Section: The Conversation (USA)
Why has Russia been flying airstrikes over Syria from an Iranian airbase?
Kremlin/Ru, CC BY-SAThe Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, made it very clear where his country stood in February 2013 when he answered speculation that Russia might intervene to stop the implosion of Syrian state structures in a war that by then had been raging for more than three years: “We will not be fighting for our positions … and...
Vacuum bombs in Syria: the latest chapter in a long history of atrocity from the skies
Imagine taking a deep breath then submerging yourself in water. Then imagine having all of the oxygen forced instantaneously from your body. Try to inhale again. But instead of cold water filling your lungs, toxic, flammable particles start killing you from the inside out. Such suffering and death is distressing and inhumane. That is what is...
Is the US electoral system really ‘rigged’?
Many have speculated how a Trump victory would affect the U.S., but few have thought about the consequences of a Trump loss. After falling behind Hillary Clinton in the polls, Donald Trump has already developed a narrative for his exit: The election was rigged. So how likely is a rigged vote? Full-throated claims Last week Trump told Fox News:...
Western democracy needs humility to step beyond its own shadow
This article is part of the Democracy Futures series, a joint global initiative with the Sydney Democracy Network. The project aims to stimulate fresh thinking about the many challenges facing democracies in the 21st century. This is part two of an essay on humility’s value for democracy in dark times. Read part one here. Joshua...
Will Chinese investment sacrifice Ukraine’s dreams of democracy to economic needs?
Some fear that Chinese investment will lead to a painful trade-off between Ukraine’s desperate economic needs and its long-standing democratic dream. Sasha Maksymenko/flickr, CC BY-NDThis article is part of the Democracy Futures series, a joint global initiative with the Sydney Democracy Network. The project aims to stimulate fresh thinking...
Why save a computer virus?
Hex code from the Blaster worm reveals the potential motivations of the worm’s creator. Ward MoermanOn average, 82,000 new malware threats are created each day. These include all sorts of malicious software – like computer viruses, computer worms and ransomware. Some are pranks or minor annoyances; others seek to pilfer data or extort...
If Trump loses the election, the first week of August will be blamed
It turns out there’s a line that even Donald Trump can’t cross with impunity. In the course of the most bizarre 14 months in modern American political history, Trump has mocked a disabled reporter, insinuated that Mexican immigrants are rapists and murderers, suggested that an American-born judge with Mexican ancestry is...
Dispatches from Red Square: reporting Russia’s revolutions then and now
“No news from Petrograd yesterday”, was the headline in the Daily Mail on March 14, 1917. The story – or non-story – which followed, was only a few dozen words: “Up to a late hour last night the Russian official report, which for many months has come to hand early, had not been received”, it ran. So why publish it? The non-appearance of the daily...
Are internet populists ruining democracy for the rest of us?
Mad as hell and tagging you in the comments. Mike Lowe, CC BYThe internet has rewired civil society, propelling collective action into a radically new dimension. Democracy is now not only exercised at the ballot box, but lived and experienced online on a day-to-day basis. While this may have positive implications for political participation,...
Can Japan tempt Russia into an alliance against China?
Russia, and the Soviet Union before it, has traditionally been on Japan’s diplomatic radar mostly by virtue of its proximity and sheer influence. The two countries’ bilateral ties have been frosty at best, however, thanks to a decades-old territorial dispute over the South Kuril islands, referred to in Japan as the Northern...
