Japan’s New Defence Doctrine: The Game is On
2023 is going to be a significant year for Japan, as it is holding the Presidency of G7 and additionally joining the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member. Japan’s recently announced new security policy demonstrates the realisation that geopolitics is changing, and that it needs to be prepared to face the realities of a changing region.
Africa in the Great Power Competition
Against the backdrop of historical great power competition, Africa can today create a tremendous impact on the global arena. While China is currently gaining foothold on the continent with its increased investments, infrastructure projects and trade, also Russia has an interest in maintaining good relationships with African states, leaving the EU and the U.S. struggling for their space in the equation. In the end, a Cold War-like rivalry over Africa between the West and the China-Russia strategic alliance could ensue.
Turning Point: The Rise of Right-Wing Politics, the Waco Siege, and the Response of American Law Enforcement
30 years ago, federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives serving search and arrest warrants for a fundamentalist Christian cult known as the Branch Davidians became involved in a firefight which developed into a nearly two-month-long siege with the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the helm. The changing of the conservative movement in the U.S. into one largely dominated and controlled by extremist parties who do not have an interest in making medially or statistically informed policy, but rather in appealing to their own base and ideology, remains the legacy of the siege until today.
Black Genocide: Classifying the Transatlantic Slave Trade and U.S. Slavery of Africans as a Genocide
The American slave trade remains one of the most horrific periods of American history. Many in the United States classify the Atlantic Slave Trade, the American slavery system, and the Jim Crow laws as reprehensible acts, crimes committed by White Americans and English, and a stain upon the United States, and rightly so. However, these events should also be classified as genocide as they meet the legal criteria for such crimes and also follow a very similar line when looking at other, more internationally recognized forms of genocide.
The Return of Fracking – A Possible Solution to the European Energy Crisis?
With the continuation of Russian aggression in Ukraine and the decrease of temporary foreign energy supplies, the end of the European energy crisis does not seem to be in sight even as we enter 2023. While the question of European energy independence remains unanswered, an old but successful technology used abroad lurks in the background as a possible solution. Considering the current geopolitical situation, local energy resources have never been more vital to European national security than they are now, which is why hydraulic fracturing technology needs to be put on the table if we wish to end the year-long energy crisis.
Is Islam a Product of Late Antiquity?
Arabia was a significant part of the Late Antiquity from which Islam emerged. Contrary to traditional sources, writer Muhammad Ali Sohail article argues that what eventually became the Islamic civilisation was a continuation of Late Antiquity's most salient features, with late antique empires establishing the foundations for the initial development of Islam. Moreover, it highlights the role played by traditional sources in instigating academic curiosity and mistrust from revisionist scholars who challenged the traditionalist premise entirely.
Brazil’s insurrection as taught by the United States
The insurrection that took place in Brazil on January 8, 2023, is eerily similar to the attacks on the U.S. Capitol in 2021. Both Trump and Bolsonaro use the same authoritarian playbook that utilises disinformation to mobilise the public.
