Does cultural influence actually buy a rising power anything that matters — a seat, a vote, a veto in the institutions that set the rules of the international system? South Korea and India offer a natural test of that question: two of the most culturally visible rising states in the world today, on markedly different paths toward converting that prominence into institutional weight. … Continue readingBorrowed Threads, Unbought Power
Nepal and Indonesia point to the same underlying truth from different perspectives. A flood and a fire are not, in isolation, disasters. They descend into catastrophe only after mismanagement and inefficient decision-making. Both disasters demonstrate that hazards are intensified by land-use decisions; that costs are absorbed disproportionately by children and low-income households; and that institutions respond well once disaster is visible but fail in the quiet years beforehand. … Continue readingTHE NEPAL FLASH FLOOD TO INDONESIAN WILDFIRES: WHEN NATURE STRIKES, WHO PAYS THE PRICE?
A young boy in the US and a young boy in China grow up under similar surveillance systems, hear similar promises of prosperity and absorb similar judgements about nations on the other side of the world. The former grows up in a system socially accepted as patriotic, while treating its mirror image suspiciously. … Continue readingRAGS TO RICHES ON DEMAND: THE BLIND SPOT OF CHANGING NARRATIVES IN WESTERN MEDIA
When certain states refuse to demand accountability and allow for corruption in the highest levels of power to go unchecked, it can lead to the normalisation of authoritarian leadership or practices, threatening the very fabric of democracy. With two different judicial systems and political histories, the US and Brazil reveal contrasting lessons in the value of accountability in the face of political corruption. … Continue readingThe Accountability Gap: Global Contrasts and Responses to Political Corruption and Crime
Space is no longer a question of whether humanity gets in there; rather, it’s who sets the rules once we do. Private companies already outpace states in access, equity and infrastructure, while geopolitical rivalries turn that dependency into a bargaining chip. This article traces the widening gap between the Outer Space Treaty and the reality of who controls the launchpads, who benefits, and whether polycentric governance can close the gap before the window closes. … Continue readingSpace belongs to everyone – or does it?
For years, the surest way to kill a progressive campaign was to prop up a moderate opponent, or simply to label the candidate too progressive, too ambitious, too unrealistic, and therefore unelectable. Centrism was the default, and anything more ambitious was dismissed as unrealistic. That doctrine survived as long as it did because deteriorating material conditions hadn’t yet made “risky” and “unrealistic” look like the only options left on the table. But recent wins show us that things are changing. … Continue readingThe Rise of Mamdani-like Politicians and the End of the Myth of ‘Electability’?
in 10 people across the world sometimes or often avoid the news, according to the 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report. At first glance, this appears to highlight a growing indifference to global crises. The reality is a growing surge of compassion fatigue — caused by caring too much. … Continue readingCompassion Fatigue: The cost of caring for the world
Over the past three decades, corruption scandals, tournaments awarded to authoritarian states, and the persistent failure to enforce its own anti-discrimination rules have exposed FIFA not as a neutral arbiter of sport, but as a political actor in its own right. FIFA is not alone in this. Other sporting bodies such as the Olympics and Formula 1, each publicly commits to neutrality and universality, and each has proven, repeatedly, that when institutional interest conflicts with institutional principle, principle loses. … Continue readingWhen the Whistle isn’t Neutral
Monoculturalism is more than a simple ‘culture war’ issue. Although domestic political discussion may seem separate from international affairs, the issue of monoculturalism demonstrates how domestic politics have a significant impact on perceptions of the country and international trade. The consequences of such policy cannot be understated.
… Continue readingThe monocultural golden age that (never) existed: An imagined past, and its consequences for a real future
Emotion is commonly associated with war and destruction, yet fear and empathy have arguably been the only things which have saved our planet from annihilation — emotions that artificial intelligence (AI) cannot feel. The mix of declining nuclear arms controls and rising AI usage in defence systems raises the question: what happens when humans are distanced from the consequences of their actions? … Continue readingWhere machines fail, will human instinct suffice?