Sexual violence as a weapon of war has been used in a myriad of conflicts throughout history. For example, it is estimated that the Soviet Army raped around 2 million women in Germany during World War II
Read MoreMake India Great Again?* The Tightening Grip of Hindu Nationalism in Postcolonial India
As the title to this piece may suggest, India’s political climate has me worried. In order to explore these worries, I am going to focus on two organizations: a volunteer organization known as the Rasthriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and, by extension, India’s current ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Read MorePost-Brexit Thoughts: How To Move On In A Land Where No One Understands
There would be no need for more ink to be spilt on #Brexit if it weren’t for one view astoundingly missing from the post-referendum-debate: that is a view on how to move on from here.
Read MoreAfter Brexit
They say that a week is a long time in politics. It has now been two weeks, a veritable political epoch, since the United Kingdom narrowly voted to leave the European Union.
Read More“Leave” as “a vote against global governance”
The impact and influence of mainstream media in shaping public opinion has been dwindling.
Read MoreOn Brexit
Today, the world looks on with bated breath as Britons around the nation decide whether or not the United Kingdom will remain part of the European Union.
Read MoreWhy do Cypriot Greeks reject “peace” plans?
24th April marked twelve years since Cypriot Greeks rejected in a referendum, by an overwhelming 76% margin, the UN-sponsored “Annan Plan”. By contrast, 65% of Cypriot Turks with Turkish settlers in the occupied north accepted the plan in a separate referendum.
Read MoreHarnessing the Local – Moving toward Conflict Resolution in Ukraine
Ukraine’s increasing problems has been wider coverage in recent international political and media debates. Opposition about the territory of the Ukraine between pro-Russian and pro-European supporters has been steadily growing and reached two major climax points – the ‘Orange revolution’ of 2004 and the ‘Euromaidan revolution’ during 2013-2014.
Read MoreHow the World Became Neoliberal…
All the World has become neo-liberal. This is no news. But how did it happen? How come that an ideology which, up until 50 years ago, was only known by a bunch of isolated thinkers in sparse universities of Anglo-Saxon countries, became the dominant economic ideology in the whole World?
Read MoreWelcome to the Jungle, It Gets Worse Here Everyday
Geopolitical musings from a ‘Southerner’
For anyone interested in world development, social sciences, or any global topic for that matter, using the term ‘global South’ to refer to lower-income countries and the ‘global North’ for wealthy nations is becoming more and more normalized in academic and non-academic publications.
Read MoreThe Refugee Crisis and Moral Boundaries
Over the past few years, the world has witnessed the biggest refugee crisis since WWII. While some European countries initially accommodated this mass flow of refugees, it took a photograph of the body of a small child on a beach to finally humanise these stories and bring public attention to these initially distant and disembodied experiences.
Read MoreDo international agreements on social development make a difference?
International development lore holds that a group of white men sat down in a basement of the UN building in New York in the first decade of the 21st century and came up with the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Read MoreAssessing the efficacy of Westminster's Lobbying Act in Scotland
Various campaign scandals have plagued Westminster over the last decade. Ostensibly to avoid a political landscape akin to the US, where special interests are unduly influential, the Conservative-led coalition government passed the controversial Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014, or the Lobbying Act, in January 2014.
Read MoreFrom TMT to ISIS: Turkey conducts politics with the same old field manuals
Whether by shelling Kurdish fighters in Syria or downing a Russian fighter jet, Turkey undeniably seems more willing to protect and sustain ISIS rather than confront it. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because Turkey has been conducting politics with the same old field manuals for decades.
Read MoreReflections of a teaching graduate
As many readers will probably agree, graduating from university is a strange experience. One has to find their way in a new post-academic reality.
Read MoreKeeping a language alive: the past and future of Gaelic in Scotland
A couple of weeks ago, another edition of the Seachdain na Gàidhlig (‘Gaelic week’) took place in Edinburgh. The University of Edinburgh introduced this week of events last year to promote and celebrate the Gaelic language. Three centuries ago, Gaelic was a flourishing language spoken by approximately a quarter of the Scottish population. Nowadays, this has dropped to 1.1%
Read MoreStruggling to Meet the Millennium Developmental Goals: Who Is to Be Blamed?
This article problematizes the process of the development of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and, their implementation in signatory countries.
Read MoreEgypt’s Gift to the World
With a little too much pomp but not enough circumstance, Egypt unveiled its newly renovated Suez Canal last month. After a year of construction and £5.3 billion spent, the Suez Canal now has two parallel channels that will double its flow of traffic.
Read MoreConstructing identities and building borders: travelling across the Balkans
This summer I took a road trip with some friends to a sometimes forgotten region of Europe: the Balkans, or West Balkans, to be more precise. The facts that I don’t know exactly what to call it, and that people often responded with uncertainty when I told them where I was going, are indicative of the confusion and misconceptions associated with this particular area of Europe.
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