Experts in the News | Miller Center

"A Strategic Failure": The War in Afghanistan with Carter Malkasian

A discussion of why the war in Afghanistan was in General Mark Milley’s words “a strategic failure,” why the Afghan government failed to inspire Afghans to fight for their own country, and the legacy of former ambassador and peace agreement negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad. Our special guest is Carter Malkasian, who was a political advisor to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Commanding General of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and is the author of "The American War in Afghanistan."

Eric Edelman

UVA Democracy Initiative and StoryCorps to Focus on Tough Local Conversations

Melody Barnes, executive director of UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy and co-director of the Democracy Initiative, talked about the overarching goal of the new partnership. “We know one conversation can’t change the longstanding challenges our country and our communities must confront, but One Small Step is … one, small step forward. It’s an opportunity to create dialogue, perhaps find that you have something in common with someone surprising, or to disagree productively and with respect. One Small Step complements our research, teaching, policy and public engagement efforts,” she said.

Melody Barnes

Governance

The progressive agenda depends on the FDA and CDC

Biden and his team must focus on improving how the government actually functions if they hope to convince a skeptical public to place its trust in the progressive dream.

The Hill

She was a stripper during college. Now she’s running for Congress and sharing her story.

Bringing up a potentially controversial past before opponents or the media do can allow candidates to “inoculate themselves” against criticism, said Jennifer Lawless, a politics professor at the University of Virginia and the author of multiple books on women’s campaigns. But regardless of Hunt’s approach, Lawless said, it’s unlikely that Evans’s team (who has yet to publicly address Hunt’s run in any way and did not respond to a request for comment) would mention her history at all in the campaign.

Jennifer Lawless

The biggest movie of the weekend wasn't the 'Venom' sequel. It was a $200 million Chinese blockbuster.

"There are Chinese blockbusters that Chinese filmmakers are making that people want to watch, and they feel less derivative than those made in Hollywood," said Aynne Kokas, a media studies professor at the University of Virginia and the author of the book "Hollywood Made in China."

Aynne Kokas

Jimmy Carter’s legacy seems to improve with age

“As people look back on Jimmy Carter, with what we have just been through with Donald Trump, that seems especially good,” Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center for Public Affairs, said. “He is the one who re-legitimised the presidency and didn’t lie to the American people. He came through with what he said” he would do while campaigning, such as promising not to be a Washington insider.

Barbara Perry