of negative advertising by or on behalf of many of the candidates, especially in the hotly contested districts. But it is a truly competitive election, thanks to the involvement of the media and civil society groups and academic commentators in publicizing where all that money is coming from and how the candidates are positioning themselves on the issues. I am impressed. Continue reading “In the Final Days of the Virginia Elections”