“A week is a long time in politics,” as former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously remarked. The first two weeks of March 2025 have felt endless, marked by political shifts, surprises, and moments that could shape the future for decades to come. The U.S. initially paused military aid to Ukraine, raising concerns over the…
The modern notion of “citizenship” is connected to the nation state and has emerged to a large extent from the struggle for civic rights in Western societies. In recent years the term “citizenship” or “citizen” is occasionally used in a broader sense, informally as in “citizen of the world”, or even formally, as in “citizen…
The carnage in Israel and the Gaza Strip seems to have no end, with hundreds if not thousands of fatalities on both sides and a region ready to explode. Who is to blame and how can this end? Peace or justice first, under whose interpretation and on what terms? For people like me who have…
If I had a Euro for every time I’ve heard phrases like “we don’t mean people like you” or “you’ll be fine” or “nothing will change” in relation to Brexit, I would be a very wealthy lady by now. I’m a German citizen but, in 1998, I made my home in England with my British…
Yesterday, India saw record levels of Covid-19 infections for the fifth day in a row, reporting over 300 thousand new cases and almost 3 thousand deaths in a single 24-hour period. Cases began to climb in February from a low point of under 10 thousand cases, and have since skyrocketed at an almost exponential rate,…
When Ursula von der Leyen ascended to the Presidency of the European Commission in December 2019, one policy dominated above all others, the European Green Deal. This ambitious plan aims to bring the EU to net-zero emissions by 2050, in line with the bloc’s commitments under the Paris Agreement, whilst also generating a sustainable economic growth model where ‘no…
During the final week of February 2021, the Biden administration drew sharp criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike when reports revealed the reopening of a Trump-era migrant facility to hold unaccompanied minors entering the United States. The controversial decision to reopen the detention center for children emerged in response to the recent surge in migration…
Commemorating Charles Darwin, his contributions to science, and the importance of reason, the scientific community celebrates Darwin Day on February 12. The English scientist is probably best known for his publication ‘On the Origin of Species’, which includes his original proposal of the ‘theory of evolution by natural selection’. His life’s story, from adversity and hatred to becoming one of the most famous names in science, can teach us a lot about the importance, but also perils, of publicly presenting scientific advancements. Charles Darwin’s achievements…
As international issues go, climate change is unique in that it will, without exception, impact every single country on Earth. The responsibility for it is therefore shared widely among countries, and the crisis can only be effectively mitigated if there is global cooperation and a unified response. With the threats posed by climate change becoming…
Tip: For this goulash, we recommend that you use a relatively young democracy as the main ingredient. We are basing this recipe on the most infamous of Hungarian master chefs – Viktor Orbán, the current Prime Minister of Hungary. Orbán is credited with turning a once burgeoning free democratic country into a cauldron of burnt…
