The Cornell Policy Review is marking its 27th anniversary and publishing articles on a range of topics including the war in Ukraine, cybersecurity in a federal agency and the future of energy peaker plants.

Launched in 1996, the Cornell Policy Review is an independent publication managed and edited by students in the MPA Program in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. The Cornell Policy Review publishes content every week on domestic politics, international affairs and development, environmental and energy policy, human rights and social justice, and finance and economic policy.

“The Review offers students, faculty, alumni, and community members the opportunity to publish phenomenal work in a respected, student-run journal and read by a wider audience. It’s a great way to practice skills in policy writing, editing, and leadership,” said Editor-in-Chief Julia Selby MPA ’23.

Current articles demonstrate the Cornell Policy Review’s breadth:

“Trouble Behind Frontlines: How Russia’s Occupation is Re-Molding Ukraine’s Socio-Cultural Landscape” by Sergiy Sydorenko MPA '23 lays out damage caused by the war that extends beyond the loss of lives and the destruction of buildings. Sydorenko describes the impact of war on Ukraine’s culture: “From the first days of occupation, the Kremlin sent its media outlets to occupied territories to promote Russian troops as saviors, justifying their war in Ukraine as liberation from Nazis. The occupiers also raised billboards depicting famous Russian military figures, spreading pro-Russian sentiment, and promoting the narrative of Russo-Ukrainian fraternity.”

“Cybersecurity and the Energy Transition: The U.S. DOE’s Critical Role” by Courtney Schneider MPA ‘23 details the risks faced by the U.S. Department of Energy in a cyber-attack. “Government agencies are aware that cybersecurity is a pressing and escalating issue across numerous fields, including finance and intelligence,” Schneider writes. “In the energy sector, however, this topic is not broadly discussed. With energy and utility companies among the most at-risk for these attacks, action must be taken to secure the electrical grid at every step of its reimagining.”

“The Challenges of Replacing Natural Gas Peaker Plants with Short-Term Battery Storage” by Tiffany Vu MPA '23 describes the environmental toll caused by energy generating facilities that are only utilized during periods of peak demand. The plants are often older and adjoin disadvantaged communities. Battery storage of energy is an attractive alternative to peaker plants but Vu lists drawbacks including safety issues, tangled regulatory policies and costly raw materials. “To help decarbonize peak demand, short-term energy storage is a solution that is expected to grow substantially in the near future, but there do need to be more updates in regulations and policies to ensure that this growth is sustainable and does effectively help decarbonize the U.S. energy system,” Vu concludes.

In addition to the research articles, the Review produces evidence-based, nonpartisan blogs, podcasts, interviews, and case studies. All of the material is freely available online on the Cornell Policy Review’s website.