Politics & Society
Memes, manifestos, murder: fascist radicalisation online, and how we can stop it ▶
In a talk given at the University of Auckland, Emmi Bevensee talks about her doctoral research into fascist radicalisation online.
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Q+A: The pollution of war: what is the environmental impact of the US military?
The US military has taken some measures to reduce its impact on the environment and green gas emissions, but some researchers say these measures do little to assuage the military’s bigger effects on climate change. What are these effects and what can be done about them?
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Q+A: Will voting changes help bring more Kiwis to the ballot box?
Last month, the government announced proposals for how New Zealanders will go to the polls in 2020. The new legislation will allow voters to enrol on election day, make it easier for New Zealanders to vote from overseas, and could see ballots in public places like supermarkets and malls. But what does this mean for New Zealanders and their votes for the next election in 2020?
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Q+A: Banning the bomb: are the days of nuclear weapons numbered?
In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly passed a mandate to negotiate a treaty that would ban nuclear weapons. While the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons passed 122 votes to 1, no nuclear state or NATO member other than the Netherlands voted on the resolution. Doug Becker discusses the treaty and the issue of nuclear non-proliferation with Ira Helfand and Wayne Glass.
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Q+A: Is the age of privacy over?
Is the age of privacy over? What is at stake when we lose our privacy? How does a lack of privacy effect security, democracy, and society? Maria Armoudian speaks with Helen Nissenbaum, Michael Patrick Lynch, Bruce Schneier, and Joshua Fairfield.
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Taking issue: is social media good or bad for democracy?
We asked three academics to address the question of whether social media is democratising or eroding democracy.
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Are New Zealand’s colonial institutions pushing Māori toward a life of crime?
Are New Zealand’s colonial institutions pushing Māori toward a life of crime? Ethan Kisby explores.
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What happened in the European Elections? 70 academics share their reflections
In the wake of the European Elections in May 2019, seventy leading academics from across the European Union contributed their reflections, thoughts, and analysis to Euroflections
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Q+A: How can we fix New Zealand’s broken justice system?
A new independent report into New Zealand’s justice system has revealed massive failings and discovered entrenched issues of racism and bias. Khylee Quince talks about the report and why transformative change is needed.
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Black Lives Matter, Otherwise all lives do not matter ▶
In a lecture given at the University of Auckland, Professor Onwubiko Agozino attempts to demonstrates the theory that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. By treating Black Lives as if they do not Matter, the lives of human beings everywhere are threatened and so all should rally in support of Black Lives in the interest of humanity.
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Does Trump really want war with Iran?
Does Trump really want war with Iran? Sirous Amerian investigates.
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Q+A: Getting the message across: What is public diplomacy?
What is public diplomacy and how effective can it be? While it has a long history, the study of public diplomacy is only becoming more salient in an age of globalisation and increasing digital communication posing both new challenges and opportunities for governments. Doug Becker speaks with Daniel Aguirre Azócar and Nicholas Cull about public diplomacy, its foundations, and effectiveness.
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Why are some migrants seen as more deserving than others?
Why are some migrants seen as more deserving than others? James Nicol investigates.
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A new India emerging? Explaining Modi’s victory in the world’s largest democracy
Is a new India emerging? Sakhar Bandyopadhyay explains what Narendra Modi’s election victory means for the world’s largest democracy.
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The meme politics of white supremacy: how does fascist radicalisation happen on the internet?
The devastating anti-Muslim attacks carried out in Christchurch in March this year were part of a trend of disaffected white men, radicalised into fascist politics through social media meme culture according to Emmi Bevensee.
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How can we explain the current wave of anti-immigrant sentiment?
James Nicol explores the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment in western countries.
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Q+A: Is it time to stop using cars?
A recent report from a team of researchers based at the University of Otago has found that our use of cars is harming both our health and our environment. Is it time to give up our cars?
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Q+A: What is going wrong inside New Zealand’s prisons?
A recent report investigating the state of three New Zealand prisons found that low staffing numbers were straining conditions. Lachlan Balfour spoke with Liam Martin, Lecturer in Criminology at Victoria University, about the report and the state of prisons in New Zealand.
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Q+A: What does Jair Bolsonaro’s victory mean for Brazil and the rest of the world?
He is known in many circles as the ‘Trump of the Tropics’ and his election has shaken Brazilian politics and has the potential to shift Brazilian domestic politics and regional politics for years to come. Doug Becker speaks with Erica Resende and Guilherme Casaroes about Jair Bolsonaro’s election and what this means for Brazil and the rest of the world.
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Q+A: What is the resistance? Political movements in Trump’s America
Even before Donald Trump was elected president of the United States in 2016, protest groups were forming and mobilising against him. Together, they now form what is termed ‘The Resistance’. But what is The Resistance, and can it succeed in keeping American democracy alive?
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