Since its introduction in the mid-1950s, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has nothing but gained momentum in development, rapidly becoming a tool that permeates our lives and must be reckoned with. … Continue readingARTIFICIAL IS THE NEW REALITY: HOW AI IS CHANGING ELECTIONS IN 2024
With increasing female representation in positions of power across the world, some scholars are now pointing to a more feminist future. However, the rise of the far-right movement and the prominence of female political actors within these spaces paints a different, much more complex, picture. … Continue readingAre women empowered, or just in power: Politics, ‘Choice’ Feminism and the Far-Right
The global shift to renewable energy is reshaping energy security, traditionally reliant on fossil fuels, by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and geopolitical dependence on oil-rich nations. Key players like the EU, China, and the U.S. lead this transition, creating jobs, economic growth, and altering geopolitical dynamics centered on critical materials and technology. … Continue readingEnergy Security and Transition: Navigating the Global Shift to Renewables
2020 witnessed celebrities donating to relief services in the wake of devastating bushfires in Australia, with advocacy on social media to escalate climate change policies and action.
Between 2020-2022, black squares posted by world renown music artists swarmed social media platform Instagram for #BlackOutTuesday, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, a social movement combating institutional racism and police brutality against the Black community.
The 2024 Oscars hosted numerous celebrities who were seen wearing red ceasefire pins to draw attention to ceasefire demands in Palestine, at the most prestigious award ceremony for cinematic achievements, bringing the current conflict into this acclaimed Hollywood space. … Continue readingLights, Camera, Action: Celebrity Political Power in International Affairs
‘Until July this year, the Pacific Islands Forum was a little known intergovernmental organisation that advocated for cooperation between, and the interests of, its Pacific nation members. Yet with the Forum’s 2022 Meeting, held in the Fijian capital of Suva, having just concluded (its first in-person meeting since 2019), it has shed its tag of “little known”.’
Nicholas Butler discusses the achievements and controversies that defined this year’s especially significant Pacific Islands Forum. … Continue readingSuccess with some Setbacks: The 2022 Meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum
“Over the past two years, natural gas prices have more than doubled. Those of us who use gas every day, such as for cooking and heating our homes, have seen enormous cost increases but many are unsure why. So what has happened? Everything.”
Monique Westcott addresses this burning question. … Continue readingSurging Prices: The Reasons behind Increasing Global Gas Prices
On 11 August 2021, the Monash International Affairs Society hosted an illuminating panel discussion on the world of sports diplomacy and its myriad possibilities as a branch of Australian diplomatic strategy in the Indo-Pacific. In this article, Jerry Nguyen-Schlenker, Winuri de Alwis and Arshiya Merchant review this highly stimulating event and delve deeper into the ideas it presented. … Continue readingMIAS Recap: Sports Diplomacy Event
A the recent G7 Summit, leaders claimed that “Diplomacy is back”. Given that this was the first time in two years that leaders had met in person, the opportunity was seized to discuss what they considered to be the world’s most pressing issues, including vaccine inequity, climate change, global taxes, and current conflicts. Most central to this claim, however, was the announcement of the ‘Build Back Better World’ infrastructure initiative. … Continue readingThe ‘Build Back Better World’ Initiative: Is Diplomacy ‘Back’?
As the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics commenced last night, protests throughout the Japanese capital opposed what many considered to be a risky imposition during a global pandemic. This comes as Japan records over 5,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, a spike which saw spectators banned from Olympic events. This begs the question whether it was wise for the Japanese Government and the International Olympic Committee to continue with the Games. The simple answer is not one based on logic. It has its roots in the romanticism of sports as a uniting force and the need to distract billions from the devastation and gloom they are suffering. … Continue readingTHE WORLD NEEDS IT | THE CASE FOR TOKYO 2020
Climate change has morphed into an abstract ideological issue, seemingly disconnected from everyday life. Sir David Attenborough’s biopic: A Life On Our Planet bridges the chasm between climate change as a concept and climate change as an everyday reality. Opening with the deserted Chernobyl, Attenborough … Continue readingBEARING WITNESS: SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH’S ‘A LIFE ON OUR PLANET’