Elections can change who holds power. They cannot, by themselves, restore public confidence in institutions whose independence has been called into question. Lara Kajs — Thinking Out Loud
Tag: Accountability
The Next UN Secretary-General: A Test of Institutional Credibility
“The Secretary-General’s responsibility is not to be free of political pressure, but to demonstrate the independence and judgment to act despite it.”
Peace in Name Only
“Peace must be measured by what civilians experience—not simply by what political leaders declare.”
Yemen’s Unfinished Crisis
A reduction in violence is not the same as recovery, and the absence of headlines is not the absence of crisis.
Beyond the Veil: Stories I Could Not Leave Behind
International politics is never merely international. It possesses a trajectory that ultimately ends at an individual’s front door.”
Cuba and the Politics of Starvation: Sanctions, Regime Change, and the Civilian Cost of Pressure
The question is no longer whether sanctions create pressure. The question is whether generations of civilian suffering can remain an acceptable price for political objectives that remain unresolved after more than sixty years.”
The Gallows Under Occupation: Military Courts, Differential Punishment, and the Erosion of Legal Protection in the West Bank
The issue is not simply whether the death penalty exists. The issue is whether irreversible punishment can be imposed through a system in which legal protections themselves remain fundamentally unequal.”
Gaza and the Evidence of Failed Protection
“What is uncovered beneath the rubble is not only loss—it is evidence of protection that failed.”
Witness Under Fire: Press Freedom and the Cost of Telling the Truth
When journalists are targeted and silenced, it is not only the individual voice that is lost—it is the evidence, the accountability, and the possibility of response.”
Governance Without Accountability: Proxy Power and Civilian Risk in the Middle East
We cannot understand modern conflict if we refuse to acknowledge who actually governs the people caught inside it.”