Editor-in-Chief Adam Stromme sat down with Jacob Parakilas, Deputy Head of the US and the Americas program at Chatham House, to talk about the arms trade, drug trade, and America’s evolving foreign policy. Introductory Questions Adam Stromme: How did you first become interested in studying international affairs? Dr. Jacob Parakilas: I went through about…
Under Siege: The Iranian Nuclear Deal and the Future of a Country
By Alex Hayes Editor, International Relations & Geography Undergraduate The nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, lifted certain international sanctions in exchange for a scaling back of Iran’s nuclear program. As a result of the agreement, tens of billions of dollars in previously frozen assets and oil revenue have…
The Rohingya Crisis: Is International Intervention the Answer?
By: Jono Davis Editor, International Relations Student Who are the Rohingya and what is happening to them? In looking to the crisis in Myanmar and the plight of the Rohingya people, the extent of the devastation is clear. Since August, 537,000 have fled from the Rohingya’s place of origin, Rakhine state, to Bangladesh in an attempt…
Dabbling in Disaster: Stability through Catastrophe Bonds?
By Matthew Findlay Correspondent, Mathematics Undergraduate After a record hurricane season, investors in catastrophe bonds are counting up their losses. Catastrophe bonds, also known as Cat bonds, are debt instruments that pay attractive interest rates, typically issued by reinsurers to cover their liabilities in the event of huge damages that may be caused by larger but…
In the Shadow of Apartheid: Race, Radicalism, and Division in South Africa
By Sam Maybee Correspondent, International Relations and Modern History Undergraduate Standing atop Table Mountain, you can be forgiven for thinking South Africa has truly emerged into an era of calm after a century of turbulence. The skyscrapers of Cape Town stand gracefully over the azure waters of the Atlantic, the tangle of motorways teeming with ant-like…
The Economics of Desertification
By Kyra Ward Economics & International Relations Student The Kubuqi desert has never attracted much attention internationally. Even in China it is dwarfed in significance of the Gobi. Located in the northern region of China, the Kubuqi desert stands on the banks of the Yellow River. Historically, the Kubuqi has been overexploited by its host…
Boycott Economics and the Animal Agriculture Industry
By Vidur Kapur Correspondent, Medical Undergraduate “Britain is a nation of animal lovers.” On first glance, this statement has an element of truth to it: after all, we were the first country in the world to pass animal welfare legislation, and some 40% of UK households own a pet. These pets make up a sizeable chunk…
21st Century Economics: A Conversation with Ha-Joon Chang
Editor-in-Chief Adam Strømme sits down with Ha-Joon Chang, a Prospect Magazine “Top 20 World Thinker”, multi-award winning author, and Reader in Political Economy at the University of Cambridge. Adam Stromme: How did you first become interested in studying economics? Ha-Joon Chang: One is a bit more general, and the other is a bit personal. On…
Prosperity without Growth: A Conversation with Tim Jackson
Editor-in-Chief Adam Stromme talks with Tim Jackson, ecological economist, author of Prosperity Without Growth, and University of St Andrews alum. Adam Stromme: How did you first become interested in sustainability? Tim Jackson: I would say it began in April 1986. I was living in London, having just finished a PhD in Physics from St Andrews but actually…
The Man Behind Chechnya’s Purge of Gay Men
By Conor Tully Correspondent, Undergraduate IR & Russian Student On the 11th of April, Novaya Gazeta reported that over the course of February and March more than one hundred people accused of being homosexual had been illegally detained in Chechnya. Astonished at this development, further research by the Guardian, Meduza and Radio Liberty were all nonetheless…
Information Sharing, Security and Cost Post-Brexit
By Kyra Ward, Editor, Economics Student March 29th, 2017 will go down in history as the day the United Kingdom (UK) officially left the European Union (EU), and the European experiment. While it will take two years to finalize negotiations, March 29th will mark the day that Brexit (Britain’s Exit) became official. No matter how Brexit…
The Basics of Universal Income: Beyond the Divide
By Matthew Findlay Correspondent, Mathematics Undergraduate Student The idea of a universal basic income (UBI) recently entered the mainstream discussion in several countries. Finland is currently trialling the policy, and it is being lauded and criticized by commentators from across the political spectrum. So what is UBI, anyway? According to the basic income website, a UBI…
