Category Policy & Politics

Civil Society, Policy & Politics

The Role of Soft Power in the Digital Age

March 7, 2025

Social media and technological advances have drastically changed international communication, which has an impact on how countries exercise influence. The phrase “soft power,” which was coined by Joseph Nye[1], describes a nation’s capacity to influence international events via seduction as…

Policy & Politics, South America

Diplomacy for Democracy: Why Venezuela Did Not Defy the Odds like Guatemala

March 2, 2025

On January 15, 2024, after months of a tumultuous post-election political and democratic crisis that placed Guatemala at the top of the political agenda in the Americas, Bernardo Arévalo was sworn in as president of Central America’s largest economy. Basic…

North America, Policy & Politics

Social Media, Disinformation, and AI: Transforming the Landscape of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Political Campaigns

January 14, 2025

Political campaigns have been repurposed to accommodate the importance of social media platforms as powerful tools for communication, outreach, and influence. The 2024 U.S. presidential election highlighted the key role of social media presence in reaching the American audience. Candidates…

Governance & Law, North America, Policy & Politics, Regional

Three Myths About the Jimmy Carter Presidency

January 6, 2025

Jimmy Carter was a complex man who led the United States in a complex era. He lived humbly but was not humble. He believed in forgiveness but was unforgiving. He promised that his administration would be transparent, but he personally…

Middle East, Policy & Politics

The Contributions of Constructivism in Studying Political Islam Movements’ Foreign Policies

January 2, 2025

What happens to the theoretical and methodological presuppositions of researchers who have to deal with a grammar of International Relations that is more often than not different from, or even in competition with their own, and whose objective is the…

Policy & Politics, South America

Restoring Democracy: Lessons from Bolivia since the 2019 Coupvolution

December 18, 2024

Donald Trump is not the only populist former president in the Americas who has sought to return to office over the last four years. The leftist lighting rod Evo Morales has sought to engineer an equally unlikely political comeback in…

Europe, Policy & Politics

“Long Live the Lords!” Tradition, Reform, and the Enduring Balance of British Democracy

December 4, 2024

On July 17, 2024, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced in the King’s speech[1] that he would bring in legislation to abolish the remaining hereditary peers’ rights to sit in the House of Lords. On October 15, 2024 the…

Europe, Policy & Politics

Is Georgia’s Dream of a Future Alignment with the West still a Possibility?

November 6, 2024

There are signs of yet another crisis the EU has to deal with after the parliamentary election in Georgia on 27 October. The pro-Russian party Georgian Dream has allegedly won 54% of the vote. This puts an end to hopes…

Asia Pacific, Policy & Politics

Geopolitics and Revolution: The Superpower Nexus Behind Hasina’s Rule and the Future of Bangladesh’s Foreign Policy

October 24, 2024

On August 5, 2024, Bangladesh experienced a pivotal moment in its political history. After 16 years of authoritarian rule, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following a student-led revolution[1]. Her departure marked the end of a regime that had…

Europe, Policy & Politics, Security & Conflict

The Insecurities of Putin’s Russia

June 6, 2024

Professor Jef Huysmans at Queen Mary University of London describes insecurity as a politically and socially constructed phenomenon, and argues that insecurities arise from institutional and political reactions to a threat. In his interpretation, “a threat functions as an event…

Asia Pacific, Policy & Politics

China’s Strategic Ambiguity on Taiwan

April 21, 2024

In recent years, Beijing has escalated its bellicosity towards Taipei—not least when it launched a large-scale military blockade and imposed various economic sanctions after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island in 2022. This trend of heightened Chinese…

Europe, Governance & Law, Policy & Politics, Security & Conflict

International Law’s Role in a Strat-Dominated World—Part 2

March 18, 2024

In our previous article we observed that in a world dominated by realists, academics are more likely to focus on strategic studies and not international law.[1] We nevertheless found noteworthy the extent to which international law enters into strategic thought…