IRR ONLINE

In 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.

In 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.

An overview of the ongoing controversy around Anastasia Trofimova’s documentary film Russians at War.

Nicolas 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.

Today, 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.

In 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.

Italy has been at the forefront of the European migration crisis due to its immense Mediterranean coastline. With the election of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in 2022, anti-immigration discourse has increased, emphasizing the difficulty of dealing with the issue. As migrants overwhelm processing centers and smaller communities throughout the country, Meloni structured a deal with Albania to ease pressure on Italian social systems. Inspired, the EU has begun to consider similar projects outside the Union.

Kuwait’s Emir recently issued a decree suspending the state’s popular National Assembly and abrogating parts of the constitution for no more than four years. The move comes as the latest of the Gulf country’s efforts to improve the efficacy of its deadlocked political system which has been marked by excessive parliamentary debates. The move has not drawn widespread protests domestically or regionally, but international experts question whether or not the Emir’s actions will actually move Kuwait closer to a sound democratic process.

Mexico City is changing quickly as a result of international migration, implementation of new industries, and foreign investment. These developments modernize and boost the economy, but they also cause gentrification, displacing the local communities, and causing cultural homogenization, which raises concerns about social inequality and the maintenance of local traditions.

Chairman Xi announces additional support for the African Continent at the Beijing Forum.

For the first time in post-World War II Germany, a far-right political party has won a state election. The openly extremist right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) achieved a “historic success” in the eastern state of Thuringia on September 1. This victory serves as a grim reminder of the first Nazi state election win in 1930, which also occurred in Thuringia. 

The Spratly Islands in the South China Sea are a hotspot of territorial disputes—particularly between the PRC and the Philippines. The discovery of potential oil reserves, along with overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZs), has fueled tensions—leading to militarization and a growing frequency of skirmishes. Despite international condemnation and calls for cooperative resource management, the lack of a capable legal framework jeopardizes regional stability and the free flow of global trade.

Discussing the Olympic games and the controversy surrounding the international surfing competition. Analysis of the sustainability of sports tourism with a case study on environmental impact and the use of colonial overseas holdings for the Olympics.

From 1918-1934, Austria’s largest city underwent a Marxist-led economic transformation known as Red Vienna. Funded by exuberant taxes on the wealthy, the Social Democratic Workers’ Party (SDAPÖ - a precursor to SPÖ) built 65,000 publicly rented apartments throughout the city with nearby state amenities. Although Nazi occupation ended Vienna’s novel socialist experiment, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) is continuing to advocate for the working class today. This small anti-capitalist movement poses a direct threat to Austria’s entrenched political elite and growing populist right.

For years, Afghanistan served as the world’s leading producer of opium, a key ingredient in the street drug heroin. The country reached this level of production after years of widespread and violent conflict. In April 2022, the Taliban declared a complete ban on the crop and spent the next several months eradicating it from the country. With opium production off the table, Afghanistan’s rural population is struggling to make ends meet, worsening the already poor humanitarian situation in the country. 

The recent search and seizure operation at the residence of Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, South Africa's Speaker of Parliament, on March 19, 2024, has ignited concerns about corruption and accountability within the nation's political landscape. Yet, amidst the turmoil, South Africa's democratic system remains steadfast in its commitment to upholding integrity and transparency.

Terrorist organization claims responsibility for attack on Emirati military base.  Claims UAE is aiding Somali government in mission to eradicate group from the country.

South Korea’s struggle with record-low fertility rates prompts the government to develop innovative solutions. In the fight to reverse this trend, the South Korean government has organized mass blind-date events with hopes to spark love connections and, ultimately, more births. Despite a large number of critics who called to the government for more direct support for mothers, these gatherings are gaining momentum, underscoring the nation’s determination to address its demographic crisis. As birth rates continue to decline, South Korea’s approach offers a unique perspective, highlighting the need for multifaceted strategies to address this intricate issue. While these matchmaking events still need to prove its lasting results, they signify a creative response that contributes to the larger issue of a drop in global fertility rates. 

Facing its latest row of intense challenges, Haiti now seeks a desperately needed cessation of the ongoing conflict between the government and criminal organizations. The current crisis now comes to a head with the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, as gangs tighten their grip on Port-au-Prince.

In 2012, Italy's Ministry of Justice, namely the Department of Juvenile and Community Justice, launched the Free To Choose program in Calabria. The project sought to remove children from their mafia families and place them in foster care programs, to break the cycle of criminal behavior between generations. Once authorities can prove to a court that the child is in danger due to their circumstances, they can forcefully remove the child from their parents' custody and place them in foster care.

Domestic violence is a human rights issue many women in Central Asia face today. A reflection on domestic violence in Kazakhstan presents a discussion about women using their agency to advocate for criminalization and stronger protections.

News is ultimately a form of storytelling, a way of informing the public of the events occuring in the world around them. Censoring the press is therefore a way of framing the way people see the world into a picture defined by what is not censored. However, press extends beyond the typical newspaper; even a novel may also be considered a form of press, reflecting societal issues of a certain period, or working to challenge authority. To censor this type of artistic press is to censor imagination, which results in the same effect––a suppression of public opinion. In the Americas, there has been an influx in the censorship of the press, which has taken one of two forms: censorship of the formal newspaper press and book censorship. This article thus examines censorship in the case studies of Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the United States.

Four mass kidnappings in the northern region of Nigeria have pointed to the resurfacing of the country’s kidnaping crisis. The crisis began in 2014 following the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls, and has since spread to bandit groups seeking ransom. This security threat points not only to gender-based insecurity, but the overall decline of Nigeria’s social, political and economic situation.

Terrorist organization claims responsibility for attack on Emirati military base.  Claims UAE is aiding Somali government in mission to eradicate group from the country.

The Canadian government recently signed an agreement to transfer full control over the northernmost territory of Nunavut to the territory’s Inuit-dominated residents. This is a huge milestone in the movement for indigenous rights, and autonomy for the region will also bring more sustainable resource assessment and the protection of biodiversity. It could also be a stepping stone for increased indigenous autonomy and biodiversity across the Americas.

“There has been a troubling resurgence of antisemitic attitudes across Europe, especially in the Scandinavian countries. Given Scandinavia’s, and the continent as a whole, complex and painful history with its Jewish communities, the latest developments in the Middle East have sparked a wave of hostility in various areas.”

A delay in Senegal’s 2024 presidential elections sparked fear and unrest in the democratic West African country, but the nation’s system has been quick to uphold its democratic integrity.

China has experienced a spell of economic growth that is unique to global history, beginning in the late 1970s and continuing into the present day. For the past two decades, China’s real estate sector has cemented itself as a reliable driver of economic growth, but that saga has concluded with the fall of the Evergrande Group. Evergrande serves as an apt vessel to explore the collapse of a once dominant property sector, with this article seeking to analyze the causes of the group's fall as well as explain the greater impacts felt by China’s domestic economy.