While the rate of Cambodia’s growth may be uncertain, its rising geopolitical and economic presence within Southeast Asia cannot be downplayed, and its rising allegiance with China will likely mark it as the first of many countries to turn to China as a more reliable economic partner in the face of internal American turmoil.
Read MoreRising as a stable leader within the European Union, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has fostered close ties with both EU and foreign leaders. With President Trump’s return to the White House, Meloni hopes to form the transatlantic bridge between the EU and the U.S. Yet with recent negotiations between the U.S. and Russia excluding the EU and Ukraine, Meloni has tough decisions to make regarding her alliances.
Read MoreOn Dec. 3, 2024, chaos erupted in South Korea as President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, citing ‘anti-state’ threats. Within hours, the National Assembly overturned his decree, setting the stage for his impeachment and arrest. The crisis exposed deep political fractures but also reaffirmed the strength of South Korea’s democratic institutions. As the Constitutional Court weighs Yoon’s fate, the nation stands at a crossroads— between the threat of authoritarianism and the resilience of its democracy.
Read MoreThe issue of South African wealth inequality, the highest in the world, stemming from Apartheid, has haunted the Rainbow Nation for decades. However, the government has recently imposed the controversial Expropriation Act of 2024, which allows for expropriation without compensation. The question is whether these laws will help the country, based on previous failed expropriation without compensation measures by other African countries such as Zimbabwe, as well as, South Africa having to deal with vital US aid being cut off by President Donald Trump who opposes these laws.
Read MoreSoon after returning to office for a second term, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that halted international spending for ninety days, a primary target being USAID. As one of the largest recipients of USAID, Ethiopia heavily relied on the agency’s funding for critical healthcare initiatives, many of which have since ended. As Ethiopia seeks alternative funding, the sudden loss of aid threatens to destabilize the healthcare system and leave millions vulnerable.
Read MoreOn October 1st, 2024, Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in as Mexico’s first female president. Her Morena party won thumping majorities in both chambers of the legislature as well, laying the groundwork for radical socio-economic change. Mexico’s previous president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), was the architect for this electoral movement. By uplifting the poor through broad state spending, Morena has become the most popular party in Mexico’s modern history. President Sheinbaum’s meteoric rise proves that populist economics can coexist with democratic governance.
Read MoreThe 2011 Arab Spring protests were a series of mobilizations across seven states in the region that led to the ousting of former President Ben Ali in Tunisia and former President Mubarak in Egypt. While these two states were successful in their protest aims, protestors in other states, such as Syria and Bahrain, faced violent repression by their respective regimes. In 2019, both Iraq and Lebanon experienced waves of protest movements that mirrored those of the Arab Spring in both objectives and mobilization tactics. Dubbed the “Second Arab Spring,” these uprisings indicate the resilience of popular mobilization in the region.
Read MoreAs a result of Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza strip, key healthcare facilities have been destroyed, and critical medicine and supplies have been blocked from reaching the people of Gaza, exacerbating the horrors of war Gazans are facing every day. In particular, the increasing devastation of healthcare can be seen in the horrific effects it is having on women, particularly pre and post natal women and children, as well as menstruating women.
Read MoreFor the past 300 years, South Korea and Japan have been engaged in a territorial dispute over the small island of Dokdo. It is about time the ongoing contention comes to an end, for it symbolizes broader tensions and the unresolved history of Japan's occupation of Korea.
Read MorePutin attempted to shift global power dynamics after hosting a summit with the intergovernmental organization of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) and receiving aid for the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war from North Korea.
Read MoreIn modern warfare, a revolutionary and unsettling entity is emerging: Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). These sophisticated machines are capable of independently selecting and engaging targets without human intervention and have the potential to rewrite the rules of engagement and challenge our understanding of ethics, responsibility, and International Humanitarian Law.
Read MoreThe Mexican Senate’s decision to abolish the current judicial system and allow citizens to elect judges has had extremely divisive effects, both domestically and internationally. Advocates for the change argue that it gives Mexicans a greater voice and limits graft and nepotism, while opponents worry the decision will slow the country’s economy and signal the end of judicial independence.
Read MoreOn Sunday, October 6, 2024 President Kais Saied of Tunisia won reelection in a landslide victory. The election has drawn significant attention and controversy due to its stark departure from the democratic norms embraced in Tunisia in the decade following the 2011 Tunisian revolution, in which citizens revolted against and ousted ruling dictator Ben Ali.
Read MoreIn August, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev announced that another election would be conducted on October 27 after a majority failed to be produced in June. This stagnant state of affairs in Bulgaria’s parliament not only creates political fatigue for Bulgarians nationwide but enables a much desired neutrality for Russia in its war in Ukraine.
Read MoreIn the wake of both the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) and Donald Trump’s first election as U.S. President in 2016, far-right movements have experienced a surge of support in elections across Europe. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze how a potential second Trump administration could affect these movements, highlighting the cases of Italy, Germany, and France.
Read MoreThis year’s election to determine the upcoming structure of Georgia’s 150-seat parliament was, to many, a turning point in its path towards integration with the European Union (EU) or further alignment with its northern neighbor—Russia.
Read MoreAn overview of the ongoing controversy around Anastasia Trofimova’s documentary film Russians at War.
Read MoreNicolas Maduro securing a third presidential term signals a continuation of the current stagnant status quo. The inability to address inflation as well as mass unemployment and exodus of citizens would lead most other leaders to political ruin, however the revenue from state owned petroleum companies is keeping the regime viable. Venezuela and its people are the victim of the resource curse and its decades-long effects on the nation’s institutional, economic, and political stability.
Read MoreToday, polio has almost been completely eradicated globally — except in Pakistan and Afghanistan. From anti-vaccine rhetoric to bans on door to door vaccination campaigns, the Taliban has directly impacted the healthcare sector’s abilities to effectively carry out polio vaccination efforts in Afghanistan; preventing the eradication of the disease in the country.
Read MoreIn the beginning of 2023, over a million people took to the streets to fight President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform bill. This bill, which increased the retirement age to 64, prompted union strikes and rioting all over France. With Macron’s centrist consensus collapsing, Marine Le Pen has fully capitalized on anti-immigrant scapegoating for votes. In response, leftist leaders have joined forces under a coalition called the New Popular Front (NFP), vowing to protect pensions and other social services. The NFP won the most seats in the 2024 legislative elections shortly after the party’s creation. Macron’s refusal to appoint a left-wing prime minister in spite of these results, highlights the desperation of France’s ruling class.
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