Schar School of Policy and Government

Can Virginia’s grid keep up? On our latest podcast ep David Ramadan talks with Paul Bubbosh and Amb. Richard Kauzlarich about surging demand (data centers, AI, electrification) and the new Virginia Energy Report roadmap. Listen now: https://schar.gmu.edu/about/policy-and-governance-perspectives

Graduate Admissions Events We invite you to join us to learn more about the Schar School of Policy and Government and our academic programs.

Virtual information session about the MS in Biodefense degree at @scharschool.bsky.social @georgemasonu.bsky.social tomorrow at 12 PM ET
Register here:
schar.gmu.edu/admissions/m...

Fairfax County sees low voter turnout in special elections In recent elections, Fairfax County has experienced low voter turnout, with fewer than 20% of registered voters casting a ballot in the most recent special elections. Turnout for recent elections

Low turnout in recent Fairfax County special elections raises important questions about civic engagement. The Schar School’s Jeremy Mayer sheds light on these trends & what they mean for local democracy. https://ow.ly/vWck50Y9i3R

Podcast: Behind the scenes of "A House of Dynamite" Director of George Mason University's Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security Larry Pfeiffer joins to talk about his role in the Netflix film “A House of Dynamite”

How do you bring real-world national security decision-making to the screen? Larry Pfeiffer, director of the Hayden Center, shares how he helped add realism to Netflix’s A House of Dynamite in the Access to Excellence podcast: https://www.gmu.edu/news/2026-01/podcast-behind-scenes-house-dynamite

Virginia Solar Advocates Rally Against Proposed Metering Rule Change | Williamsburg Yorktown Daily HomeLatest News Latest NewsRegional/National Virginia Solar Advocates Rally Against Proposed Metering Rule Change By Chris Six January 26, 2026 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsApp Around 45,000 Virginia households have a residential solar installation. (Adobe Stock) RICHMOND — Clean-energy advocates…

Virginia solar advocates are standing up against proposed metering changes that could undermine solar’s value. Research co-authored by the Schar School's Paul Bobbosh is cited. Read more: https://ow.ly/OCsy50Y9hzR

Proud to have been a member of the working group and endorsed the final report. Even prouder that one of my former Biodefefense @scharschool.bsky.social students, Sophia Hirshfield, helped write it.

Protecting Americans from Biological Threats As the risks of biological threats rise, Congress and the administration can bolster biodefenses by modernizing biosurveillance, ensuring biosafety and biosecurity, rebuilding the U.S. biodefense ente...

New report from the Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security Working Group on Biodefense, Protecting Americans from Biological Threats, provides a prioritized set of practical, near-term recommendations to strengthen biodefense and public health.
@csis.org
www.csis.org/analysis/pro...

'Right-to-work' repeal bill is a big early test for Spanberger | Guest column Abigail Spanberger hasn’t said whether she would accept forcing nonunion workers to pay a sum in place of dues to the bargaining unit in their workplace while preserving those workers’ right not to join an organization whose ideals they might not accept. But given the stakes and potentially worse alternatives, such a middle path might do the least political harm to the governor.

How will the “right-to-work” repeal bill shape early momentum for Governor Spanberger? Read a recent op-ed by Mark J. Rozell in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (subscription maybe required) https://richmond.com/opinion/column/article_868c16a7-d204-475c-b32c-8a34889b1ec0.html

The Schar School's Mahmut Cengiz contributes insights to annual 2026 Homeland Security Threat Forecast https://www.hstoday.us/featured/2026-homeland-security-threat-forecast-part-i-terrorism

AI writing tools aren't as neutral as they may seem. New research from the Schar School's Thema Monroe-White reveals hidden bias shaping who leads, who serves, and who disappears. In Earth.com https://www.earth.com/news/ai-writing-tools-have-hidden-bias-in-character-creation

Timely Study Abroad: Students Explore the Future of NATO and U.S.–EU Relations in Brussels With NATO and U.S. relations in the headlines—and, apparently, on the rocks—this Schar School study-abroad trip to Europe’s international security landmarks was well timed.

Schar School students spent a week on the ground in Belgium examining the future of NATO and U.S.–EU relations at a time of growing uncertainty for the transatlantic alliance https://schar.gmu.edu/news/2026-01/timely-study-abroad-students-explore-future-nato-and-us-eu-relations-brussels

MAGA Is Destroying the Culture that Built the West J.P. Singh sees in Donald Trump the antithesis of the values that made America so prosperous and powerful.

J.P. Singh writes in Project Syndicate that “MAGA is destroying the culture that built the West.” https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/maga-trump-destroying-culture-that-built-the-west-by-j-p-singh-2026-01

Bridging Health and Justice: How Schar PhD Student Loveline Phillips Is Shaping Policy Research Loveline Phillips never contemplated the academic path she found at the Schar School. But now that she’s discovered how her research skills can help others, there’s no stopping her.

PhD student Loveline Phillips connects health and justice in research on probation and reentry. She has first-authored articles and has a book chapter on the way. Read her story: https://schar.gmu.edu/news/2026-01/bridging-health-and-justice-how-schar-phd-student-loveline-phillips-shaping-policy

Schar School alumni, don’t miss your chance to join us Feb. 3! Kick off Homecoming at our Alumni Appreciation Breakfast at Mason Square (Arlington), with remarks from Dean Mark J. Rozell: https://alumni.gmu.edu/s/1564/GID2/16/interior.aspx?sid=1564&pgid=9468&gid=2&cid=23639&ecid=23639&post_id=0

Russian Cyberwarfare Doctrine and America’s Counterstrategy Since the mid 1990s, the Russian Federation has used various forms of cyberwarfare against the U.S. as part of its “information confrontation strategy.”

Schar School International Security and Law senior Josef Wolpert examines Russian cyberwarfare doctrine—and what an effective U.S. counterstrategy requires.
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2026/01/20/russian-cyberwarfare-doctrine-and-americas-counterstrategy/

‘Right to work’ unlikely to change much in Va. this year, union and business leaders agree | ARLnow.com Representatives of both the business community and organized labor voiced skepticism at a recent forum that an end to Virginia's right-to-work law is on the horizon for 2026. "Right to work is not a big thing to us right now," said Don Slaiman, political coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 26.

Virginia’s “right to work” law likely stays put this year, say labor and business leaders—contextualized by Schar School economist Terry L. Clower
https://www.arlnow.com/2026/01/15/right-to-work-law-unlikely-to-change-much-in-va-this-year-union-and-business-leaders-agree/

Deported to a Changed Mexico: Cartels, Violence & a Difficult Return - memesita.com - Memesita Deported and Displaced: Mexico’s Internal Migration Crisis Worsens as Cartel Control Expands MEXICO CITY – The return of Mexican nationals deported from the United States isn’t a homecoming; increa…

What happens when people are deported back to a country transformed by cartel violence? The Schar School’s Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera provides critical context. https://www.memesita.com/deported-to-a-changed-mexico-cartels-violence-a-difficult-return/

Applications are open for NEW Leadership® Virginia—a FREE, nonpartisan summer program for VA undergrads interested in public service & policy. June 10–12 in Arlington. Apply by April by 1. Learn more: https://genderandpolicy.gmu.edu/new-leadership

Should US stick with NATO as approval of American leadership falls? Approval of American leadership has fallen to 21% across NATO countries, according to Gallup.

As debates over NATO intensify, the Schar School’s Mark N. Katz weighs in on what declining approval of U.S. leadership could mean for the alliance.
https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/should-us-stick-with-nato-as-approval-of-american-leadership-falls

TrulySignificant.com honors Soldier, Statesman, and noted author Dr. Dan Gerstein, War Without Humanity TrulySignificant.com and TheRightOne.net presents author, Statesman, and Soldier Dr. Dan Gerstein.    Having reported directly to General Wesley Clark, teachi

Schar School alum Daniel Gerstein joins the Truly Significant podcast to discuss his book, War Without Humanity, and the future of conflict and biodefense.
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/trulysignificant-com-honors-soldier-statesman-and-noted-author-dr-dan-gerstein-war-without-humanity--69373868

Great conversation + a great breakfast. All Schar School grads are invited to our Alumni Appreciation Breakfast during homecoming w/ remarks from Mark J. Rozell
Register: https://alumni.gmu.edu/s/1564/GID2/16/interior.aspx?sid=1564&pgid=9468&gid=2&cid=23639&ecid=23639&post_id=0

Four former Virginia governors—George Allen, Tim Kaine, Bob McDonnell, and Ralph Northam—joined us in Richmond for a bipartisan conversation on Virginia’s future. Read highlights: https://schar.gmu.edu/news/2026-01/four-former-virginia-governors-weigh-virginias-next-four-years

Number of Federal Employees in DC Region Hits Lowest Point in 25 Years New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is shows just how much the federal workforce has been impacted in the past year.

New analysis from the Stephen S. Fuller Institute highlights a major shift: the number of federal employees in the DC region has fallen to its lowest level in 25 years
https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2026/01/09/number-of-federal-employees-in-dc-region-hits-lowest-point-in-25-years/

Syria Chemical Weapons: France Supports OPCW & Full Declaration - memesita.com - Memesita Syria’s Chemical Weapons: A Decade of Declarations, Doubts, and a Looming Question of Trust The Hague – Thirteen months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime sparked cautious optimism, the spe…

Faculty expert Gregory Koblentz weighs in on France’s support for the OPCW and calls for a full declaration of Syria’s chemical weapons
https://www.memesita.com/syria-chemical-weapons-france-supports-opcw-full-declaration/

Iranians are Running Out of Water, Money and Patience - GlobalPost NEED TO KNOW Iranians are Running Out of Water, Money and Patience IRAN Iranian farmer Sajjad’s harvest of apples, a water-intensive crop, […]

Professor Jack A. Goldstone examines why Iran is facing a dangerous convergence of water scarcity, economic strain, and public unrest, and what it could mean for regime stability and the region.
https://globalpost.com/2026/01/13/iranians-are-running-out-of-water-money-and-patience/

AI’s Chief Problem — Tribes and Tribulations "Chief" has long been included in government job titles, particularly in IT. But as organizations have evolved, the lines between what each chief does have blurred. AI has only made the issue more pressing.

Alan Shark writes about leaders in the public use of AI falling into “chiefs” and “tribes”—and how it complicates things https://www.govtech.com/voices/ais-chief-problem-tribes-and-tribulations

"En Iran, les cinq conditions d'une révolution sont réunies" : l'analyse décapante de Jack Goldstone Selon le grand spécialiste des révolutions, pour la première fois depuis 1979, on retrouve en Iran toutes les conditions propices à un renversement du pouvoir en place. Même s'il ne tombe pas dans les prochains jours ou semaines, le "régime zombie" est condamné à moyen terme.

“In Iran, the five conditions for a revolution are met”: Jack A. Goldstone incisive analysis (translation may be required) https://www.lexpress.fr/idees-et-debats/en-iran-les-cinq-conditions-dune-revolution-sont-reunies-lanalyse-decapante-de-jack-goldstone-5UB7LQRRZVBFLIBY6HWF7WCSSQ/

DMV Iranian community reacts to reports of mass killings amid Iran protests Sources tell CBS News that as many as 20,000 people may have been killed in Iran’s crackdown, reviving painful memories for survivors now living in the U.S.

Transforming Iran’s political system would be extraordinarily difficult, says the Schar School’s Mark N. Katz: https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/protests/dmv-community-reacts-to-iran-unrest/65-8e9ff0c6-9521-4ad7-b465-a2c941730a05

Intervención en México: «Donald Trump está dispuesto a todo» Alentado por la exitosa operación militar de Estados Unidos en Venezuela para detener a Nicolás Maduro y su esposa, el presidente Donald Trump aseguró que las fuerzas norteamericanas estarían preparando ataques terrestres contra los cárteles de la droga en México. Según el mandatario republicano, estos grupos criminales controlan el país latinoamericano y son responsables de la muerte de hasta 300.000 estadounidenses al año.

The Schar School’s Guadalupe Correa Cabrera: Donald Trump is willing to do anything when it comes to intervention in Mexico (translation may be required) https://drvnoticias.com/intervencion-en-mexico-donald-trump-esta-dispuesto-a-todo/

In Praise Of These 10 Revenue Agencies: SALT In Review - Law360 Tax Authority RSM's David Brunori, a contributor who regularly offers his thoughts on noteworthy state and local tax news, opens 2026 with his annual presentation of the nation's top 10 revenue departments.

Visiting Professor David Brunori presents his annual list of the nation’s top revenue departments—the agencies that collect taxes https://www.law360.com/tax-authority/state-local/articles/2427600/in-praise-of-these-10-revenue-agencies-salt-in-review