Category: Uncategorized
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What It Takes to Build Peace Today
-In an era of escalating global instability, what does it truly take to move beyond short-term deterrence and build lasting, sustainable peace? -True security requires shifting from military-first policies to long-term processes that prioritize local ownership, multipartiality, and the meaningful participation of women at all levels. -Sustainable peace is achievable if we embrace complexity, build…
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Ignored Warnings, Repeated Shortcomings
The EU’s inaction during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War institutionalised the failure of conflict prevention, creating the conditions for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Driven by path-dependent reliance on Moscow for energy security and incoherent foreign policy among its member states, the EU pursued appeasement politics towards Russia. Deep economic integration with an autocratic state compromised…
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Community‑Run Aid Networks in Yemen
How have community‑run aid networks adapted to Yemen’s blockade? They have responded to severe limits on movement, resources, and access by decentralizing decisions, building local supply chains, strengthening community trust, and adopting flexible management. These adaptations enabled continuous aid delivery and show the resilience and effectiveness of locally driven humanitarian action.
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Surveillance State Rhymes with Digital Fate
This article examines the global export of Chinese surveillance technologies through the lens of surveillance capitalism. It argues that China’s party-state model has instrumentalised commercial data-extraction logics to construct a scalable surveillance apparatus, exported through initiatives such as the Digital Silk Road. It concludes that surveillance tech exports are driven by economic and geopolitical interests,…
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DRC: Rich land, hungry people.
Food insecurity in Eastern DRC is structurally driven by conflict, displacement, and livelihood collapse, not scarce land. Climate change, hazardous pesticides, gender barriers, and neglected crop species compound the crisis. Humanitarian aid often reinforces dependency rather than building resilience. Lasting solutions require integrated Triple Nexus strategies that link emergency response, agricultural development, and peacebuilding.
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Solving Mixity by Sidelining Consent
Question: Has the EU solved ‘mixity’ at the cost of democracy? Argument: The ‘split-and-apply’ doctrine, refined after Wallonia’s 2016 near-veto of CETA and now deployed on EU-Mercosur, lawfully detaches exclusive-competence trade from national ratification — yet removes the forum that once channelled national opposition into the decision. Conclusion: Dissent has not vanished but migrated into…
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Germany’s New Military Strategy
Germany’s new Military Strategy refocuses the Bundeswehr on Alliance defence and deterrence against Russia, aiming to be Europe’s strongest conventional army. This shift aligns Germany’s threat assessment with Poland’s, but triggers Polish anxiety about competition for the US’s ‘primary ally’ status. Instead of competing for US favour, Germany and Poland should capitalize on their newly…
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WTO Appellate Body Crisis: Who Really Loses?
How has the paralysis of the WTO’s Appellate Body since 2019 affected members unequally? While larger economies have adapted through the MPIA and bilateral settlements, smaller members lack the legal capacity and leverage to navigate the post-AB order. With the US absent from the MPIA and reform efforts stalled, the crisis has shifted the trading…
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Are Embassies Still Spy Bases?
This paper examines the structural relationship between diplomacy and espionage, arguing that intelligence gathering has always been embedded within diplomatic practice, from ancient statecraft to contemporary hybrid warfare. While the Vienna Convention formalised diplomatic protections, these same protections enabled intelligence operations under diplomatic cover. Modern Russian espionage in Europe demonstrates that embassies continue to function…
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Ignored Warnings, Repeated Shortcomings
The EU’s inaction during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War institutionalised the failure of conflict prevention, creating the conditions for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Driven by path-dependent reliance on Moscow for energy security and incoherent foreign policy among its member states, the EU pursued appeasement politics towards Russia. Deep economic integration with an autocratic state compromised…