Hope at Last: A Venezuelan’s Perspective on Maduro’s Arrest
On January 3, 2026, I woke up to the news that Nicolas Maduro—the man who led the regime that had terrorized millions of Venezuelans, including my own family, for opposing its corruption—had been captured and was awaiting trial. I do not know a single Venezuelan who has not personally suffered under Maduro’s leadership. Those who […]
A Country for Sale: The Hidden Costs of Greek Debt Repayment
Seventeen years ago, the 2008 Debt Crisis brought Greece to its knees, pushing unemployment above 27 percent and shrinking the economy by a quarter. With three relief packages totaling 289 billion euros from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Union (EU), the country faced a difficult road to recovery. Finally, Greece has begun to […]
Small Powers, Strategic Innovation: The Potential of Nordic Disarmament Diplomacy
Conflict is the world’s greatest threat to stability. As multilateral institutions atrophy and hegemonic powers embrace militarism, small and middle powers (SMPs) must navigate a precarious future. Yet, the dissolution of unipolarity also presents opportunities for SMPs to lead diplomatic innovation by leveraging strategic coalitions with civil society and with each other. Should these states […]
CEARTE Éirí: Kneecap and radical resistance through music
Kneecap has emerged as a pioneer in Irish-language rap, producing caustic political satire with playful, punchy bilingual lyricism. Their tracks inject new life into Gaelige, one of Europe’s oldest languages, challenging sanitized depictions of Irish culture with gritty lived realities of post-Troubles youth. Once marginalized through centuries of colonial suppression, the Irish language is often […]
Missing the Mark on AI
AI is progressing faster than the ability of global communities to keep up. Regulators are busy with hearings and writing laws, while major tech companies roll out new AI models every few months. Without enforceable rules, AI might worsen inequality, destabilize economies, and threaten democracy. The gap between innovation and regulation keeps growing, and this […]
Emilia Pérez, Intersectionality, and “Good” Representation
With thirteen Academy Award nominations, twelve British Academy Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations, and ten Golden Globe nominations, Netflix’s Emilia Pérez defined the 2024 awards scene. Critics initially praised the movie-musical for its inclusivity, covering underserved topics such as Mexico’s cartel crisis and, within that, the struggles of the transgender community. Yet, with a […]
Rewriting Economic Narratives: China’s Innovation Imperative
The United States has long been a dynamic force of creativity, media, and entrepreneurship, using the idea of the market economy to limit government interference in business activities. From this position of influence, US politicians have cultivated an “America-first” narrative that inflates the US’ economic success and demeans the economies of competing nations—a narrative that […]
The Rise of Authoritarian Populism
There’s no denying that the tendrils of authoritarian populism have been slowly strengthening their grip on the political institutions of democratic countries all over the world. Freedom House’s 2021 “Freedom in the World” report documented a sharp acceleration in the global decline of democracy since 2020, and found that the share of countries identified as […]
Not All Men, but Enough Men
We often consider gender-based violence against women to be an individual man’s fault with “bad apples” engaging in these actions, but the reality is that there is a systemic problem within global societies which allows and encourages femicides and violent actions towards women. Deflecting attention away from the accountability of men in the conversations of […]
Venezuelan Immigration Crisis In Chicago: How A Sanctuary City Has Struggled
For centuries, people from Latin America have been coming to Chicago to escape persecution, poverty, and war. Mexican migration to Chicago began in the 1910s, spurred by the Mexican Revolution and the demand for labor during World War I. From 1942 to 1964, the Bracero Program brought Mexican laborers to the US to work primarily […]