Has Putin won in the Ukraine?
By Steve Hoadley The recognition by President Putin of the Donetsk and Luhansk ‘Peoples Republics’ on 21 February is his latest initiative to expand Russia’s influence. Will he prevail? Will he pause or push further? History is rich with examples of ‘irredentism’,...
What are the reasons behind Putin’s invasion of Ukraine?
By Greg Yudin A view from Russia: no sanctions will stop Moscow, and its actions will drive more countries into NATO’s arms. In the near future, a big war will begin – a war that we have not seen in the lifetime of my generation, and perhaps the previous...
What is driving an increase in military coups? 🔊
Military coups have increased over the last year and a half. What is driving this challenge to democracy? How concerned should we be? Regional organisations and powerful states have sometimes played important roles in averting takeovers by military coups. How...
Why is the war in Yemen escalating again? 🔊
The ongoing civil war in Yemen risks an escalation with drone strikes launched by the Houthi against the United Arab Emirates. This is apparently in retaliation against the increased military campaign against the Houthis led by the Saudis and the UAE. The Houthi...
Is Russia acting out of aggression or self-defense in its threats against Ukraine? 🔊
Russia’s relationship with Ukraine is complicated. Ukrainian independence coming out of the collapse of the Soviet Union ended a 350-year history of Ukraine as a part of the Russian Empire, and then the Soviet Union. From that period forward, the two nations...
Why have protests erupted in Kazakhstan? 🔊
On January 2nd, protests erupted throughout the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan. The proximate cause was a drastic increase in fuel prices and a popular discontent against the three-decade rule of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. His handpicked successor to...
How can we use art to understand war?
By Catriona May Two former official war artists are using art to research how we respond to and cope with, conflict. Throughout history, humans have turned to art to help remember and make sense of war. In Australia, the role of artists as eyewitnesses to conflict was...
Will Afghanistan’s new Taliban leaders govern corruptly?
By Josh Von Trapp As terrible as the human rights and security situations in Afghanistan are already, things could get worse if the Taliban’s clean governance turns dirty. On August 15, 2021, the Taliban marched into Kabul unopposed, toppling the Western-backed...
Will Cameroon survive its ongoing civil war? How can it overcome its governance challenges? 🔊
Cameroon has seen increased violence and an ongoing civil war based on its linguistic, sectarian divide. Can the nation survive? How much is this a democracy deficiency and how much is this failure of leadership? How can Cameroon overcome its governance challenges?...Subscribe by Email
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