by Bill Hayton
Hayton was "one of the thousands of foreigners who flew into [Myanmar] to assist with what we hoped would be a move to a brighter future" after the democratic election of former General Thein Sein. The military coup just a few months ago makes him ponder if his efforts were wasted, and potentially even harmful to the budding democracy.
1152 days ago

by Hameed Hakimi
Hakimi believes that the withdrawal of American and Nato troops from Afghanistan will cause three main effects: "a reduction in aid; diminishing political and diplomatic interest; and the intensification of a proxy war in Afghanistan by countries in the region."
1155 days ago

by Creon Butler
The United Kingdom is the Group of Seven's host this year, and Butler believes it has the chance to address "the enormous test posed by the pandemic, as well as three other global challenges – climate change, the accelerating digitization of the global economy and growing strategic competition between the West and China."
1155 days ago

by Richard Whitman
Whitman acknowledges that the "Indo-Pacific represents the center of geopolitics and geoeconomics in the 21st century." He argues that Great Britain, following the theme of "post-Brexit Global Britain," must take a serious focus in the region to maintain its influence in the global order and economy.
1216 days ago

by Georg Lofflmann
Lofflmann suggests that populism, especially the Right-wing 'America first' variant, is here to stay in the United States. Biden's goal should not be to squash this movement, but rather "placate" them into feeling less alienated and supportive of a new vision for America.
1223 days ago

by Rebecca Peters
Peters argues that simply assigning John Kerry as the special envoy on climate change and claiming that 'America is Back' will not amass to real change. The US "has little credibility" on the issue of climate change that goes back well before Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement. State run legislatures, like Arizona, have blocked local attempts at electrification. How can the US make significant change in international policy if it cannot make the necessary change domestically?
1224 days ago

by Cleo Paskal
The global pandemic has shifted international relations in the Indo-Pacific. But before the pandemic, there was already concern in how relations would develop. Paskal identifies three trends: internal divisions over how to engage with China, uncertainty about the future, and "hedging." The last was that countries could engage with China economically while also maintaining a "'hedge' in the form of some sort of defense or intelligence partnership with the US."
1225 days ago

by Helen Fitzwilliam
City's around the world made sweeping changes to their infrastructure to support the changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas many beloved restaurants, bars, and stores had to close their doors, some cities took this change in stride by opening more green spaces, reducing through-traffic, and supporting renewable energy projects. Fitzwilliam looks at 5 cities, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Freetown, Paris, and Xiong'An, and asks their mayors and city planners what their plans are for the future.
1227 days ago

by Catherine Fieschi
Fieschi contemplates the changing of governmental power in three countries: the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. She believes the "pomp" reserved for monarchies is shown through the American transition as Presidential authority.
1290 days ago

by Nicolas Bouchet
Bouchet reviews John Ikenberry's new book "A World Safe for Democracy." Bouchet agrees with it's main point, that liberal democracies should "focus on themselves rather than spreading their ideology around the world," but he also sees various holes in its argument.
1291 days ago

by Julian Schmid
Instead of superhero comics being created from the psyche of the American public, Schmid argues that the reverse happened and continues to do so: superhero comics influence how Americans see the world and how "geopolitics became understandable through the medium of popular culture."
1291 days ago

by Richel Taylor
A large part of the argument for Brexit revolved around immigration. Now that Britain no longer abides by EU regulations, it must forge its own path on this front. But instead of making their own set of regulations, they are leaving a void unfilled where refugees remain in limbo. Not only is this morally dubious, but there is a serious concern that Britain may fail to abide by its "legal obligations under international law" by failing to build a just system of its own.
1294 days ago

by Alice Billon-Galland and Pepijn Bergsen
Billon-Galland and Bergsen reflect on Britain's relationship with Europe since WWI. They argue that it has always been economics that has tied Britain to the continent. Even though Britain might doesn't want to be bogged down by EU regulations and customs unions in order to pursue more global trade, they say that one of "the iron laws of international trade is that countries tend to do more of it with countries close by, in the case of Britain that is the EU."
1296 days ago

by Dogachan Dagi
In this reflection on events on March 17, 2011, Dagi argues that it's nearly impossible to "isolate humanitarian intervention from power politics." In 2005, world leaders had developed the R2P doctrine (responsibility to protect) to prevent massacres like that in Rwanda in 1994 or Srebrenica in 1995. But when Colonel Muammar Gaddafi issued a threat of mass slaughter, the UN's response to launch missile attacks on the Libyan army indicated more intent of a regime change than humanitarian aide.
1297 days ago

by Ezzedine Fishere
The 2011 protests in Tahrir Square sought to end "Egypt's 60-year-old authoritarian regime with democracy." But Fishers argues that Egyption institutions were not prepared for a democratic revolution, as they had been hollowed out from a dictatorial "patronage system" that led to state dysfunction. The 2014 General Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi regime's "enlightened despotism" is what Egyptians have seemed to have settled on for the near future.
1297 days ago

by Kamal Amakrane
Due to climate change and rising sea levels, Amakrane estimates that nearly two million people will be affected. Island nations will lose much of their territory, of not all of it, and their citizens will become refugees. And unless the United Nations addresses the legal framework for refugees designed in the 1950s mainly for specific reasons related to race, religion, or politics, the people from these island nations could face a brutal turn of the century.
1297 days ago

by Amitav Acharya
The coronavirus pandemic and the end of the Trump administration open up a range of possibilities in Asia. Some countries see China's economic influence as necessary, while others see it as potentially harmful to sovereignty or their own country's interests. If this trend continues, there could be a polarization in Asia into two camps: one led by the US and another organized around China.
1298 days ago

by Yu Jie
China has developed a new strategy for economic growth called "Dual Circulation." Its premise is that relying solely on manufacturing exports is not sustainable, and it therefore must raise the "great internal circulation" through domestic consumer demand.
1298 days ago

by Myra MacDonald
Many of the borders between India, Pakistan, and China, high in the mountains subject to dire conditions, were set in the 19th century by British colonial rulers. They seem somewhat arbitrary, not following any "obvious topography determined by natural features." This leads to localized conflicts and skirmishes between armies, who are primarily focused on survival in the mountains' rough conditions and limited in communication access to their commanders and media.
1299 days ago

by Mahi Shah
During his campaign for presidency, Alberto Fernández promised change for Argentina. The "Green Wave" movement, which started off with Argentine women and has expanded across South America in different forms, has pushed governments for women's rights. Argentina's congress finally legalized abortion on December 30th, 2020.
1302 days ago

by Alan Philps
In this interview with Renée DiResta, a technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, Philps asks about how social media has aided the rise of conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxx movements, and "fake news." Although DiResta gives possible futures for both self-regulation from social media companies and government regulation, she ultimately believes that we need to strengthen our civic values, and that this is largely done offline.
1303 days ago

by Robin Niblett
Niblett argues that Britain will benefit from a world where liberal democracies with "strong, accountable governance becomes the norm." But instead of trying to drive this outcome through power or authority that Britain no longer has, it should seek to "broker international progress towards its global goals."
1304 days ago

by Daniel Strieff
Many agree that Biden's greatest strength is foreign diplomacy. Strieff argues that the administration can pursue to types of policies: restoration or reform. But first, Biden must address the issues breaking apart the US before it can return to "hegemony through legitimacy."
1304 days ago

by Rosa Balfour and Pizza Bomassi
At the end of 2020, the European Union and China announced the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment. Balfour and Bomassi argue it is critical because it highlights two problems: Europe struggles to define a more assertive role for itself and rebuilding global alliances after the Trump presidency and Brexit will be difficult.
1305 days ago

by Nairomi Eriksson
Eriksson briefly reviews both China's and Facebook's digital currencies. The digital yuan is not a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, but rather centralized, giving authorities direct insight into its use. Facebook looks to enable theirs is popular platforms like WhatsApp and Messenger.
1305 days ago