Experts in the News | Miller Center

Erdogan's Rising Islamist Militarism

Nationalism is running high in Turkey. Ankara is at war with Kurdish insurgents in the country’s southeast, and across the border in Syria since January. Moreover, Turkey has been under a state of emergency since mid-2016, when a rogue group within the military attempted a coup against Erdogan’s government, killing some 200 civilians. Amid the growing number of enemies at home and abroad, Erdogan has done his best to promote militarism among the populace, including by openly encouraging the formation of civilian militias claiming to defend his government—and the Turkish nation.

Eric Edelman

#NeverAgain might finally get something done about America's massacres

The kids are all right. That’s the takeaway from the last several weeks in the US, where teenagers have been leading a new gun-control movement that seems to have some staying power — an unexpected development in a nation where the combination of frequent massacres and congressional inaction have led to a sort of numb nihilism.

Nicole Hemmer

Tens of thousands sign petition for Billy Graham national holiday. Would it be legal?

Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the Miller Center for presidential and political history at the University of Virginia, told the Washington Post she thinks honoring someone whose primary service was the conversion of people to a certain faith with a Rotunda ceremony violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. “Not that he shouldn’t be lauded, but does he deserve to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol? And once you open that door, where do you stop?” Perry told the Washington Post. “Lying in honor should be someone who served their country. Well, how did he do that?”

Barbara Perry

Petition to Create Billy Graham National Holiday

WCCB asked Barbara Perry, the Presidential Studies Director at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, about the idea of a Graham holiday. She replied in an email: “As a Christian, I always admired the late Rev. Billy Graham’s gift for preaching. I particularly enjoyed seeing him on the Larry King Show, when he spoke more informally about his faith. As a scholar of the presidency, I was intrigued by his friendships and associations with U.S. Presidents. As a student of the Constitution, I am a firm believer in the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which, via the Supreme Court’s interpretation, placed a ‘wall of separation between church and state,’ while allowing for maximum freedom for individuals to exercise their religious beliefs. "

Barbara Perry

The Trump White House Has Turned Into Another Reality Show — ‘Dynasty’

In a country that prides itself for being a meritocracy, however, Barbara Perry, of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, thinks it’s wrong for elected officials to hire family members when they should be looking for the best staffers.

Barbara Perry

The Trump White House Has Turned Into Another Reality Show -- 'Dynasty'

In a country that prides itself for being a meritocracy, however, Barbara Perry, of the University of Virginia's Miller Center thinks it's wrong for elected officials to hire family members when they should be looking for the best staffers.

Barbara Perry