The Last Crusade: the end of the Gulf Wars and the future of Afghanistan
The last US combat troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan in September. America’s crusade ends not with a bang but a whimper. By what yardstick should we measure their success? Let’s start with something simple: Are the Taliban defeated? No. Has democracy been instituted in Afghanistan? Barely. What are the...
US Senate votes to approve $250 Billion Bill on technology advancement
This Tuesday (8th June) the typically intensely divided United States Senate passed a bipartisan bill focused on technological advancement, specifically in the realms of artificial intelligence and semiconductor development. After days of debate over the $250 billion bill and its various proposed amendments, the US Innovation and Competition Act successfully...
‘Responsibility to protect’?
‘Responsibility to protect’ underpins the international system of states, and now it is crumbling. How we respond to humanitarian crises in Syria, Yemen, and now Myanmar is crucial for maintaining the United Nations’ credibility. I n 2011 the Qaddafi regime began waging indiscriminate war against its own people in one...
Are we sleepwalking into a Nuclear Apocalypse?
Douglas Adams (author and satirist, 1952-2001) wrote, “it’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop at the end.” For some years now the state of international nuclear arms control is one best described as experiencing freefall. Perhaps it was American hawks abandoning the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty...
Evolving laws put Brazil’s environment in danger whilst eyes are on the pandemic
The Brazilian government has been accused of loosening environmental protections under the cover of the COVID pandemic, according to a new study by Biological Conservation. From January 2019, the Brazilian government approved 57 parts of legislation that weaken national environmental laws. 27 of these were passed between March and September...
“Democracy Has Prevailed” – The Inauguration of Joe Biden
On January 20th Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States, after one of the most fiery and controversial transitions in American history. His predecessor Donald Trump, who has still not formally conceded his loss to Biden over claims of electoral tampering, was only the fourth...
Armenia and Azerbaijan: History written in blood
As September 2020 shuddered to a close, the news cycle slalomed between Donald Trump’s pre-election belligerence and the ever-present spectre of COVID in a frenzy. As the global press corps breathlessly reported on every bit of mangled syntax the 45th president of the USA splattered across the political discourse, you’d...
Make America Wait Again: a maddening Presidential Election
In the end, Joe Biden came through at the last to become the President-elect of the USA despite the antics of President Trump who threw even more toys out of his pram. He simply couldn’t believe he hadn’t won. His behaviour was frankly shocking. He would be remembered for the...
Life post Brexit
With the transition period drawing to a close, with or without a trade deal, the Government has issued some information regarding how life will change from next year. This includes alterations to how UK citizens will travel in and out of the EU, what will change if you are an...